In the Crease – Week 9

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

Star Light, Star Bright
The Dallas Stars have ripped off seven consecutive victories following their 4-2 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night. As a result of the winning streak the Stars have rocketed up the standings in the Central Division, now just two points back of the defending champ and first-place St. Louis Blues. The Stars are doing it with a nice combination of offense and goaltending, posting 29 goals with just 14 goals allowed during the seven-game run. They're also working on a 12-game point streak, which is now the longest active run since the New York Islanders saw their streak snapped in Anaheim on Monday, 3-0. Ben Bishop has won six straight starts since his last loss Oct. 26, and he has allowed three or fewer goals in past 10 starts dating back to Oct. 14.

 Looking Ahead

Tuesday, Nov. 26

Boston at Montreal: The Bruins are starting to warm up again, and the rival Canadiens will be there at Bell Centre trying to cool them off in the Original Six battle. Boston will be without Patrice Bergeron, who is sidelined indefinitely due to a lower-body injury. Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price will square off in what could be a lower-scoring game. The 'under' is 5-2-2 in the past nine meetings in Montreal, and the under has connected in seven of the past eight meetings in this series, too. Boston has dominated the series lately, too, going 5-1 in the past six trips to Bell Centre, and 8-3 in the past 11 meetings overall. Another trend points to the B's, too, as the road team has won four of the past five in this series.

Wednesday, Nov. 27

Toronto at Detroit: The Maple Leafs and Red Wings hook up at Little Caesars Arena in Hockeytown. The Leafs have responded under new head coach Sheldon Keefe, going 2-0 with wins at Arizona and at Colorado since Mike Babcock was dismissed following a 4-2 loss at Vegas on Nov. 19. This will be the second meeting of the season between these teams, as Toronto won 5-2 in Detroit back on Oct. 12, cashing as -200 favorites while narrowly hitting the 'over'. Despite the two-game winning streak on the road, the Leafs are still just 3-7 in the past 10 on the road, and they're 0-4 in the past four against Eastern Conference teams. The Wings haven't been much better, though, going 3-8 in the past 11 at LCA. The Leafs have also dominated their O6 rivals, going just 3-10 in the past 13 meetings, and 2-6 in the previous eight at home.

Carolina at N.Y. Rangers: The Hurricanes will head to Madison Square Garden looking for some revenge after falling 4-2 on Nov. 7. Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head in that outing, and it came on the second end of a back-to-back situation, which was even more impressive. The Rangers are kryptonite for the Hurricanes. Really, everyone in the Metropolitan Division has been kryptonite to the Canes, as they're on an 0-6 cold streak against divisional foes. The Rangers posted an OT win over the visiting Wild on Monday, and they're 4-1 in the past five at Madison Square Garden. Speaking of kryptonite, MSG has been a house of horrors for Carolina, as they're just 5-21 in the past 26 visits to Manhattan, while going 14-38 in the past 52 battles overall against the Rangers.

Edmonton at Colorado: The Oilers and Avalanche are set to square off at 10 p.m. ET in the Mile High City. The Oilers are 7-1 in the past eight as an underdog, and 6-1 in the past seven as a road 'dog, so watch this line closely. Edmonton has been red-hot away from home, going 6-2 in the past eight road games overall. The Avalanche are equally hot, going 19-7 in the past 26 at Pepsi Center, and 6-0 in the past six overall against teams with a winning percentage at .600 or better. They're also 15-5 in the past 20 as a home favorite, so something's gotta give. Looking at the head-to-head trends in this series, the arrow points squarely at the Oilers, who are 7-3 in the past 10 meetings, and 4-1 in the past five in Denver. The 'over' is also 5-0-1 in the past six battles in Colorado, so perhaps this kerfuffle will be a high-scoring affair.

Thursday, Nov. 28

New Jersey at Montreal: The Devils will have to have to trade their turkey and mashed potatoes for a Labatt Blue and a serving of poutine, as they celebrate Thanksgiving north of the border in Montreal. The Habs enter on a 0-2-2 skid heading into Tuesday's game against the B's, including a 4-3 overtime loss at home on Nov. 16 against the Devils when backup goaltender Keith Kinkaid fell against Mac Blackwood. The Habs are in a bad way during their 0-2-2 slide, losing as favorites in each outing, taking a -693 loss if you ate the chalk in each outing. The Devils slapped the brakes on a two-game mini-slide by pushing aside the Red Wings by a 5-1 score on Saturday in Louis Domingue's team debut in the crease. Blackwood is expected to be back in there, however. Heading into Tuesday's game, the Devils are averaging just 2.1 goals per game across the past 10, with the under 5-2-1 across their past eight.

VegasInsider Staff

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