Will the Avalanche win their fourth consecutive game when they visit the Utah Hockey Club tonight? Can the Bruins pull off the upset at home versus the Stars? Will the Jets stay unbeaten when they visit the Kraken? Check out our NHL Thursday Predictions & Best Bets.
Wednesday NHL Best Bets Recap
There was only one game on Wednesday’s NHL slate, as the Capitals hosted the Flyers. My recommendation was to back the red-hot Caps (-140), who hammered Philadelphia, 6-3. The win improved my season record to 20-21 but unfortunately, a $100.00 bettor would still be down -$513.00.
Let’s see if we can can’t cut into this deficit tonight.
Thursday NHL Prediction: Boston Bruins +105, 7:00 p.m. ET
The Stars are 5-2 on the season and of course I was on them for both losses. I can’t seem to figure Dallas out to start the season, so perhaps take this selection with a grain of salt.
Nevertheless, the Bruins have owned the Stars in previous meetings between the two teams. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 meetings with Dallas overall, which includes a four-game winning streak versus the Stars. These two teams played twice last season and the Bruins won both matchups. Granted, the games were close (Boston won 4-3 in a shootout at home and 3-2 at Dallas), but the Bruins continue to have the Stars’ number.
Thursday NHL Prediction: Winnipeg Jets (-130), 10:00 p.m. ET
Winnipeg is a f*cking wagon right now. Just hop on and enjoy the ride if you’re a bettor. They fell behind 1-0 to the Blues the other night in St. Louis, but rallied for a 3-2 victory. The Jets didn’t do much in the victory – just let the Blues beat themselves. That said, I find that to be the mark of a good team (see Chiefs, Kansas City).
Not only are the Jets 6-0 to start the season, they’ve also had plenty of success versus the Kraken. They’re 7-2 in their last nine meetings with Seattle, which included a 2-1 record last season versus the Jets. The Kraken had been hot, but they saw their win streak end at the hands of the Avalanche on Tuesday night. They’ve mustered only four goals in their last two games and now face a Winnipeg team with some of the top goal prevention in the league.
Thursday NHL Prediction: Colorado Avalanche (-135), 9:00 p.m. ET
I backed the Avalanche on the road the other night in Seattle because I felt as though the club was starting to turn things around. The feeling proved to be correct, as the Aves handed the Kraken a 3-2 loss and ended Seattle’s modest three-game winning streak. I’m going back to the well with the Aves again tonight.
Since losing four straight games to start the season, the Aves have rattled off three consecutive wins. Granted, two of those victories came against the Sharks and Ducks – the two worst teams in the NHL. Still, the key for me is that Colorado held those two teams to a combined four goals. Goal prevention was a major issue for the Aves to start the season but over their three-game winning streak, the Aves have held every opponent to three or fewer goals.
As for Utah, the Hockey Club got off to a great start, winning their first three games and putting up big offensive numbers (they scored a whopping 16 goals over that span). That said, the wheels have fallen off. They’ve dropped three out of their last four games and were shutout in two of those contests.