Toronto’s Auston Matthews hasn’t gone more than three games without a goal since the end of November
The NHL has a trio of exciting matchups for Hump Day starring two of the hottest goal scorers in hockey with Auston Matthews and Toronto slated to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
The pair of matchups later into the evening include the Coyotes looking to further dig themselves out of their hole created by their 14-game losing streak as they take on the Stars and the Kings and Wild battle in an important game with playoff implications.
It’ll be an exciting start to the week and with fewer games to bet on, you’ll want to be sure of your picks for this evening. Lucky for you, we’ve researched tonight’s matchups and present an exclusive breakdown of bets that should hit and earn you some cash.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Leafs Capitals Over 6.5 goals (+100), Auston Matthews anytime goal (-130)
The Capitals have been one of the biggest surprises this season with head coach Spencer Carbary and his squad repping a 33-25-9 record despite being 29th in goals per game with an average of 2.66 and a powerplay operating at 19.8 per cent, that is 20th in the league.
Tonight’s setting in DC works for both teams’ favour as the Capitals have a decent 17-10-5 home record that will be tested against the Leafs, who are one of the better road teams in the league with a record of 20-8-6 this season.
The Leafs offense becomes lethal when on the road with the highest goals per game rate at 3.56 and the third-best powerplay at 26.6 per cent. Washington has started to find their offense at home as of late with their goal per game average jumping up to 3.30 per home game since the All-Star break.
They should be able to keep up with the Leafs and make this a high-scoring affair with Auston Matthews expected to score once again as the Arizona native hasn’t gone three games without scoring since the end of November.
Bet: Over 6.5 goals (+100), Stars Regulation time ML (-180)
The Coyotes were in quite the rut when they lost 14 straight games from February into early March. Since they snapped their losing streak against Ottawa, they’ve seemingly found their game again and have won five of their last nine games.
They had four bad losses to the Blackhawks and Wild but saw impressive wins over declining teams in the Red Wings and Devils. They take on the Stars, who have rarely declined this season and have stayed in the playoffs for most of the season.
Their dynamic offense only improves when playing in their own building as they’ve scored 131 goals this season at home, which is third-highest in the league.
They have a tendency of letting their opponent stay in the game however with the sixth-most goals allowed on average when playing at home with 3.32 which is worse than the Coyotes.
The Coyotes have been feisty in their games recently but are very one sided when it comes to the puck line in the fact that when they win it’s surprising but when they lose it’s by a lot. They should remain in the game but the Stars likely win within the 60 minute time limit.
Bet: Anze Kopitar over 0.5 points (-140)
The Kings are battling to stay in the playoffs with the Golden Knights and Wild right on their tails and luckily for hockey fans we see an important game on Wednesday night as they play the Wild in a must-win game.
They’ve seen veteran netminder Marc-Andre Fleury get hot with a 2.11 goals against average over his last 11 starts, that ranks top six in the league during that span. He will need to continue his hot streak for the Wild to stay in the playoff race while the Kings look to keep their composure and play their game that makes them one of best defensive teams in the league.
They are third-best in goals against average this season, only allowing 2.57 goals per game and killing penalties better than anyone with 86.2 success rate. Every sign points to a hard under in this game where it’ll be extremely low-scoring with both teams not wanting to give an inch in the standings and keep their red hot play going.
It makes me consider taking an opposite approach as everyone will likely take the under. It will be risky taking the over with these numbers but we can look at a great player prop like Kings Captain Anze Kopitar to get a point.
The Slovenian is coming off a two goal night against the Blackhawks on Tuesday and has a great history against the Wild with three goals and 14 points in their last 12 matchups.
He averaging almost a point per game as of late with 16 in his last 18 games that makes him a great candidate to find the scoresheet tonight in what will likely be a tight game, where he will need to lead his team to victory.