Top NHL Betting Picks for Sunday, February 20th (2022)
We have a great eight-game slate of hockey today as we have games all day with the first puck drop at noon central standard time. There are a couple of great betting angles to attack today as I give out my best bets below.
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Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
New York Rangers (-190) vs. Ottawa Senators (+165), o/u 6
The New York Rangers travel to Ottawa tonight to take on the Senators. The story of the Rangers’ season thus far has been the Vezina Trophy worthy year from projected starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
Shesterkin has been a monster all season as he boasts a 0.938 SV% and currently ranks first amongst starting goaltenders in 5-on-5 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx). The Rangers’ netminder has held opposing teams to two or fewer goals in four straight starts and in five of his last six outings.
On the flip side, the Senators’ offense has hit a wall without primary goal-scorers Josh Norris and Drake Batherson. Ottawa has been held to two or fewer goals in three of their last five games.
Even when those two guys have been in the lineup, Ottawa has struggled to find high-danger scoring chances. This season, the Senators rank 22nd in the league in 5-on-5 expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF) and 23rd in average expected goal value of 5-on-5 shot attempts.
These two teams squared off once this season prior to tonight in a game where the Rangers won 3-2. I expect to see a similar outcome tonight.
Best Bet: Ottawa Senators TT u2.5 (-115)
Vegas Golden Knights (-155) vs. San Jose Sharks (+135), o/u 6
This matchup features two teams on losing streaks, as the Golden Knights have lost three straight games while the Sharks have lost five straight. Something has to give tonight between these two squads.
The Vegas Golden Knights have seen some low-scoring games recently, as there have been six or fewer total goals in five of their last six road games. Part of the reason for these low-scoring affairs has been tonight’s projected starting goaltender Laurent Brossoit.
Brossoit has taken a larger role for the team since starting goaltender Robin Lehner went down with an upper-body injury. Vegas’ backup netminder has done a good job filling in, as we just saw in his last road game where he shut out the Edmonton Oilers.
Amongst starting goaltenders, Brossoit would rank second in the league in 5-on-5 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx). Across the rink from him is the Sharks’ projected starter tonight James Reimer.
Reimer has also had a good year thus far, posting a 0.913 SV% and giving up three of fewer goals in four of his last six starts. The San Jose Sharks have also seen low-scoring games recently, with 10 of their last 14 games having six or fewer total goals.
This matchup has seen many low-scoring games over the past few seasons, as seven of the last 10 matchups have resulted in six or fewer total goals.
Best Bet: Golden Knights/Sharks u6 (-125)
All betting information was gathered from puckline.org and TopDownHockey.
Best of luck tonight!
Check out our top NHL game picks for Tuesday >>
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Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.