Ryan Hodges
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The middle of the week has a small NHL slate highlighted by some great games. The Rangers visit the Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes visit the Stars in heavyweight matchups that should be very entertaining. The new-look Canucks will also visit the Kraken under new head coach Rick Tocchet which will be fun to watch his now former peers on TNT analyze. There is a lot to watch for this time of year and Wednesday’s small slate is no exception.
If you are looking to combine some picks from these games, check out this NHL mega parlay that has +1056 odds with DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
New York Rangers (+135) vs Toronto Maple Leafs
New York Islanders (+105) vs Ottawa Senators
Seattle Kraken -1.5 (+140) vs Vancouver Canucks
Parlay odds: +1056
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New York Rangers (+135) vs Toronto Maple Leafs
This is a fantastic matchup that looks like it should be a must watch for hockey fans. Not much separates these teams right now, as they are both playing great hockey. Considering how well the Rangers are playing, this +135 number looks like great value. If there were pick em’ odds on the money line, it wouldn’t be that surprising. But +135 outright for a good team that is 15-4-2 in their last 21 games looks great. The Rangers beat the Maple Leafs in their only head-to-head matchup thus far this season by a score of 3-1. They have had the Leafs’ number over the last couple seasons. For New York, it was its 5th win over Toronto in the last 6 H2H.
Mixed in the Rangers’ strong current run is an 8-1-2 road record. The Leafs are a great home team, but the Rangers are a great road team. Toronto’s home ice is mitigated by New York’s strength on the road to the tune of a 14-5-3 record away from the friendly confines. They are also 14-8 against the spread on the road to the Leafs’ 9-16 record against the spread at home. Obviously the Leafs can still win and not cover, but it illustrates that when they win at home they do not always bury teams. These two will give each other all they can handle and a +135 number outright for New York is strong value.
Check out our full analysis of Wednesday’s NHL slate
New York Islanders (+105) vs Ottawa Senators
The Islanders have just 1 win in their last 10 games in a tough stretch that has removed them from the playoff picture. Urgency has kicked up in their locker room as they now need to collect every point they can down the stretch to get back in a playoff spot. They have a good get-right spot on Wednesday night against the Senators and need to take advantage. These teams have met once this season in a game the Islanders won 4-2. The Senators are also in an ugly stretch which has been a microcosm of their inconsistent season. Ottawa has 2 wins in its last 8 games and is saddled with a -19 goal differential during that stretch.
That -2.38 goal differential per game over the past couple weeks shows the Senators are vulnerable right now. In a game between a couple of slumping, vulnerable teams, the Islanders are the more reliable play given their larger sample size performance this season. Plus money outright for a team above .500 that is 8 points ahead of their sub-.500 opponents is good value. If there is any glass half full for the Islanders lately, it is that they have played a tough schedule. In their 1-6-3 stretch, they faced the Oilers, Flames, Stars, Wild, Canadiens, Capitals, Bruins, Sabres, Hurricanes and Maple Leafs. With an exception being the Canadiens — their lone win — that is a very tough schedule. They finally have a non-playoff opponent that presents an opportunity to collect 2 points and will come out looking to grab them.
Check out all of our NHL predictions
Seattle Kraken -1.5 (+140) vs Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks’ struggles as a team and organization has been well noted. They faced the league-worst Blackhawks for Rick Tocchet’s coaching debut on Tuesday but get a much tougher matchup on Wednesday. The Canucks have 2 wins in their last 12 games entering Tuesday. Similar to the Islanders, the Canucks have also gone through a gauntlet of tough opponents. But that is also what makes this line and odds looks appealing. Vancouver has struggled for the most part against the good teams and the Kraken certainly qualify as such. They also have 1 win in their last 4 games. Even though they were against difficult opponents, the Canucks would also like to right the ship. The Kraken are the better team and if they stick to what has worked all season, they will be just fine.
Ironically, the Canucks have beat the Kraken in both head-to-head matchups this season. This time around Vancouver is a re-tooled team on the fly with a new head coach and some new voices in the room. It could take them a few games to adjust to Tocchet’s new structure, style and emphasis areas. The Canucks will probably learn some lessons the hard way until they are in a new rhythm, and the Kraken can expose some of those lessons. Seattle is without question good enough; it has been one of the more consistent teams in the league all season. That has not changed recently and they have a favorable matchup on Wednesday. The Kraken have good value to win by 2+ goals.
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