Friday's Best NHL Bets
Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks (-170, 5.5)
The Canucks continue their insane road schedule in the Windy City, taking the ice for their 11th straight game away from home.
Vancouver’s 14-game road swing was broken up by the two-week Olympic hiatus, however, the Canucks remained hot following that break with back-to-back wins over Columbus and Detroit this past week. That improved the team to 6-4 in those 10 away games and gave Vancouver its fourth win in five games.
This success is coming despite the fact that the Canucks have allowed the first goal in 10 of their past 12 games and have given up three or more goals in eight of the past 10 outings - helping total bettors cash in on the over in four straight games.
"We do, but we have a 14-game road trip, too," backup goalie Andrew Raycroft told reporters heading into Wednesday’s win over Detroit. "It's not like we are on a homestand and we're pressing our luck. It is tough to win on the road, especially when you're on it this much like we are right now. It's a good sign we're finding ways to win, but at the same time we have to find ways to address it."
The Blackhawks know a thing or two about topping the total. Chicago has played over the number in five straight contests. These two teams meet back in January, with the Blackhawks taking a 5-1 win that played over the 5.5-goal total.
Pick: Over
Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers (+160, 5.5)
The struggling Oilers were one of the most active teams during the NHL’s trade deadline Wednesday.
Edmonton added new faces like Ryan Whitney and Aaron Johnson but those additions won’t be enough to halt the team’s three-game slide heading into Friday. The Oilers have won just three games in their past 10 outings , most recently giving up three third-period goals to fall 5-2 to Chicago Wednesday night.
Edmonton’s roster shakeup will leave the lines out of sync and chemistry will be hard to come by against the Wild. And according to comment from Whitney following Wednesday’s deal, motivation will be hard to come by after leaving a contender like Anaheim.
“They won’t be playing in the playoffs this year, which is frustrating, those are the games you want to be a part of,” Whitney told the Edmonton Sun. “But I’m excited at the same time. I want to be looked at as a leader there, someone who can help the Oilers become a really good team again. It’s a great hockey town. It’s tough when you get traded to a team that’s rebuilding, but at the same time they’re looking at me as a guy they want to be a part of it and that’s a compliment. I look forward to it.”
Minnesota started the second half of the season on the right path, knocking off the Calgary Flames Wednesday night for their second straight win. The Wild have won their last two meetings with the Oilers, defeating them 4-2 in February and 3-1 back in December.
Pick: Minnesota
PHILADELPHIA (33-26-0-3, 69 pts.) at BUFFALO (33-21-0-8, 74 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 9-17 ATS (-9.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
BUFFALO is 160-113 ATS (-20.0 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 6-5 (+0.2 Units) against the spread versus BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 6-5-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.8 Units)
NASHVILLE (35-23-0-5, 75 pts.) at DETROIT (29-22-0-12, 70 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NASHVILLE is 34-28 ATS (+62.7 Units) in all games this season.
NASHVILLE is 19-9 ATS (+28.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NASHVILLE is 13-9 ATS (+24.7 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
DETROIT is 29-34 ATS (+64.0 Units) in all games this season.
DETROIT is 51-41 ATS (-41.7 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 2-5 ATS (-9.8 Units) in home games in March games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
NASHVILLE is 10-13 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 13-10-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
11 of 22 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.7 Units, Under=-1.3 Units)
VANCOUVER (39-22-0-2, 80 pts.) at CHICAGO (42-16-0-5, 89 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 52-30 ATS (+15.8 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 25-7 ATS (+13.7 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 68-53 ATS (-1.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 109-80 ATS (+192.9 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 40-28 ATS (+10.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 147-136 ATS (+294.4 Units) in road games second half of the season since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 37-27 ATS (+67.8 Units) in road games on Friday nights since 1996.
CHICAGO is 36-54 ATS (-30.8 Units) in home games on Friday nights since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 9-8 (+0.3 Units) against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 9-8-0 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.6 Units, Under=-0.4 Units)
MINNESOTA (31-27-0-4, 66 pts.) at EDMONTON (19-38-0-6, 44 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 10-4 ATS (+14.9 Units) on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 17-8 ATS (+27.4 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 12-5 ATS (+17.0 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
MINNESOTA is 11-5 ATS (+16.8 Units) after a division game this season.
