NHL Picks and Analysis as Teams Look Ahead to a Busy Week

NHL Schedule Breakdown

Let us do this first in terms of game allotment. 

• Monday – 4
• Tuesday – 10
• Wednesday – 4
• Thursday – 12

Again, the good news is each slate has at least four games. The bad news is a few teams have some gaps in their schedule. Keep that in mind. 

Then, some teams play back-to-backs, and also below, we look at any three games in four-night scenarios. 

• Seattle (Monday, Tuesday)
• San Jose (Tuesday, Wednesday)
• Toronto (Wednesday, Thursday)
• Nashville (Wednesday, Thursday)

Also, Seattle and Nashville are the only two teams that play three games in four nights. The Kraken starts in Montreal, with additional stops in Buffalo and Boston. Nashville heads to Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. 

What To Look Forward To Early This Week

There are no excuses. Every team is rested, and fewer back-to-backs in this early portion of the week. Some teams, like New Jersey, get extra rest as they prep to go out west over the weekend. Toronto enjoys Monday and Tuesday off but does play Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 

One of the bigger games on Tuesday is New Jersey versus Carolina. The Devils play better on the road, and Carolina can score and give up goals with the best of them. After their recent streak, the Hurricanes returned to earth a bit. The two teams last met on New Year's Day in Newark, a 5-4 shootout. Could it happen again?

If there is good news for the New Jersey Devils, they are 12-2-1 on the road this season. What effect does that stirring comeback on Saturday against the rival Rangers have this week?

The New York Rangers have an intriguing start to the week, taking on the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars. Both teams are more than capable of pushing the Rangers - notably the Dallas Stars (leaders of the Central Division). 

Even the Pittsburgh Penguins play in what could be one of the wilder games of the week. Vancouver brings its circus of goals every time it plays lately. While this is not San Jose-level Overs hitting, the Canucks often score and allow scores a lot. Keep an eye on this game in this higher-scoring age of the NHL. Could it go to 7.0 with ease? Yes.

More About Thursday Night

Though Nashville and Toronto should be intriguing on Wednesday, Thursday night has some good matchups. Winnipeg heads to Buffalo. The Sabres find themselves in the wild card playoff hunt after a bout of solid play. Can Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson continue to wreak havoc against the Jets and Connor Hellebuyck? 

Thursday’s schedule has Seattle continuing their road trip in Boston. The Kraken limit opportunities pretty well but have a bottom third-ranked penalty kill and still allow quite a few goals. Boston has a 30-goal scorer in David Pastrnak. The Bruins will be on three days' rest while Seattle is fatigued. Stay away from the Moneyline and look to props and other spreads.

We just remembered about two sputtering teams in Calgary and St. Louis. The Blues have been riddled with injuries, while the Flames are sometimes a riddle. Despite some well-documented flameouts, both teams have had solid stretches in their last 10 games. Jacob Markstrom and Jordan Binnington have endured some misadventures in net, too. It could be a wild way to end one’s Thursday night of wagering. 

Some Quick Points To Be Mindful Of

• Does Carolina continue to slide a bit this week?
• Detroit remains another team to pick on and feast.
• Canucks-Penguins Over 7 is possible for Tuesday.
• Keep hammering Erik Karlsson props along with Tage Thompson.
• Boston does not play until Thursday night against Seattle. New Jersey is off from Tuesday until late Friday.

Good luck, and once again, thanks for reading! We will have a few more plays on social media as conditions warrant.

Thanks to BetMGM for their great early-week lines and TSN for the easy-to-follow segmented schedule.