The NHL is well underway, and we have some recent NHL trends to watch.
Following the NHL’s Lake Tahoe adventure, which saw Saturday’s game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche delayed until midnight Eastern after poor ice conditions created safety hazards, the league may not hold an outdoor game again any time soon.
In a season unlike any the league has experienced before, here are a few trends you should be aware of before placing further hockey bets.
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Puck Line Performances
A few of the teams near the bottom of the standings have impressed on puck line bets this season. As of Feb. 22, the top five teams by win percentage on the puck line are:
- Winnipeg Jets (15-3-0)
- Los Angeles Kings (12-4-0)
- New Jersey Devils (9-4-0)
- New York Rangers (11-5-0)
- New York Islanders (11-6-0)
The Islanders, Rangers, and Jets have earned their spots on this list through quality goaltending. As a team, the Islanders allow the fourth-fewest goals per game (2.35) in the league.
Semyon Varlamov and Anaheim goaltender John Gibson are tied for the league lead with three shutouts this season.
Los Angeles is off to a surprising 7-6-3 start, sitting in fourth place in the West Division. Two of the Kings’ three overtime losses came against the Minnesota Wild, where they blew 3-1 leads in the third period.
Anze Kopitar (four goals, 17 assists), Drew Doughty (four goals, 11 assists), and Dustin Brown (eight goals, six assists) are all having excellent rebound seasons after disappointing 2019-20 campaigns.
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As for the Rangers, they’ve seen six one-goal losses this year, including three in overtime. While it snuck into the playoffs as one of the bottom seeds in the Eastern Conference last year, New York was not expected to be a playoff team this year.
The Rangers have at least been a competitive team, despite an abundance of injuries and off-ice drama, including a fight between teammates in the tunnel after a shootout loss.
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Over/Under Analysis
If you look a little deeper into recent NHL trends, four of the top five teams with the highest “over” percentage were playoff teams last season. They are:
- Los Angeles Kings (68.8%)
- Philadelphia Flyers (66.7%)
- Carolina Hurricanes (65.6%)
- Washington Capitals (64.7%)
- Arizona Coyotes (61.8%)
One interesting trend here is that both the Kings and Coyotes (7-7-3) have losing records in the standings but are hitting the over. Their live NHL odds are proof of them scoring and allowing plenty goal. Arizona has a minus-five goal differential this season, so some of its “over” hits have come from giving up too many.
Philadelphia (3.40), Carolina (3.69), and Washington (3.35) all rank in the top 10 in goals-per-game average. Adding to the “over” factor for the Flyers and Capitals is that they also rank in the top 10 in highest goals allowed per game (Philadelphia at 3.27, Washington at 3.41).
As for teams with the highest “under” rate, the top five are:
- New York Rangers (75%)
- New York Islanders (70.6%)
- Detroit Red Wings (70%)
- Anaheim Ducks (69.4%)
- Colorado Avalanche (64.3%)
The Rangers, Islanders, Red Wings, and Ducks are among the lowest-scoring teams in the league (Anaheim and Detroit are worst and second worst, respectively). However, the Avalanche are one of the top five Cup favorites, earning their positioning on this list with outstanding defense and goaltending, not to mention higher “over” totals from night to night, given their scoring prowess.
