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We are officially in the last week of the 2023-24 NHL regular season. There are two playoff spots in each conference up for grabs which makes this a big day on the NHL schedule.
Tuesday night will bring us 13 games around the league, and we have our game breakdowns and NHL betting trends for four of them.
The Dallas Stars will try to stay on top of the Western Conference by the end of the season, and they are favorites when they host the Buffalo Sabres. Both the Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes are already in the playoffs, and whoever wins this game will probably be the second seed in the East. The Philadelphia Eagles looked like a playoff team most of the season, but now they need to get out of the hole when they visit the Montreal Canadiens. The New York Islanders are trying to end their playoff drought and will have a chance to do that tonight against their city rivals, the New York Rangers.
Let’s take a deeper look at the NHL betting trends for these four games.
Buffalo Sabres vs Dallas Stars
The Buffalo Sabres are 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 37-36-5 record. They have won three of the last five games but are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Sabres are 13th in the league, allowing 2.99 goals per game, and are ranked 22nd, scoring 2.97. Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuxh are both on top of the scorers list for the Sabres with 57 points each.
The Dallas Stars are on top of the Western Conference with a 49-20-9 record. They have won 9 of the last 10 games and are coming off a 7-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars are second in the league, scoring 3.68 goals per game, and are ranked tenth, allowing 2.89. Jason Robertson is the best player on the team, with 77 points so far in the season.
Buffalo Sabres vs Dallas Stars: NHL betting trends
Dallas has won 8 of the last 10 home games against Buffalo and 4 of the last 5 overall against them. The Stars are 9-1 SU in the last 10 games overall and 4-1 SU in the last 5 home games. The Sabres are 1-4 SU in the last 5 games against teams from the Central Division.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Dallas Stars are having a promising season, and they are only a couple of points away from locking the top seed in the Western Conference. Their only loss in the last ten games was a surprising one in Chicago, but they bounced back, scoring seven goals in a win over Colorado. The Sabres, on the other hand, had another disappointing season. They had a couple of bright stints during the season, but that led them nowhere. Dallas will have full control of the game tonight and comfortably win.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Boston Bruins
The Carolina Hurricanes are third in the Eastern Conference with a 49-22-7 record. They have won four of the last five games and are coming off a 3-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Hurricanes are on top of the league with 8 shutdowns this season and are ranked second in converting on 27.1 percent of power play situations. They are also third in the league, allowing 2.56 goals per game, and eighth, scoring 3.35. Sebastian Aho leads the team with 87 points so far this season.
The Boston Bruins second in the Eastern Conference with a 46-17-15 record. They have won the last four games and are coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Florida Panthers. The Bruins are second in the league with a 91.6 save percentage, sixth allowing 2.67 goals per game and 11th scoring 3.27 goals per game. David Pastrnak is fifth in the league with 107 points and 47 goals for the season.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Boston Bruins: NHL betting trends
Five of the last six games between these two teams have ended under the total goal line. Boston has played under in their last five games overall and in 5 of the last 6 games against teams from the Eastern Conference. Carolina has stayed under in 6 of their last 7 games overall, in 16 of the last 20 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and in 11 of the last 13 games against teams from the Atlantic Division.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both teams are going to the playoffs, hoping for the Stanley Cup trophy and anything else, but going all the way to the throne will be a disappointment. As things stand at this point, they will most likely face each other in the second playoff round. They played the last time just a couple of days ago, when the Bruins won 4-1 on the road at Carolina. That is the difference between them in the standings, and the hurricanes will try to make things even. However, the Bruins are a very solid home team, and they will prove that once again tonight. These two have played under the total goal line in five of their last six matchups, and that will be the case tonight as well, with the total goal line at 6.
Philadelphia Flyers vs Montreal Canadiens
The Philadelphia Flyers are 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 36-31-11 record. They have lost the last seven games and are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Flyers are 19th in the league, allowing 3.15 goals per game, and are ranked 24th, scoring 2.85. Travis Konecny leads the team with 65 points so far this season.
The Montreal Canadiens are 15th in the Eastern Conference with a 29-36-12 record. They have lost the last three games and are coming off a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers. The Canadiens are 26th in the league, allowing 3.40 goals per game, and are one spot lower, scoring 2.71. Nick Suzuki is the best player on the team, with 74 points.
Philadelphia Flyers vs Montreal Canadiens: NHL betting trends
Montreal is 1-4 SU in their last five games overall, 3-14 SU in their last 17 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and 1-6 SU in the last 7 games played in April. Philadelphia is 0-7 SU in their last seven games overall, 0-5 SU in their last five games on the road and 0-6 SU in their last six games against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Philadelphia Flyers looked pretty solid all season, and it seemed like they would finally get back in the playoffs, but what happened in the last two weeks was a complete disaster for them. They lost the last seven games and have slipped from a playoff position to 11th place in the Eastern Conference. They still have a chance to save the season, but they will have to win tonight in Montreal. The Canadians are already eliminated from the playoff race and have lost the last three games. There are not many reasons to go with either team in this game, but I will give the Flyers a standing chance and go with them to keep their chances for the postseason.
New York Rangers vs New York Islanders
The New York Rangers are on top of the Eastern Conference with the best record in the league, 53-21-4. The Rangers have won eight of their last nine games and are coming off a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Rangers are fourth in the league, converting on 26.4 percent of the power play situations, and fifth with a 91.2 save percentage. Artemi Panarin is having a great season, being fourth in the league with 115 points and sixth with 46 goals.
The New York Islanders are seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 35-27-15 record. They have won the last four games and are coming off a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators. The Islanders are 21st in the league, allowing 3.21 goals per game, and are two spots lower, scoring 2.95. Mathew Barzal leads the team with 79 points.
New York Rangers vs New York Islanders: NHL betting trends
The Rangers have won 4 of the last 6 games against the Islanders. The Rangers are 8-1 SU in their last 9 games overall, 5-0 SU in their last five games on the road and 7-1 SU in their last 8 games against teams from the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games overall, 3-7 SU in their last 10 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and 4-1 SU in their last five games played in April.
Prediction and Conclusion
The New York Islanders are in a spot that leads to the playoffs, but they have only one point advantage compared to the next two teams in the standings. They could not have a bigger challenge as they are hosting the city rival, who is the best team in the NHL at the moment. It will not be easy winning against them, but the Islanders ended a 10-game losing streak against the Nashville Predators, keeping a clean sheet in the last one, so they will pull up another miracle and beat the Rangers tonight.
