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Expert NHL Handicapping Roundup for 11/22/2024

by Ryan Cobbett - 11/22/2024

Expert NHL handicapping roundup Martin Necas Carolina Hurricanes

As we reach the holiday season, we have been gifted some great hockey this season and have plenty of storylines and betting news to follow. First and foremost, we recently received the most unfortunate news of the Great 8’s leg injury that will keep him out for an extended period of time, putting his record breaking desires in jeporady. In other news, this is Kirill Kaprisoz’s league right now as he is quickly emerging as a true contender for many awards this season. The Seattle Kraken are on the outside looking in at the moment, but they are shaping up to be a real playoff contender this season. Additionally, what is going on in the state of Pennsylvania this season? All that and more in today’s NHL Friday Roundup.

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Art Ross Dark Horses

Each year the Art Ross Trophy is handed out to the player who has tallied the most points in the regular season. Connor McDavid has won the award in three of the last four years and five of the last eight seasons. However, there are some new names to consider for the award this season. As of now, there is a two-way tie for the top spot in the league as both Nathan MacKinnon and Kirill Kaprizov are tied with 34 points. MacKinnon has reached that mark thanks to seven goals and 27 assists, while Kaprizov has tallied 13 goals and 21 assists. Martin Necas (31) and Sam Reinhart (30) are the only other players who have reached the 30-point mark this season. MacKinnon is the current favorite to win the award at +180, which may not be hard to guess considering he skates with Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen, who are both inside the Top 10 in points this season. Behind MacKinnon is five-time winner McDavid, who sits at +250 despite ranking 13th in the league in points. Now it gets interesting. Kaprizov has the fourth best odds to win the award at +360, which makes him a great value pick considering he is currently in first place for the award and the Minnesota Wild currently rank seventh in the league in scoring. Kaprizov skates with budding star Matt Boldy, who has 11 goals this season, and Kaprizov is fourth in the league among forwards in TOI. Behind Kaprizov, you will find Jack Eichel (+3500), who may finally be settling in with Vegas. Eichel is currently tied for fifth in the league in points with 29 but is well on his way to a career year as he is on pace to record 118 points, if he can stay healthy. Vegas is currently firing on all cylinders, and their success could hang on Eichel’s performance this season. Nonetheless, Kaprizov seems to be a favorable newbie in the awards conversations this season.

Soon to be Success in Seattle?

The Seattle Kraken currently sit outside of the playoff picture, as they trail the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche by just one point. The Kraken have gone 10-9-1 this season through their first 20 games. What becomes noticeable with this Kraken team is that they finally seem to have some life. They are one of just two teams in the league that are currently outside of the playoff picture with a positive goal differential, with the Kraken holding onto a +5-goal differential. They are a streaky team, as they have had two winning streaks of three or more, while also having two losing streaks of three or more. However, there are some positive notes within the Kraken organization. Jared McCann is leading the team with 21 points, while offseason additions Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson are both in second place on the team with 13 points each. Joey Daccord has emerged as the starting goalie for the Kraken, as he has dominated this season, allowing just 2.31 GA/G on a .923 SV%, both of which rank inside the Top 10 in the NHL. The Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings both rank higher in the division standings than the Kraken, but both teams are currently exceeding expectations to start the season, and it will be interesting to see how long they can sustain it and in turn leading to the Kraken moving up the standings. As of now, the Kraken have +182 odds of making the playoffs this season, which is great value as they are one offensive addition away from belonging in the conversation.

Problems in PA

The Flyers were never expected to be a competitive team this season, but the Penguins are souring the latter years of Sidney Crosby’s career and are turning in one of the most disappointing storylines of the season to this point. Crosby (20) and fellow veteran Evgeni Malkin (19) lead the Penguins in points, but the offensive production stops there. The Penguins rank 22nd in the league in scoring, with the Flyers ranking right ahead of them, ranking 21st. Both Pennsylvania teams rank in the lower half of the league in PP%, and both teams have disastrous goalie situations. Both teams have utilized three different netminders this season, and no one seems to have earned the job. For Pittsburgh, it took Tristan Jarry just five games to be sent down to the AHL, while Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist have combined to allow 3.39 GA/G on a .895 SV%. For Philadelphia, Samuel Ersson has done well through his 11 games this season and is 5-2-2 on the year, but behind him the play has been abysmal. Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov have appeared in a combined 11 games this season and have allowed 3.70 GA/G on a .874 SV%. To make matters worse, they have literally had problems in PA. The Flyers and Penguins have combined to go just 5-15 ATS within the Pennsylvania state lines and are just 8-10-2 overall at home. Playoff hockey is not happening in the state of Pennsylvania this season.

Road Warriors

Last week we checked out who was dominating on home ice, now we look at who has been doing damage on the road. The Minnesota Wild currently lead the league in road covers this season, as they have covered in 10 of their 12 road games this season. Behind the Wild are the Anaheim Ducks, who have covered 77.8% of their road games this season, while the Washington Capitals round out the Top Three with a 75% road Cover%. The Wild have also had the best road performance overall, as they lead the league with a 9-1-2 road record this season, with the Vancouver Canucks trailing with a 6-1 road record. In terms of the game totals on the road, the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have all seen the over hit in seven of their 10 road games this season. As for the south side of the game total, The Nashville Predators have a league best eight road under games, out of their 10 road games this season.

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