EDMONTON is 18-43 ATS (+67.7 Units) in all games this season.
EDMONTON is 8-17 ATS (+31.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
EDMONTON is 9-30 ATS (+39.6 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
EDMONTON is 7-22 ATS (+39.4 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
EDMONTON is 6-21 ATS (+34.7 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
EDMONTON is 3-19 ATS (+22.4 Units) second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 11-6 (+4.1 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 11-6-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
9 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.4 Units)
NEW JERSEY (38-21-0-3, 79 pts.) at CALGARY (30-24-0-9, 69 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NEW JERSEY is 91-59 ATS (+13.1 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 21-8 ATS (+8.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
CALGARY is 29-33 ATS (-11.5 Units) in all games this season.
CALGARY is 0-4 ATS (-5.1 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
CALGARY is 13-18 ATS (-9.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CALGARY is 1-8 ATS (-9.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
CALGARY is 7-16 ATS (-18.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
CALGARY is 6-12 ATS (-10.7 Units) on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
CALGARY is 4-8 ATS (-9.2 Units) in home games after a division game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 2-0 (+2.2 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY is 2-0-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.0 Units)
NASHVILLE vs. DETROIT
Nashville is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Nashville's last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Detroit's last 8 games when playing Nashville
Detroit is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Nashville
PHILADELPHIA vs. BUFFALO
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 7 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
Philadelphia is 5-14-1 SU in its last 20 games ,when playing on the road against Buffalo
Buffalo is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Buffalo's last 16 games when playing Philadelphia
VANCOUVER vs. CHICAGO
Vancouver is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
Vancouver is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Vancouver
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games
MINNESOTA vs. EDMONTON
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Minnesota's last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Edmonton's last 6 games
Edmonton is 3-16 SU in its last 19 games at home
NEW JERSEY vs. CALGARY
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New Jersey's last 8 games when playing on the road against Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Calgary's last 8 games when playing at home against New Jersey
Calgary is 1-3-4 SU in its last 8 games ,when playing at home against New Jersey
PHILADELPHIA at BUFFALO
PHILADELPHIA: 3-9 SU when playing their 3rd game in 4 days
BUFFALO: 10-1 SU at home after scoring 2 or less in 2 straight
NASHVILLE at DETROIT
NASHVILLE: 10-3 SU revenging a road loss
DETROIT: 2-5 SU at home in March
VANCOUVER at CHICAGO
VANCOUVER: 11-2 SU after 2+ consecutive overs
CHICAGO: 36-52 SU at home on Friday
MINNESOTA at EDMONTON
MINNESOTA: 12-5 SU versus division opponents
EDMONTON: 3-19 SU second half of the season
NEW JERSEY at CALGARY
NEW JERSEY: 7-0 SU after 2+ consecutive overs
CALGARY: 2-9 SU after 6+ consecutive unders
Hot Teams
-- Flyers won five of their last six games.
-- Predators won three of their last four games.
-- Blackhawks won four of their last five games. Vancouver won its last four games, scoring 17 goals.
Cold Teams
-- Sabres lost eight of their last nine games.
-- Red Wings lost five of their last seven games.
-- Oilers lost six of their last seven games. Minnesota lost seven of its last nine road games.
-- Devils lost six of their last seven road games. Flames lost four of their last five games.
Totals
-- Under is 4-1-1 in last six Buffalo games.
-- Three of last four Detroit games stayed under the total. Nashville's last three games all went over.
-- Last four Chicago games all went over the total.
-- Last four Minnesota games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 7-0-1 in last eight Calgary games. Last three New Jersey games all went over.
Playing second of back-to-back nights
-- Nashville is 6-4 if it played night before, 3-1 if it won.
Series Records
-- Sabres won last two games against the Flyers, after losing previous five games in the series.
-- Predators lost six of last eight visits to Detroit.
-- Cancuks are 8-4 in their last dozen visits to Chicago.
-- Home side won all three Minnesota-Edmonton games this season.
-- Devils won last two games against Calgary, 1-0/3-2.