It seems as though the NHL’s recent steps to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and quell team outbreaks have worked. The league is using players that have had and overcome the illness as a buffer in the locker room and better circulation around the benches seems to have helped as well. By the end of last week, all games were played as scheduled.
As we move forward, we’re going to see a ton of situational spots because the schedule is going to be so condensed. A lot of teams, whether they had a COVID outbreak of their own or were affected by another team’s, will have limited off days as we move forward. The team most affected this week is the Buffalo Sabres, who play five games in seven days from Monday to Sunday.
Otherwise, this week is fairly normal, though we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it remains that way.
Here are the NHL schedule spots and betting tips for the week ending February 28:
Monday February 22
Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes – This is one of two games featuring a back-to-back with an off day. Usually they are just listed with some quick analysis if necessary, but with only two and one that is special, we’ll just highlight this one separately. The Lightning and Hurricanes are two of the best teams in the Central Division, so these are really important points. Expect the loser of Saturday’s game to look to get those two points back quickly. That would be Tampa Bay after Saturday’s 4-0 loss.
Dallas Stars at Florida Panthers – The Stars are really up against it. They had their own COVID outbreak at the start of the season and then had four home games canceled last week. This week, they’ll play four games in Florida with a fifth next Monday. They’ll play three games in four days here against the Panthers and this is the first of those games. Because of the weather and the power outages, the Stars haven’t played since February 13. They’ve lost five straight, four by one goal, and three in overtime. It’s been a remarkably frustrating season for this team. We’ll see how they do here and then plan accordingly for the rest of the week.
Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders – The Sabres and Islanders played twice last week on Monday and Tuesday. The Islanders “uglied” up both games and won low-scoring affairs while keeping Buffalo’s shot totals very low. This is the first of five games this week for the Sabres, who are in some serious danger in the East Division. I just don’t know if they have the horses to make this game look any different.
Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche – This one is actually in Colorado. The Avalanche were the home team for Saturday’s outdoor game in Lake Tahoe. That one was played at higher elevation than this one will be, but this is very much an altitude double for Vegas. I don’t like the spot for them at all. Colorado is getting healthier after their COVID outbreak and they’re the look here.
Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks – This will be just the third true home game of the season for the Sharks. They played at home on February 13 and lost to Vegas, but bounced back on the 15th and beat the Ducks. They were playing home games in Arizona because of COVID restrictions in Santa Clara County. This starts a run of home games that lasts through March 8, so they’ll have plenty of time to be in the comforts of home. I think they’ll be happy about that and we’ll see it play out here. I like them against a Wild team off a COVID pause a long way from home.
Tuesday February 23
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals – Yet another one between these two teams broadcast to a cable TV audience with NBC Sports Network on the call. This will be the fifth meeting between the teams. The Penguins have won three, but the Capitals have gotten the loser point in two of them. Washington’s shaky goaltender situation remains a big story as these two teams play for the third time in nine days. Three of the four have gone over. We could see another one.
There aren’t a lot of great spots on Tuesday, but we’ll make up for it the rest of the week.
Wednesday February 23
Teams in a back-to-back with an off day:
Ducks at Coyotes
Flames at Maple Leafs
Stars at Panthers
Kings at Blues
The Lightning and Hurricanes are in this spot as well, but with a venue change. They’ll actually play four straight against each other and play a back-to-back in Tampa on Wednesday and Thursday after games in Raleigh on Saturday and Monday. This is actually a 6-in-10 for the Hurricanes. It is nowhere near as bad for the Lightning. Not remotely close. I like Tampa on Wednesday to be sure.
New York Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers – I’m fading the Flyers here. They went all the way out to Lake Tahoe to play a showcase game and then fly right back home. It’s not like these teams are experiencing the normal travel this season. They’re only playing division games. The Rangers have had some time to practice and fix some things, while the Flyers went and played on the Nevada/California border just to turn around and come home.
