Some of the NHL’s heavy hitters have been heating up the the ice over the past few weeks. The Blues and Pens have been tearing it up on home ice, the Blackhawks fancy the opposition’s ice while the Sharks and Habs don’t care whose ice they’re on!
[sc:BettingArticlesShortcoder ]
Top 5 NHL Teams to Bet On:
*All stats and trends as of December 5.
TEAM
TRENDS
San Jose Sharks
9-1 in last 10 games
St. Louis Blues
7-1 in last 8 home games
Montreal Canadiens
7-1 in last 8 games
Chicago Blackhawks
6-1 in last 7 road games
Pittsburgh Penguins
6-1 in last 7 home games
1. San Jose Sharks
Next Games: @ PIT, @ CAR, @ MIN, vs NYI
A loss to the defending NHL champions has been the only blemish on the San Jose Sharks’ record in the last three weeks. Right after their defeat to the Blackhawks, the Sharks promptly reeled off six wins in a row to propel them to within one point of Chicago for best record in the Western Conference, with two fewer games played.
San Jose has a road-heavy schedule this week, starting with the East-leading Penguins. But the Sharks have been very capable on the road, winning 4 of their last 5 road games.
2. St. Louis Blues
Next Games: vs NYI, vs ANA, @ WIN
St. Louis has seen a recent streak of five straight wins replaced by back-to-back losses, but both of those came on the road. At home however, the Blues are a different team; they’ve won 7 of their last 8 games at the Scottrade Center.
The Blues have a couple of home games lined up this week against the bottom-feeding Islanders and the road-weary Anaheim Ducks, who are just 8-7-3 in their travels.
3. Montreal Canadiens
Next Games: vs BOS, vs BUF, vs LA
After hovering near .500 for the first 20 games of the season, the Canadiens have skyrocketed to second in the Atlantic Division with a 7-0-1 spurt in their last 8 games, their only defeat being a shootout loss to the Washington Capitals. [sc:NHL250 ]
The Habs can extend their tremendous run using a favorable schedule on tap for this week. All three of their games will be on home ice, starting off with the division-leading Bruins, who are just 6-4 on the road.
4. Chicago Blackhawks
Next Games: @ MIN, vs ANA, vs FLO, @ DAL, @ PHI
One team that’s far from road-weary is Chicago. The Blackhawks are proud owners of the NHL’s best road record at 11-3-1, which has been greatly aided by their recent 6-1 run over their last 7 road games. Leading point scorer Patrick Kane especially loves the road; he’s scored more goals on the road (10) than at home (6) this season.
Blackhawks backers should be pleased to hear that this week’s schedule features three more road games, with the latter two against the struggling Stars and Flyers.
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
Next Games: vs SJ, @ BOS, vs CLB
Not to be outdone, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a similar streak going on their home ice. The Pens are 6-1 in their last 7 home games, but they’re also riding a four-game winning streak, three of which coming on the road.
With the NHL’s two leading point scorers in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (38 and 37 points, respectively) on their side, Pittsburgh is more than equipped to handle tough tests against San Jose and Boston this week.
