Sunday NHL previews and predictions

NHL betting tips on Sunday

By Bob Duff

There's a busy slate of NHL action Sunday, and these are the games you'll want to watch, with odds provided courtesy of BetOnline.ag:

Detroit Red Wings (+256) at Pittsburgh Penguins (-290)

The Red Wings did the Penguins a favor Saturday, hanging on for a 3-2 shootout win over the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals while the Penguins enjoyed a day of rest after their 2-1 overtime win Friday over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The victory ended a four-game losing streak for the Red Wings, as well as their 0-4-1 winless skid. Detroit is now 7-0 in the shootout. Thomas Vanek is five-for-five in the shootout this season. The Wings are 1-1 against the Penguins, including a 5-3 loss Dec. 3 at Pittsburgh. The Penguins are on a nine-game point streak (6-0-3).

Pick: The Penguins (-290)

Los Angeles Kings (+119) at Anaheim Ducks (-131)

These two crosstown rivals meet up coming off losses and while both currently treading water in their recent reults. The Ducks are 2-3-1 in their last six games and 4-6-1 in their last 11, while the Kings are 3-3 in their last six and 6-5 in their last 11. Taking it back a bit further, at 13-7-4 the Ducks own the NHL's fourth-best record since Christmas.

The 763 consecutive game streak by Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano is the fifth-longest in NHL history and the longest in the league in the past 23 years. The Kings (1,661) and Ducks (1,554) rank 1-2 in the NHL in hits.

Ducks center Antoine Vermette, second in the NHL in faceoff win percentage (62.4), will sit out the second of a 10-game league suspension for abuse of officials. Kings coach Darryl Sutter is one win away from tying Andy Murray (215) for the most victories in franchise history.

Pick: The Ducks (-131)

Nashville Predators (+152) at Columbus Blue Jackets (-169)

In his 675th NHL games, Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky scored the first overtime goal of his career in Friday's huge 2-1 win over Pittsburgh. Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is 31-12-3 this season with a 2.17 GAA, .926 save percentage and three shutouts. The Blue Jackets are 7-1-2 against the Central Division this season. Forward Lukas Sedlak left Friday's win with a lower body injury. 

The Predators toppled the Blue Jackets 4-3 in Nashville on Jan. 26, getting two goals from Craig Smith in the win. Nashville is 55-19-7 all-time against the Blue Jackets, including a 22-14-3 slate at Columbus.

They've won four of the last five meetings between the two teams and two in a row. Nashville is 5-3-1 in the second half of back-to-back games this season.

Pick: The Predators (+152)

Boston Bruins (+116) at San Jose Sharks (-128)

The Sharks are a solid 8-3-2 against Atlantic Division opponents this season but did lose 6-3 to the Bruins on Feb. 9 in Bruce Cassidy's debut as Bruins interim head coach and are 0-1-2 in their last three games versus Atlantic opposition. It's also been a rough go of late for San Jose in the Shark Tank, where they are 1-1-2 in their last four games.

Coming off a five-day rest from their bye week, the Bruins are 3-0 since Cassidy replaced Claude Julien behind the bench. The Bruins have averaged 3.27 goals per game in their last 22 games after scoring at a 2.36 clip over their first 36 games of the season. Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron had 1-3-4 totals in that Feb. 9 win over San Jose and has recorded 21 points in his last 18 games. 

Pick: The Bruins (+116)

Category : News

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