Sunday's Best NHL Bets
St. Louis Blues at New York Rangers
St. Louis extended its surprising record to 8-1-2 with a shootout win over Boston on Saturday night.
The Blues are doing it with youth following the departures of Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya during the offseason, and the youth has given rise to a wave of momentum.
“Everyone has a voice now,” said defenseman Erik Johnson, 22. (Tkachuk and Kariya) were such key veterans and they had been around, so we would just let them do all the talking and if we were down a couple of goals we expected them to pick up the slack. Now it's been turned over to the younger group."
A big part of that group is goalie Jaroslav Halak, 25. Halak is 8-2 this season and has not lost a game in regulation. He made 33 saves while allowing just one goal in Saturday’s win over the Bruins.
Pick: Blues
Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals
Something has to give when the Flyers visit the Capitals on Sunday. Philadelphia (9-4-1) is 5-0 in its last five and Washington (9-4-0) is 6-1 at home this season.
Despite their impressive record, the Capitals made recent news in the goaltending department. Michal Neuvirth was pulled with 10 minutes to go in Friday’s 5-3 win over Boston after he gave up a 3-0 lead. Coach Bruce Boudreau, however, assured that Neuvirth will be back in the net against Philly.
"He's been so good for us," Boudreau said.. "We wouldn't have the record we have right now if it wasn't for him. I said, 'Don't worry about it.’”
"He's like the Chris Pronger in net. He gets things done and he makes it look effortless that's pretty tough to do as a goaltender," said defenseman Karl Alzner.
Neuvirth is 8-3 with a 2.41 GAA and a .914 save percentage in 2010.
Pick: Capitals
Blackhawks to Be Significant Favorites On NHL Odds Over Oilers
By: Adam Markowitz
The Hawks are the defending Stanley Cup champs and are expected to win the Central Division once again. The Oilers are just going to be happy to even remotely contend for a playoff spot this year. On the eve of their Sunday night clash in the Windy City, neither team is living up to its expectations.
Edmonton has lost eight of its last night games going into this weekend, and it only has four points to show for those nine games. The Oilers are three points back of the field in the Western Conference with just eight points on the season. To make matters worse, this stop in the Windy City is the first of a five game road trip with stops coming in Carolina, Detroit, New Jersey, and New York before coming home. Needless to say, things are probably getting worse before they get better.
The Oilers continue to trust G Nikolai Khabibulin in net this year due to the fact that they really don't have anyone else that they can really stick between the pipes. The man who once single handedly led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup has been awful this year, going just 3-7-1 with a 3.31 GAA and a dreadful .900 save percentage.
Edmonton ranks dead last in the NHL in killing penalties at just 69.2 percent. The Oilers are allowing 34.1 shots per game and 3.5 goals per game, ranking No. 26 and No. 27 in the NHL respectively. The team hasn't held a foe under three goals in an outing since October 10 against the Florida Panthers.
Offensively, scoring just under three goals per game is very respectable, but no one on the team has yet to reach double digits in points this year. Center Shawn Horcroff leads the squad with four goals and has nine points to tie D Ryan Whitney for the team high.
On the other side of the ice, something is definitely wrong with the Blackhawks. They're just a .500 team right now, and in spite of the fact that they have played anywhere between three and five games more than anyone else in the division, they are just in fourth place with 15 points entering play on Saturday night.
Chicago makes a stop in the Peach State to tango with the Atlanta Thrashers before coming back home to take on the Oilers.
Goaltender Marty Turco just isn't playing as well as his predecessor Antti Niemi. Turco has a 2.70 GAA and a .913 save percentage this year.
Some of the offensive stars are shining, but not all of them have really come to play. Center Patrick Sharp has ten goals and six assists, while RW Marian Hossa has seven goals and four assists. However, Sharp has a -10 on the season, one of the worst +/- marks in the NHL, while Hossa is out of the lineup with an upper body injury. Center Jonathan Toews, arguably the most important man in the run towards the Stanley Cup last year, only has lit the lamp three times in 15 games this year.
The Oilers are just 3-13 in their last 16 games against Central Division teams, while the Blackhawks are 40-19 in their last 59 against the Northwest Division. Chicago is 38-17 in its last 55 games here at the United Center. The road team has won six of the last eight meetings, including when the Oilers won 7-4 here at the United Center back on October 29.
We expect Chicago to open up as a hefty favorite on the NHL odds this Sunday, just as it was when Edmonton came up with the plus 210 upset just over a week ago.