MetroBet takes a glance at two key games on the NHL slate for Tuesday night.
Vancouver Canucks at Detroit Red Wings
The Vancouver Canucks and the Detroit Red Wings, two mediocre clubs on the upswing, meet at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night. The Canucks are slight -118 favorites over the Red Wings, the home underdog at -103. The betting total is 6.0 goals.
Youth has been served as the Canucks closed out a four-game home stand with three straight wins. Rookie center Elias Pettersson, age 19, notched four goals and three assists in those three victories, and is now at 15 points through his first nine games. Also, 22-year-old right winger Jake Virtanen added three goals of his own. Vancouver has been adequate on the road this year, going 4-4.
Detroit’s offense has finally gotten going after a dreadful start, compiling 16 goals over their last four games (3-1). Dylan Larkin has been the chief catalyst, collecting two goals and four assists while Tyler Bertuzzi has found the back of the net three times.
Defense and goaltending has been poor though, even in the midst of these 3-1 runs by both teams. The Canucks have averaged 32.25 shots against over their last four, while the Red Wings have allowed an average of 34.25 shots.
As a result, the Over seems like the smart play, and recent trends confirm that. The Over is 5-1-1 in the Canucks’ last seven after scoring five or more in their previous game, and 4-1 in their last five on three or more days of rest, per Covers.com. The Over has cashed in three straight games involving Detroit.
Prediction: Canucks win, 5-3
The play: Canucks vs. Red Wings Over 6.0 goals
Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks
The Minnesota Wild ride two hot streaks into San Jose as they take on the Sharks, who are the favorites at -148. They’re 7-1 in their last eight overall, and they’ve beaten San Jose in six straight meetings dating back almost two years.
Minnesota is a decent 3-3 away from home this year after posting consecutive road victories heading into Tuesday night’s tilt. The Wild, available at +122 in this contest, clean up their act on defense once they leave Xcel Energy Center. They allow just 31.0 shots per game on the road, compared to 33.4 shots per game overall. They’ve been getting great goaltending of late from Devan Dubnyk, as he’s posted a .929 save percentage in his last five games (4-1). And leading points-getter Mikael Granlund has been as sharp as ever, snaring seven points over his last five games.
The Sharks have looked sluggish on this home stand, dropping decisions to the Rangers and Blue Jackets before scraping by the Flyers with an overtime victory.
Prediction: Wild win, 3-2
The play: Wild +122
