Kevin and I strike again with two gems plus more via Twitter tonight. Here are our latest from NHL Predictions.
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Vancouver Canucks @ Montreal Canadiens – CANUCKS TO WIN (-130)
Vancouver comes into tonight’s game winning 7 of their last 8 games, pushing their record to a solid 16-10-1. On the road Vancouver is 8-6 and they’ve won 3 straight road games. The Canucks have held opponents to just 5 goals in their 7 wins, with their only downfall being a 6-5 loss to Nashville. On the year the Canucks are averaging a high 3.3 goals per game, while holding opponents to 2.4/game. They hold the league’s best powerplay converting 25.9% of their chances, and their PK is 6th in the league. The Habs are struggling again, after it looked like they were going to turn things around a bit. Montreal started off the season winning just once in their first 8 games, before winning 9 of 14, but has since dropped 5 of their last 6 games.
Their latest loss was on Tuesday night in shootout against the Blue Jackets, and the Habs haven’t won at home since November 19th against the Rangers. Montreal is averaging a low 2.4 goals per game, with part of the reason being their 28th ranked powerplay (just 11.8%). Montreal does have a good penalty kill at 89.5%, which they will need against the Canucks tonight. Both teams have some injuries, but Roberto Luongo is expected to be ok for tonight’s game. Right now Vancouver is the much better team, and I think tonight’s price is generous given the struggled Montreal is having. Take Vancouver to win.
Chicago Blackhawks @ New York Islanders – ISLANDERS TO WIN (+125)
Tonight I’ll be backing the New York Islanders tonight, who have won 4 of their last 5 games and are playing good hockey. Their lone loss was against tonight’s opponent in Chicago, where they fell 5-4 in a shootout in a game they could have very easily won (they out played and out shot the Blackhawks). The Islanders goal scorers have woken up, and as a team they are averaging 3.80 goals per game over their last 5. During that span they are holding opponents to 2.4 goals against. The Islanders are just 9-11-5 on the season, but a respectable 6-6-2 at home. Chicago is coming off of a 4-3 shootout loss at home against the Coyotes on Monday night, marking their second loss to Phoenix in their past 4 games. Chicago has won just 4 of their last 9 games, but are still a solid 16-8-4 on the season.
Note that the Blackhawks are great at home going 8-2-3 so far this season, but are only 8-6-1 on the road. Ray Emery will get another start for the Blackhawks. He is 4-2-1 with a 2.93 GAA and .890 SV%. Al Montoya is 5-3-2 for the Islanders with a low 2.07 GAA and .933 SV%. New York is playing very good hockey right now, and I think they should have the confidence in themselves after they nearly took down the Blackhawks in Chicago less than a week ago. A good spot for the Islanders to pull of an upset tonight – take the Isles to win.
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Good luck everyone and have a great Thursday Night betting!
