Andrew Berkshire's picks for Friday's action include wins for the Capitals and Jets.
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It’s a wild Black Friday with a ton of games on the schedule to start the weekend of American Thanksgiving. Almost every team is in action across 15 different matchups, with teams on the rise taking on current contenders, battles of the basement, and a few clashes of titans. Whatever kind of hockey game you’re looking for, you can find it tonight. That also means any kind of bet you’re looking for can also be found.
Auston Matthews & William Nylander to both score 1+ goal vs Chicago Blackhawks 3.25
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been finding their scoring touch at important times as of late, winners of four straight having just returned from Sweden. Jet lag may be an issue, but the Blackhawks are a team the Leafs should be able to routinely exploit on the defensive side.
Nylander and Matthews are simply two of the best offensive players in the game at the moment, with Nylander riding a 17-game season-long point streak. Nylander is also shooing at by far the highest rate of his career, on pace to take 80 more shots than last season, which was his career best.
Cole Caufield to score anytime vs San Jose Sharks 2.30
We’ve been burned with this one a few times this season, but maybe an afternoon start is what Caufield needs to reset and get his finishing on task. Even during this ice cold streak where Caufield has just one goal in 12 games, he’s shooting at a higher rate than last season, getting more scoring chances overall as well.
Against a team as weak defensively as the San Jose Sharks, the Canadiens’ scoring needs to find a way to get the job done, and Caufield is the leader for this team in that area. As soon as he scores one, you just know he’s going to go on a run.
Washington Capitals to beat Edmonton Oilers 2.10
The Oilers’ goaltenders right now couldn’t stop a beach ball. Things are grim in Edmonton, where the buzz going into the season was that they were THE team to beat this year, the consensus Stanley Cup favourites. Yet every moment that passes that their management club sits on their hands and refuses to help this team, things get even worse.
Meanwhile the Washington Capitals are playing their best hockey in years, winners of five-straight and 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. The strength for Washington has been goaltending and defence, where they’ve allowed almost 30 fewer goals against than Edmonton has.
Winnipeg Jets to beat Florida Panthers 2.20
In general, the Eastern Conference has been much better than the West in the NHL over the last few years. Because of that, and home ice advantage, I can understand why the Panthers are considered favourites over the Winnipeg Jets in this matchup, but don’t underestimate the Jets.
Both teams boast great goaltending and elite shooting talent, which makes this an extremely exciting game even without the obvious Paul Maurice factor, who quit on the Jets a couple of years ago before being tapped to take over the Panthers last year. I see this game as essentially a coin toss, so it makes sense to put a little on the underdog.
