NHL Best Bets: Incoming Avalanche, Call of the Wild, Battle for Bedard

New trends emerge at this most critical juncture of the NHL regular season. There is only 25 per cent of the campaign left, and some clubs and their players are showing signs that the time is now for them. So, what are some of these storylines? Let’s find out.

Call of the Wild

As alluded to in our recent Minnesota-Vancouver game preview (to be played at the time of publication), the good thing is that the unit has risen from within the ranks of the Central Division. For a long time, it felt like it was either Dallas’ or Winnipeg’s for the taking, but both are beginning to trail off. Minnesota (along with Colorado) is surging. They sit second, only a point behind, thanks in large part to a 7-1-2 record in their previous ten. No wonder Filip Gustavsson is second in the NHL with his 2.06 goals against average.

The curious characteristic of their successful run is their paltry goal-scoring abilities. Only once in the aforementioned 10 contests have they netted more than three times. Final scores have connected with the under an astonishing 14 times in the side’s previous 16 outings. Minnesota scored three goals or fewer in 15 of them. Can this possibly continue? Their upcoming schedule suggests yes. Opponents are Calgary twice (March 4 and 7), Winnipeg (March 8), San Jose (March 11) and Arizona (March 12). The latter two feature bottom 10 offences, whereas Winnipeg has been firing blanks lately. Finally, Calgary is a middle-of-the-pack attacking club. The under is very tempting in all these games.

Incoming Avalanche

Who should be doing the same as Minnesota but the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche? Plenty of questions surrounded the club during the campaign’s first few months. For quite some time Colorado was barely keeping its head above .500. Just as the Wild trail the division-leading Stars by one point, so too does the Avalanche need only a point to draw even with the Wild. They have an identical 7-1-2 record as Minnesota in their last 10 opportunities. Unlike their rival to the north, the Avalanche is staying true to its namesake by burying the opposition in goals.

Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and friends are on a goal-scoring tear, netting four or more in seven of their last 10. This includes last night’s crazy 7-5 defeat to New Jersey. They’ve both pounced on teams early and often to break their spirits and performed improbable comebacks. Rantanen in particular is in fine form. He’s netting a goal in each of his last six contests. Are he and the club up to the task to keep on blasting teams away? Dallas is an interesting proposition because they’ve struggled lately, but more comfortable opportunities come against Seattle (March 5), San Jose (March 7), Arizona (March 11), and Montreal (March 13). The over looks very good, as does Rantanen putting his name on the scoresheet.

Sensational Senators

What a difference a week makes. In the most recent edition of NHL Best Bets, we waxed poetic about Detroit’s resurgence from meandering club to playoff hopeful. To be fair, the prediction was that they would NOT make the postseason, and lo and behold, another Eastern Conference team also playing fine hockey thumped them twice in a row. Enter the Ottawa Senators. The 6-2 and 6-1 squashing of the Red Wings earlier this week improved Ottawa to 6-3-1 in its previous 10. Since Jan. 25, they’re a stellar 10-4, stomping on a number of clubs along the way. Claude Giroux, Brady Tkachuk, and Tim Stutzle all had a terrific February.

Fortune appears to be smiling on the Nation Capital’s representatives. Apart from the Rangers on March 2, several of their upcoming opponents are beatable, or at least ones against whom goal-scoring should not be a major concern. Columbus (March 4), Chicago (March 6), Seattle (March 9), and Vancouver (March 11) are all in the bottom half regarding goals allowed per tilt. Moreover, Chicago, Columbus, and Vancouver are in the bottom seven. Props involving Giroux, Tkachuk, and Stützle getting points (even better, scoring) are all tempting.

The Connor Debard Sweepstakes

Ah yes. The annual question of who is going to finish with the most pitiful record in the NHL and increase their odds of claiming the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft class. As with every season, there are several candidates who would love to turn the page on their misery and look toward the future with the sensational Bedard.

There are four clubs that have yet to attain 50 points at the time of this writing. The Anaheim Ducks (46), San Jose Sharks (46), Chicago Blackhawks (47), and Columbus Blue Jackets (46). Vancouver isn’t much better with 53 points, but they seem to show enough pride in their games to muster enough points that would put them outside the conversation. Columbus, Anaheim, and Chicago have the three worst offences (San Jose is 23^rd). All four are in the bottom seven on goals against per match. Really, there isn’t much that separates these clubs’ ineptitude. Two elements stand out, however. Anaheim not only accumulates the most penalty minutes in the NHL, but they’re third-worst when it comes to surviving when down a man (73.3). Those could be the deciding factors down the line.

Prediction: Connor Bedard will be an Anaheim Duck