Thursday February 24
Teams in a back-to-back with no off day:
Hurricanes at Lightning
Stars at Panthers
These are two pretty interesting spots because the Hurricanes and Lightning are playing a fourth straight game against each other and the Stars and Panthers are playing a third straight. I like the Lightning again because this is also a 7-in-11 for the Hurricanes. It is also a 7-in-11 for the Panthers, so I like the Stars in that one.
Teams in a back-to-back with an off day:
Sabres vs. Devils (venue change to @BUF)
Blackhawks at Blue Jackets
Predators at Red Wings
Oilers at Canucks
Penguins at Capitals
Not much out of the ordinary here. The Capitals would probably feel a little more incentive and pressure if they lose on Tuesday. That would probably be about it.
Boston Bruins at New York Islanders – The Bruins went out to Tahoe and then had a travel day and a few days off at home. We’ll see what the price looks like here, but I’d still like to follow through and fade them as they get back to east coast life. The Islanders have two days off before this game, so they aren’t in a compromising spot at all.
Calgary Flames at Ottawa Senators – The Flames are in a back-to-back that feels kind of normal taking on the Senators after battling the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. We’ll have to see how Wednesday goes for them, but I’d like to think that they’ll be in a decent spot here. The Senators aren’t any good, as we know. The Flames may be running out their backup goaltender, which could keep the price lower, but I do like them a little in this spot.
Friday February 26
Boston Bruins at New York Rangers – The Rangers find themselves in another decent spot here as they’ll host a Boston team in a back-to-back. There really isn’t much in the way of travel playing in Brooklyn on Thursday and Manhattan on Friday, but the Rangers don’t have to play on Thursday, so that should help them. On the other hand, if the Bruins struggle on Thursday, I’d expect a motivated effort in the first of two games against the Rangers.
Los Angeles Kings at Minnesota Wild – The Wild will play their first home game since January 31. They hosted Colorado and won 4-3 in overtime and then went to Denver. While there, the Wild developed COVID and went from February 2 to 16 without playing. Then they started in California. This will be a rematch of a 4-0 loss to the Kings in the first game off the pause. They should get revenge here, I would think, but we will have to lay a price.
Saturday February 27
Back-to-back with no off day:
Avalanche at Coyotes
Kings at Wild
Back-to-back with an off day:
Flames at Senators
Canadiens at Jets
Pretty standard-issue for 2021. The only notable thing is that the Flames and Senators play at 1 p.m. ET, so it’ll be an early start, but that probably benefits the Flames, who are just going from the hotel as opposed to from home or an apartment. On the other hand, it is a 4-in-5.5 for the Flames, so the Senators could potentially take advantage of that scenario.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Nashville Predators – These two teams just played late last week, which we’re also seeing a lot this season. Immediate revenge is there for the taking. This is a 2 p.m. CT puck drop in the Music City, so that is a bit different for both teams. It is a third game in 3.5 days for both teams with that in mind, but not much stands out otherwise.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers – We’ve got Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid head-to-head on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday with a 5 p.m. local time puck drop. These two were in this spot back on January 30 and Edmonton won 4-3 in overtime. It was the last time that these two teams played each other. This is the first time since that game that the Maple Leafs will play outside of the Eastern Time Zone. All things considered with the spot, I like it better for Edmonton, but we’ll see how the line sets up.
Dallas Stars at Tampa Bay Lightning – For the first time since February 13, the Stars will play someone other than the Panthers. To be fair, their games were canceled last week and they just started up with Florida on Monday. The Lightning will also be seeing somebody other than the Hurricanes for the first time since February 15. I’d expect a bit of a higher-scoring game here as the teams feel each other out a little bit.
Sunday February 28
Back-to-back with no off day:
Flyers at Sabres
Blue Jackets at Predators
Red Wings at Blackhawks
Capitals at Devils
Penguins at Islanders
The one that stands out the most to me here is the Sabres, who are playing a fifth game in seven days with this back-to-back against the Flyers. All of the other teams are playing a 4-in-6.
Back-to-back with an off day:
Bruins at Rangers
So that would be all of the games scheduled for Sunday. None of them are random one-off games or anything like that, so see what happened previously and go from there.
Keep an eye out for these NHL situational spots every week at ATS.io!
