NHL weekend betting preview: Habs host streaking Blues
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Happy Thanksgiving, Canada. And a happy Columbus Day to Americans.
The long weekend treats us to an extra-busy NHL schedule, including a handful of Monday matinees. Enjoy the holiday, and here's to making it a profitable one.
Game betting
Anaheim Ducks at Columbus Blue Jackets (Friday)
No strangers to a Friday night home game, the Blue Jackets are typically stingy in these contests. Eight of the last nine have gone under the total (one push), while they've lost seven of 10. With John Gibson in town, a low-scoring Ducks win warrants a long look.
Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks (Saturday)
If there's one thing the Jets and Blackhawks do well, it's score goals. Neither team puts much of an emphasis on keeping them out. The four meetings between them last season produced 34 goals, with at least seven in each game. You would be wise to give the over strong consideration.
St. Louis Blues at Montreal Canadiens (Saturday)
There's a reason Carey Price has earned the nickname "Mr. Saturday Night." The Canadiens goalie thrives on Hockey Night in Canada, especially at the Bell Centre. He should be locked in for a visit from the Stanley Cup champion Blues, guiding the Habs to another Saturday night win.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings (Saturday)
It's Leafs and Red Wings on HNIC. Both teams have been scoring for fun early in the season, but 10 of their last 12 meetings in Motown have gone under 5.5 goals. Six of them have gone under 4.5. Toronto should emphasize bouncing back defensively after allowing seven goals to the Lightning. With a high total projected for Saturday night, this is a great spot to get in on the under.
Philadelphia Flyers at Vancouver Canucks (Saturday)
The Canucks haven't enjoyed the best start to the season, but they're in a great spot Saturday as they play their second contest of a three-game homestand that spans 11 days. The Flyers are hardly as lucky - they fly back from their season opener in Prague for a solitary home game before having to fly across the country and north of the border for this one. That much travel in a short span borders on cruel. Back Vancouver.
Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks (Sunday)
It's a daunting weekend for the Flames, who visit Vegas on Saturday and then immediately fly to San Jose for a date with the Sharks. San Jose got the monkey off its back by defeating the Blackhawks on Thursday night, and Patrick Marleau looks 25 again. I get the sense the Sharks are about to hit their stride. They're too good not to.
Anaheim Ducks at Boston Bruins (Monday, 1 p.m. ET)
Over the past three seasons, the Ducks are 3-10 in away games after playing a back-to-back, which they have Thursday-Friday against Pittsburgh and Columbus. Making matters worse for Anaheim is an early start against the Bruins, with puck drop scheduled for 10 a.m. PT.
Game props
Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks (Saturday)
Not only are a lot of goals scored when these teams meet, but it tends to happen early: Of the 34 goals across their four matchups last season, the highest percentage of them came in the first period (12). Hit the over in the opening 20 minutes here and don't look back.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings (Saturday)
This is another spot to double down. The last 12 meetings between these teams in Detroit produced just eight first-period goals. Under 1.5, anyone?
Columbus Blue Jackets at Carolina Hurricanes (Saturday)
Both of these teams play Friday and Saturday. The Hurricanes are on a 12-1 run in the second game of a home back-to-back, while the Blue Jackets were 0-5 last season on the road when playing at home the night before. Lower the likely juice on the Canes here by taking them to win in regulation.
Calgary Flames at Vegas Golden Knights (Saturday)
The Flames have never won in Vegas and have four goals in four visits. They were shut out twice by the Golden Knights. Take their team total under and their alternate team total under 1.5 if you're feeling especially frisky.
Player props
Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres (Friday)
Aleksander Barkov is still looking for his first goal in the infant stages of the season and you know an explosion is coming soon. Back the Panthers sophomore as he faces a Sabres team he put up eight points on (four goals, four assists) in four games last season.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings (Saturday)
Keep riding Auston Matthews to score in October. He's up to 31 goals in 37 October games in his career, more than he has in any other month by far. He will run cold soon - he always does - but take him Saturday; he has 10 goals in 11 career contests against the Red Wings.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Carolina Hurricanes (Saturday)
The Andrei Svechnikov breakout is upon us. I promise. He's yet to find the back of the net but he has been buzzing, with six assists through Carolina's first four games. He's driving play and it's a matter of time before the goals follow. Against a Blue Jackets team that's conceding goals in bunches, back Svech to get on the scoresheet.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.