Media by Associated Press – Players scuffle during the third period of an NHL hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the Minnesota Wild, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
After a busy weekend, the NHL schedule will take a bit of a breather this weekend. There are only four games available to bet on, but feature some interesting matchups between teams that need to grab points to improve their position in the playoff race. Here’s a look at three games to bet on for Monday night.
Florida Panthers at New York Rangers (-137)
The Rangers have been involved in a lot of grinding low scoring hockey games as of late. New York’s last four games have gone under the total. The Rangers have the punch on offense to play whatever style they need to, but New York has rallied around its defense at times this season.
The Rangers are fourth in the league in goals allowed, only giving up 2.6 per game. New York is able to do that by limiting opportunities other teams have in front of its goaltender. The Rangers only allow 29.1 shots per game on net, which ranks seventh in the league.
Florida has fought its way back into playoff contention after a slow start. The Panthers are three points behind Pittsburgh for the final Wild Card spot. Florida’s second in the league in shots on net by averaging 35.3 and is ninth in goals scored at 3.3 per game. The Rangers are really good at home and should be able to steal a close victory.
New York Islanders at Toronto Maple Leafs (-230)
The Islanders had played well enough to briefly move into the final Wild Card spot. However, New York has crashed hard since then, losing eight of its past ten games. While the Islanders went to overtime in three of those eight losses to earn points, New York is trending in the wrong direction.
The Islanders’ offense has had its share of issues scoring, only putting up 2.9 goals per game, which ranks 24th in the league. New York also has a weak power play, which only converts on 16.7 percent of its opportunities. The Maple Leafs are a distant second place behind Boston in what is a pretty weak Atlantic Division.
Toronto has won six of its past ten games. The Maple Leafs have been good on defense and only allow 2.6 goals per game. Toronto will extend New York’s slide to five games.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Calgary Flames under 6.5
The Blue Jackets have been horrendous on the road this season. Columbus is 3-15-1 outside of Ohio and hasn’t been scoring many goals wherever it has played this season. The Blue Jackets only convert 14.3 percent of their power-play opportunities and allow opponents to score 2.5 goals per game.
The Flames have been excellent defensively. Calgary only allows its opponents to get 27.9 shots on goals per game. The Flames also only allow 3.0 goals per game. Calgary has also killed off 82.1 percent of opponents power plays.
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