Sunday's Best NHL Bets
Ottawa Senators at New York Islanders (+130, 5.5)
The Senators are still riding the momentum of their biggest win of the season, out-gunning the powerful Washington Capitals 6-5 at home Thursday night.
While Ottawa managed to keep the Caps at bay in that contest, goaltender Brian Elliott gave up a few soft goals that allowed Washington to get back into the game.
Elliott turned away 19 shots for his 21st win of the year, but revealed a chink in his armor as the Capitals scored just about every time they went high on the young goalkeeper.
New York falls short in the firepower department when compared to Washington. In fact, the Isles have been an under bettor’s dream in recent weeks. They’re averaging just 1.6 goals per game in their past 10 contests and have scored one goal or fewer in half of those outings.
However, New York has pushed the Senators to the limit in their two meetings this season, losing both games 3-2 in additional frames. With Ottawa away from Scotiabank Place and coming off a tough game against Detroit Saturday, the Islanders are in a prime spot to cool off one of the NHL’s hottest teams.
Pick: New York
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers
Friday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins came at a cost for the New York Rangers.
They watched leading scorer Marian Gaborik leave the ice after playing just four minutes. Gaborik was nursing a cut on his right finger following a collision with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in practice earlier in the week.
The Rangers also lost defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who ran into Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin along the boards and fell on a skate. The team told reporters Del Zotto suffered a “significant laceration” on his abdomen.
"I tried not to look at it. Apparently it was pretty gross," Del Zotto told the New York Daily News. "I saw the gauze after; it was a lot of gauze, a lot of blood. I just tried not to look. "
A shorthanded New York squad faces a Tampa Bay team that had its four-game winning streak snapped Thursday and is coming off a game against the Islanders Saturday. The Lightning has won seven of its last 10 games heading into the weekend.
Pick: Tampa Bay
NASHVILLE (32-23-0-5, 69 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (36-22-0-3, 75 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 36-13 ATS (+18.3 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 56-19 ATS (+25.7 Units) in home games second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 34-20 ATS (+11.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 31-28 ATS (+60.2 Units) in all games this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NASHVILLE is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
NASHVILLE is 1-0-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.0 Units)
TAMPA BAY (26-22-0-11, 63 pts.) at NY RANGERS (27-27-0-7, 61 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 7-3 (+2.8 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 7-3-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.5 Units)
VANCOUVER (37-21-0-2, 76 pts.) at MINNESOTA (29-27-0-4, 62 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 17-6 ATS (+23.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
VANCOUVER is 145-135 ATS (+291.4 Units) in road games second half of the season since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 108-79 ATS (+190.7 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
MINNESOTA is 4-10 ATS (-11.3 Units) in home games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 11-6 (+5.3 Units) against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 11-7-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
9 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.3 Units)
CHICAGO (39-15-0-5, 83 pts.) at COLUMBUS (25-28-0-9, 59 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 205-241 ATS (-89.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
COLUMBUS is 47-41 ATS (+104.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
CHICAGO is 119-122 ATS (+271.8 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
COLUMBUS is 25-37 ATS (-56.4 Units) in all games this season.
COLUMBUS is 9-23 ATS (-16.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 10-7 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 10-7-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
12 of 17 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.3 Units)
OTTAWA (35-22-0-4, 74 pts.) at NY ISLANDERS (24-29-0-7, 55 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
OTTAWA is 55-55 ATS (-27.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.
OTTAWA is 35-26 ATS (+6.9 Units) in all games this season.
OTTAWA is 14-6 ATS (+20.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 5-5 (+2.6 Units) against the spread versus OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
NY ISLANDERS is 5-5-0 straight up against OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.7 Units)
ANAHEIM (29-25-0-6, 64 pts.) at EDMONTON (19-35-0-6, 44 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 15-8 ATS (+24.8 Units) on Sunday games over the last 3 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 13-7 ATS (+20.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
ANAHEIM is 37-26 ATS (+68.5 Units) in road games on Sunday games since 1996.
EDMONTON is 18-40 ATS (-36.3 Units) in all games this season.
EDMONTON is 22-35 ATS (+64.7 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 3-16 ATS (+34.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 9-27 ATS (+38.7 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
EDMONTON is 5-4 (+3.6 Units) against the spread versus ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
EDMONTON is 5-4-0 straight up against ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.7 Units)
NASHVILLE at PITTSBURGH
NASHVILLE: 17-8 SU playing their 4th game in 7 days
PITTSBURGH: 4-8 SU vs. Nashville
TAMPA BAY at NY RANGERS
TAMPA BAY: N/A
NY RANGERS: N/A
VANCOUVER at MINNESOTA
VANCOUVER: 6-2 SU at Minnesota
MINNESOTA: 4-10 SU at home off non-conf game
CHICAGO at COLUMBUS
CHICAGO: 14-2 SU off 2 straight home games
COLUMBUS: 7-16 SU playing with in-season revenge
OTTAWA at NY ISLANDERS
OTTAWA: 7-21 SU Away after scoring 1 goal or less
NY ISLANDERS: 5-0 SU off game where both teams scored 4+ goals
ANAHEIM at EDMONTON
ANAHEIM: 45-33 SU off road game
EDMONTON: 2-18 SU playing with in season revenge
NASHVILLE vs. PITTSBURGH
Nashville is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Nashville's last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 1-6-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Nashville
Pittsburgh is 2-2-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Nashville
TAMPA BAY vs. NY RANGERS
Tampa Bay is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing NY Rangers
NY Rangers are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the NY Rangers last 7 games at home
VANCOUVER vs. MINNESOTA
Vancouver is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 6 games
Minnesota is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Vancouver
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games when playing Vancouver
CHICAGO vs. COLUMBUS
Chicago is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games on the road
Columbus is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 7 games when playing Chicago
OTTAWA vs. NY ISLANDERS
Ottawa is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Ottawa's last 5 games on the road
NY Islanders are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Islanders last 5 games at home
ANAHEIM vs. EDMONTON
Anaheim is 5-11 SU in its last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 6 games on the road
Edmonton is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Anaheim
Edmonton is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games when playing at home against Anaheim