NHL picks: 4 best bets for Friday
Chris Peters makes four money line picks for Friday night's NHL action.
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Wild to beat Jets
Friday marks the second meeting between the Jets and the Wild with the first coming more than a month ago. The Wild won that goal parade, 6-5, in overtime. The game should have left a sour taste in the mouths of the Jets as they held a 5-3 lead in the third period before the Wild stormed back and Joel Eriksson Ek scored the game-tying and game-winning goals.
The Jets have been one of the most maddeningly inconsistent teams in the NHL this season. They’re currently in the midst of a four-game winless streak and have lost six of their last nine games, including a 3-0 shutout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
The Wild, meanwhile, have the ninth best record in the NHL currently, are 5-2-0 at home this season, and 10th best in the league based on points percentage. They will be without team captain Jared Spurgeon in the game as he’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
This will be the first game of a five-game homestand for Minnesota and now they have a chance to extend their lead on the Central Division against a team that has just two road wins in nine games.
Ducks to beat Senators
The Sens have been in a spiral pretty much all season. With just four wins and points in just five of 17 games this season, it’s hard to see where they’re going to pick up points, especially on this four-game Western road swing.
No team has allowed more goals on a per-game basis than the 3.82 the Sens have given up. Meanwhile, the Anaheim Ducks are top 10 in the NHL in goals for per game with 3.25. It could be a long night for Ottawa.
Anaheim is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, although they’ve had a tough stretch of schedule. The Ducks have to make sure they’re picking up points wherever they can get them to stay in the playoff hunt this season.
The Sens just haven’t managed to put up a good enough fight on a consistent basis to pick any team other than the Ducks to win this one.
Sabres to beat Canadiens
In a battle of two of the league’s worst teams, this one is a bit of a toss-up. Neither team has been inspiring confidence very much lately. Buffalo has lost four straight, while Montreal has lost five of its last six. As two of the NHL’s leakiest teams, this also may be a game worth exploring betting the over.
Montreal is dealing with some extra injuries at the moment, while the Sabres are missing top starter Craig Anderson. Dustin Tokarski has done well this season, however, despite being below league average.
This game feels more like a toss-up than any of the others, but Montreal has won just one of 10 games on the road so far. I’ll give the nod to the Sabres based on home-ice, but this game probably won’t be overly pretty.
Maple Leafs to beat Sharks
Toronto continues to surge, while the Sharks have sat towards the end of the middle of the pack in the league.
San Jose does have a recent 2-1 OT win over the Carolina Hurricanes that served as a good reminder that even as teams struggle they can be a significant threat to the league’s top clubs. The Leafs don’t really need that reminder, though, as they lost to the Sharks 5-3 at home during their early-season swoon.
The Maple Leafs, however, have looked like an entirely different team since then. They’ve won 12 of their last 14 games and their top players continue to drive their success. Meanwhile, Jack Campbell’s goaltending has been a huge difference maker for Toronto as he continues to grow into a true No. 1 in the NHL. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have been top-10 scorers in the month of November with 15 and 14 points, respectively, in 12 games.
The momentum Toronto is riding right now is eventually going to run out, but I don’t think it will be happening on this Western road swing.
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