NHL predictions: Matthews carries Maple Leafs to five-game winning streak

Auston Matthews scored a pair of goals as the Toronto Maple Leafs earned a 6-3 win at Arizona on Wednesday night. Matthews has scored 18 goals in his past 14 games, giving him 51 goals in 54 games for the season. His lead in the goal-scoring race is up to a dozen goals over Florida’s Sam Reinhart, who has 39.

This goal-scoring surge has helped the Leafs to a five-game winning streak, which has strangely coincided with the suspension of top defenseman Morgan Rielly, who has been sidelined for all five games.

Rielly returns to the Toronto line-up on Thursday night when the Maple Leafs are in Vegas to face the Golden Knights. 

Vegas captain Mark Stone is expected to be out of the line-up after suffering an injury in Tuesday’s loss to Nashville.

Here are some of the best bets to consider on 7x7Bets for Thursday’s NHL schedule.

Best Money Line Bet

The Seattle Kraken have been sizzling hot on home ice, with a 7-1-3 record across their past 11 games at the Climate Pledge Arena. Goaltender Joey Daccord has not only secured his role as a starting netminder but he has been playing so well that he is legitimately a Vezina Trophy candidate. Since the beginning of December, he has a .932 save percentage in 26 games.

Thursday brings a lively rivalry matchup when the Kraken host the Vancouver Canucks, a team that have climbed to the top of the league standings, thanks in part to a lofty shooting percentage. They have, however, lost three consecutive games, so the Kraken could be a lively home underdog in this matchup.

Best Handicap Bet

This season has been disappointing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and a 4-6-4 record in their past 14 games has Pittsburgh eight points adrift of a playoff spot. 

The Penguins have a goal differential and shot differential that fits the profile of a more successful team, but the results have not been there, due in part to a power play that has scored 4.77 goals per 60 minutes during five-on-four play, which ranks 28th. 

Even so, the Penguins have an edge over Thursday’s opponents, the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal has a 3-8-1 record in the past dozen games and, after losing to Buffalo on Wednesday, will be playing their second game of a back-to-back scenario. In games this season in which they are playing the second game of a back-to-back, the Canadiens have a 1-9 record, with six losses by a margin of two goals or more.

The circumstances make this a more favorable situation for the Penguins to earn a comfortable home victory.

Best Total Bet

Across the past month, both the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning have had some defensive issues. In the past month, the Capitals rank 29th (3.85) and the Lightning 28th (3.77) in goals against average and that is the reason to expect the goals to flow on Thursday night. 

Over the past month, Auston Matthews leads the NHL with 13 goals and Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek has nine goals, and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov are among those tied for third with eight goals in 10 games. Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point of the Lightning both have seven goals in the past 10 games.

Both teams are flawed enough that these stars should be able to find the net and push this game towards the Over.

Best Player Prop Bet

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has 31 points in 54 games. He has 12 goals, his most in a season since the 2015-2016 campaign. He has points in three straight games as well as recording at least one point in 13 of 25 home games.

The Kings are facing the Nashville Predators, and the Predators have a goals against average of 3.97 in the past month, which is tied for 30th in the league.

Nashville’s defensive shortcomings give Doughty the chance to extend his point streak to four games.