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Welcome back to this week's House Enterprise betting guide for NHL on TNT's doubleheader for Wednesday, January 26th. We have two exciting matchups to look forward to tonight, as the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Detroit Red Wings in an Original 6 rivalry, east versus west matchup at 7:30, followed up by the Boston Bruins taking on the Colorado Avalanche in Denver at 10:00.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert, in fact, I'm the exact opposite. These are just my personal takes and my personal bets going into tonight's contests. Odds mentioned in this article are subject to change prior to puck drop.
(Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
First, let's take a look at my record from last week:
Game 1: Chicago Blackhawks @ Detroit Red Wings
The current state of both the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings is the tale of two franchises. Chicago is coming off the tail end of a dynasty, that saw them win Stanley Cup's in 2010, 2013, and 2015. The Blackhawks have done a good job of staying competitive in the years following their championship runs, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.
In the last five seasons, Chicago has only made the playoffs twice. In 2017 they were blanked four games to none against the eventual Western Conference Champions, the Nashville Predators, and then again in 2020 when they won their play-in series against the Edmonton Oilers, only to be eliminated four games to one against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.
Chicago has done their best to remain relevant, trading for Columbus Blue Jackets' top defenseman Seth Jones, and Vegas' reigning Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury. It wasn't enough for Chicago, however, as they currently sit in 7th place in the Central Division with 37 points.
The Blackhawks' roster still features electric stars such as Patrick Kane, and the aforementioned Jones and Fleury. Chicago and their fans must come to terms with their current situation. Their stars are aging, their farm system is barren -- ranked in the bottom five of the league -- and their current game plan doesn't seem to be panning out for them too well. A rebuild is imminent, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them completely blow it up at the trade deadline this year. Be on the lookout for guys such as Patrick Kane, Marc-Andre Fleury, Seth Jones and Jonathan Toews to garner a lot of attention from other teams. Could they possibly be on the move?
Detroit is in the exact opposite situation right now. Their lengthy rebuild is nearing an end, as general manager and Red Wings legend, Steve Yzerman, did an excellent job putting the right pieces in the right places for this team. Yzerman is the former general manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and is heavily credited with building the Tampa Bay team that would eventually go on to win two straight Stanley Cup's in 2020 and 2021. You could say that Stevie Y knows what he's doing in the front office, just like he knew what he was doing on the ice 20 years ago.
Detroit is nowhere near ready to compete this season, but their young and exciting roster is sure to give the Red Wings a good shot at the playoffs in the coming years, and they should be in contention for a Stanley Cup within the decade.
Detroit's roster features the likely 2021-22 Calder Trophy winner, Lucas Raymond, who ranks first among NHL rookies in points with 33. Who ranks third on that list? You guessed it, Detroit's Moritz Seider, who has 26 points on 3 goals and 23 assists. That's two top five rookie of the year candidates on one team. Detroit's future is sparkling.
Detroit acquired the Carolina Hurricanes' backup goalie over the offseason, Alex Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic finished third in Calder voting last year during his rookie year with Carolina, posting a 15-5 record, 1.90 goals against average, .932 save percentage, and 3 shutouts in 23 starts.
The Nedeljkovic trade was a head scratcher. It seemed as if Detroit pulled off the ultimate steal, acquiring a Calder finalist for pennies on the dollar, until we found out that as an impending restricted free agent, Nedeljkovic and the Carolina Hurricanes couldn't come to an agreement on a contract, which then lead to Carolina trading Nedeljkovic to Detroit for goaltender Jonathan Bernier and a 2021 third-round pick.
I'll take:
DET money line
U 5.5
Game 2: Boston Bruins @ Colorado Avalanche
Colorado played during last week's NHL on TNT doubleheader, which means that I already wrote about them at length in my last betting guide. So for more on them, go check that out! Today, I'll be focusing more on the Boston Bruins.
Boston got off to a slow start this year, but they've recently been able to kick it into gear and find their groove. The Bruins are 10-3 in the month of January, and currently sit in the second Eastern Conference Wild Card spot with 50 points on the season.
Brad Marchand is having a very solid 2021-22 campaign, as he is tied for 12th in the league in both points with 45, and goals with 20. Marchand's teammate, David Pastrnak, is one of the players he's tied with in goals.
Bruins fan's received good news recently, as Boston's long-time star goaltender, Tuukka Rask, has made his return to the team. Rask was an unrestricted free agent up until a few weeks ago, when he re-signed with the Bruins on a one-year, $1 million contract. Rask underwent hip surgery over the offseason, and after the Bruins elimination in the second round at the hands of the New York Islanders, he revealed that he played with the nagging hip injury all throughout the playoffs.
All in all, while the Bruins are a good team and are sure to make the playoffs this year, the Colorado Avalanche are the NHL's powerhouse. It would take a severe circumstance for me to bet against them. However, I do not expect this game to be a complete blowout.
I'll take:
COL -1.5 puck line
O 6
Cale Makar anytime goal scorer
Additional game picks this evening:
Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5
Washington Capitals ML
Calgary Flames -1.5
Follow me on Twitter for more NHL bets throughout the week, @NY_cth