Friday's Best NHL Bets
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers (-150, 5.5)
The Rangers are battling for a playoff spot with just two games left on their schedule. Both of those games, starting Friday, come against the Philadelphia Flyers, who sit two points ahead of New York in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers' desperation has been evident in recent games. They are 4-1 in their last five outings, most recently knocking off the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1, Wednesday night. Had New York lost to the Leafs, it would have been eliminated from postseason contention.
"A lot of people thought we were dead," head coach John Tortorella told TSN. "But we just come out and play. That's all we can do."
The Rangers’ offense has been firing on all cylinders during this late-season push, scoring a total of 18 goals in the team’s last four wins. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist also has performed well in those wins. He stopped 25 shots in the victory over Toronto for his 34th win of the season.
Against the Flyers, the Rangers are 2-2 this year with a win in their most recent contest. New York defeated Philadelphia 3-1 back in mid March, getting 17 saves from Lundqvist.
Pick: New York
Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche (125, 5.5)
The young Blackhawks are rounding into playoff mode thanks to a five-game winning streak heading into Friday night.
Chicago’s most recent victory was 6-5 goal fest against the feisty St. Louis Blues in which the Blackhawks allowed three third-period goals but held on for the narrow win.
"That wasn't the way we wanted to play in the third, but I think throughout the first two periods we came out strong," winger Kris Versteeg told the Chicago Tribune. "We were maybe a little bit fatigued there, but that's definitely not the way we want to finish off."
While Chicago was thankful for the victory, it did suffer a loss in the form of star forward Marian Hossa. The gun-for-hire left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. Hossa has played just 55 games this year due to ailments, scoring 24 goals and adding 26 assists.
"It's nothing serious," coach Joel Quenneville told the media. "He should be OK."
With just two games remaining on the schedule and Chicago tied with the San Jose Sharks for the top spot in the West and home-ice throughout the conference playoffs, the Blackhawks are faced with the tough choice of going hard or easing up to make sure no more key players go down. Bettors must also consider Friday’s game as a dangerous look-ahead spot, with the rival Detroit Red Wings waiting for Chitown in the season finale.
Pick: Colorado
DETROIT (42-24-0-14, 98 pts.) at COLUMBUS (32-35-0-14, 78 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 16-7 (+3.1 Units) against the spread versus COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 16-7-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
12 of 20 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.7 Units)
PHILADELPHIA (40-34-0-6, 86 pts.) at NY RANGERS (37-33-0-10, 84 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 41-40 ATS (-14.1 Units) in all games this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 14-21 ATS (-14.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NY RANGERS are 12-16 ATS (-6.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
NY RANGERS are 135-152 ATS (-89.6 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
NY RANGERS are 79-91 ATS (-62.9 Units) in home games vs. division opponents since 1996.
NY RANGERS are 64-74 ATS (-46.7 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more since 1996.
NY RANGERS are 71-87 ATS (-71.3 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 11-7 (+3.9 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 11-7-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
9 of 18 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.3 Units, Under=-1.4 Units)
ATLANTA (34-33-0-13, 81 pts.) at WASHINGTON (53-16-0-11, 117 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 13-6 (+5.2 Units) against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 13-6-0 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
11 of 19 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.1 Units)
ANAHEIM (38-32-0-9, 85 pts.) at ST LOUIS (39-32-0-9, 87 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 80-86 ATS (-52.1 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 49-40 ATS (+92.6 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 15-8 ATS (+23.8 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
ST LOUIS is 30-27 ATS (+62.7 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 25-12 ATS (+11.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 52-44 ATS (+1.9 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 11-19 ATS (+30.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 7-4 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 7-4-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.0 Units)
CHICAGO (51-22-0-7, 109 pts.) at COLORADO (43-29-0-8, 94 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 43-37 ATS (-10.3 Units) in all games this season.
COLORADO is 30-28 ATS (+1.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 124-128 ATS (+280.7 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
CHICAGO is 14-4 ATS (+9.0 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 51-24 ATS (+18.8 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 74-56 ATS (+14.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 1-8 ATS (+9.3 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs this season.
COLORADO is 78-78 ATS (-24.3 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 7-4 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 7-4-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.6 Units)
ATLANTA vs. WASHINGTON
Atlanta is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
DETROIT vs. COLUMBUS
Detroit is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Columbus
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Columbus's last 18 games when playing Detroit
Columbus is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games when playing Detroit
PHILADELPHIA vs. NY RANGERS
Philadelphia is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games on the road
NY Rangers are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 6 games at home
ANAHEIM vs. ST. LOUIS
Anaheim is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing Anaheim
St. Louis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
CHICAGO vs. COLORADO
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 6-17-2 SU in its last 25 games ,when playing on the road against Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 7 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Colorado's last 10 games
DETROIT at COLUMBUS
DETROIT: N/A
COLUMBUS: N/A
PHILADELPHIA at NY RANGERS
PHILADELPHIA: 6-16 SU revenging a same season loss
NY RANGERS: 10-3 SU after scoring 5+ goals
ATLANTA at WASHINGTON
ATLANTA: N/A
WASHINGTON: N/A
ANAHEIM at ST LOUIS
ANAHEIM: 8-23 SU as a road underdog of +100 to +200
ST LOUIS: 9-1 SU off a road division loss
CHICAGO at COLORADO
CHICAGO: 14-4 SU in April
COLORADO: 1-8 SU after 3+ consecutive overs
Hot Teams
-- Red Wings won eight of their last ten games.
-- Rangers won four of their last five games. Flyers won their last two games, 4-3/2-0, after losing eight of previous nine games.
-- Washington won last four games, allowing total of eight goals.
-- Blues won five of their last seven games.
-- Blackhawks won last five games, scoring 21 goals.
Cold Teams
-- Blue Jackets lost last four games, all by one goal.
-- Thrashers lost six of their last eight games.
-- Ducks lost last two games, 5-4so/3-2.
-- Avalanche lost five of their last seven games.
Totals
-- Four of last five Columbus games stayed under the total. Six of last eight Detroit games went over.
-- Five of last seven Ranger-Philly games stayed under the total.
-- Eight of last nine Atlanta games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last eight Anaheim games stayed under the total.
-- Nine of last ten Colorado games went over the total.
Playing second of back-to-back nights
-- Anaheim lost last five times they played the night before.
Series Records
-- Red Wings won nine of last ten games against Columbus.
-- Rangers won five of last seven against Philadelphia.
-- Thrashers lost their last seven games against Washington.
-- Ducks won four of last five games against St Louis.
-- Blackhawks lost three of last four visits to Denver.