Its one of the few times a year when the NHL gets the limelight all to themselves on Wednesday, with no NBA, MLB or NFL to speak of, all eyes will be on the Hockey league and we have you covered with previews and betting tips for some of the key matchups on Wednesday, the 22nd of February.
Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers (11.00am AEDT)
Montreal will travel to Madison Square Garden as they try to break a three game losing streak. Montreal still lead the Atlantic division, but only just ahead of Ottawa and Boston. The forwards have dropped off as of late, in the past eight games they have only scored 11 goals and five of them coming from a victory over Arizona. Sunday's game, Winnipeg put on 15 shots to 6 in the first period to fans dislike but Montreal were to score first but then gave up two goals in the third to slump to their third straight defeat. Montreal are 13-12-4 on the road this season and will start Carey Price in this blockbuster.
The Rangers beat the best team in the league in Washington in a tight 2-1 win at Madison Square on Monday. New York now have won seven of the past eight including five straight at home. Defense has been the key, goal tender Lundqvist is 9-2-0 over his last 11 games and had 32 saves to get the win over the Caps. The Rangers still have terrific offense ranked second in the league for goals, and first in the league for shooting percentage. Both teams have met twice this season and share the points.
Last time MTL 5-4
TIP: New York Rangers- 60 min result - $2.08 at Sportsbet
New York Islanders at Detroit Red Wings (11.30am AEDT)
The Islanders had an offensive battle against the Devils scoring six goals to get the 6-4 win at home. Ryan Strome was impressive with two goals and an assist, and veterans John Taveres and Jason Chimera also scoring. The Islanders are still in playoff reach and will continue to push for a spot if they can keep keep performing like they are at home. They are 9-0-2 in their previous 11 and have certainly turned the tables after almost sitting last in the Eastern Conference during the season, but they need some away wins to keep in touch. They are 7-13-4 on the road this season, and are running into a team who have just beat the Caps and Penguins on consecutive matches.
Detroit have been impressive in their last two games thanks to outstanding performance from Petr Mrazek. Mrazek allowed only four goals past the pads against the two top teams in the Metropolitan League and is giving fans something to cheer about in a depleted season. He will rest against the Islanders and will give backup goalie Jared Coreau (5-3-3) a crack to win three straight for the team. Detroit have shown a little more urgency in the past two games as they try to climb from bottom position. They have shown fight with the forecheck in the defensive zone and against the Pens they found other sources to score. Tomas Vanek and Tomas Tatar have been big the last two games and the defense will get a boost this game with Mike Green set to return from injury.
Last time Det 5-4
TIP: Detroit Red Wings- Line 1.5 - $3.75 at Crownbet
Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild (12.00pm AEDT)
In the game of the day, Chicago travel to Minnesota to take on the Western Conference leaders and the central division rivals. Chicago are seven points behind the Wild but have are comfortable in second position. After a home defeat at the hands of Edmonton, the Blackhawks backed up the following day to beat Buffalo 5-1 on the road. This game will feel like a playoff game to Chicago and they will be confident they can scrape over the line. Just over two weeks ago both teams met with Chicago getting over the line, but if we look at the last nine meeting between these two, the Wild are 8-0-1 and at home could quite possibly make it 9-0-1. Chicago are 18-10-1 on the road this season and have found the way to win again after dropping eight straight before knocking off the Wild 4-3.
The Wild don't drop many games at home and are 21-7-1 throughout the regular season. All Star Devon Dubnyk will start with 1.97 GAA and five shutouts for the season. In the past five games the Wild are 4-1-0 and will be hoping for a victory here before their have a five day break.
Last time Chi 4-3
TIP: Double Result- Draw/Minnesota Wild - $5.90 at Sportsbet
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