Welcome to NHL Predictions! Each day, Last Word On Hockey will break down every game and give our NHL predictions for each game. In today’s NHL predictions, we’ll cover the games happening on December 28th. This will include a featured game that should be must-watch hockey. The featured late game of our NHL Predictions is between the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights. Be sure to check out the early games in our NHL Predictions.
NHL Predictions
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars
Head-to-Head: Avalanche 0 – 2 Stars
The Colorado Avalanche have not beaten the Stars yet this season. They have gone 5-4-1 over their last ten games. Nathan MacKinnon is tearing up the league scoring at a 1.47 points per game pace. How do you stop that? It won’t be easy but the Stars have held the scoring genius to just one goal in the two games. Colorado has the best scoring team with a 3.63 goals per game pace and the Stars are pretty stingy just allowing 2.50 goals a game. Good offence vs good defence equals a very entertaining game.
The Dallas Stars have been very middle of the road lately. They are coming off of two defeats where they weren’t in either game. They lost to the Calgary Flames 5-1, and the game prior to that they lost to the Florida Panthers 7-4. If they play like that the Av’s will bury them. Tyler Seguin has finally come to life scoring four goals, five assists in his last 10 games. The Stars may not be able to outscore the Av’s, so they need to rely on their excellent defence to get the job done.
Prediction: Avalanche win 5-3
Washington Capitals vs Carolina Hurricanes
Head-to-Head: Capitals 0 – 1 Hurricanes
The Washington Capitals have been at the top of the NHL standings for a while. They just keep playing excellent hockey and dare any team to overtake them. They have not beaten the Hurricanes, losing in overtime to them back on October 5th. The Capitals are coming off a hard-fought 2-1 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. Both these teams played Friday night, meaning they are going back-to-back. Nothing like giving the players some time off before throwing them back into action.
The Carolina Hurricanes have lost three straight games after dropping a 5-3 decision to the New York Rangers on Friday night. They need to gather some momentum to get ahead of other teams in the tough Metropolitan Division. They are currently holding the final wild-card spot and trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points to be assured of a playoff spot by being in the top-three of the division. This game means more to the Hurricanes than the Capitals, but that doesn’t assure them two points. Hard work and determination will be required.
Prediction: Hurricanes win 3-2 in overtime
Los Angeles Kings vs Vancouver Canucks
Head-to-Head: Kings 0 – 2 Canucks
The Los Angeles Kings end their three-game winless skid with a hard-fought 3-2 overtime win against San Jose Sharks Friday night. The Kings have gone 5-3-2 of late and that’s an improvement. There’s now an interstate battle between the Sharks, Kings and Anaheim Ducks as to who will reside in last place of the Western Conference standings. The Kings also would like to get by the Canucks for the first time this season. The Kings parted ways with Ilya Kovalchuk recently so that saga is closed. Now they need to see what they can do to improve their play to become more successful.
The Vancouver Canucks are fortunate to have three great young players in Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and J.T. Miller. Between this talented trio, they have tallied 110 points. While that helps them offensively, the team has yet to break out and make much headway. They have won three straight games but lost three in a row before that. Hence, the inconsistency. They remain two points out of a wild-card spot and trail the division-leading Arizona club by four points with a game in hand. This game could tighten an already close Pacific standings and the Kings need to watch the above-mentioned trio if they intend to get by the Canucks.
Prediction: Canucks win 4-1
Arizona Coyotes vs Vegas Golden Knights
Head-to-Head: Coyotes 1 – 1 Golden Knights
The Arizona Coyotes are tied in points with the Vegas team, each earning 46. The Coyotes reside in first place of the Pacific Division by virtue of playing two less games. These two desert city teams have split their first two meetings with the Golden Knights winning in a shootout, while the Coyotes were victorious in the second game. The Pacific Division is really closely matched with three other teams within striking distance of Arizona and Vegas. Perhaps this season the long-anticipated rivalry between these two teams will take hold. The Coyotes are trying to rely on their backup goalie Antti Raanta since starter Darcy Kuemper is on the shelf with a lower-body injury.
The Vegas Golden Knights seem to be staying competitive and are just as good a road team as they are a home team. They must play back-to-back games as they played the Anaheim Ducks Friday night before facing the superior road team from Arizona. The Coyotes own the third-best road record in the NHL. The Vegas team needs to rely on their excellent 2.98 goals scored per game average and try to hold off the Coyotes who have added Taylor Hall to their arsenal. This will be a classic matchup you won’t want to miss.
Prediction: Coyotes win 4-3 in a shootout
Philadelphia Flyers vs San Jose Sharks
Head-to-Head: Flyers 0 – 0 Sharks
The Philadelphia Flyers are on a roll winning four straight games and now reside in the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Metro Division. Carter Hart has played magnificently only allowing one goal a game in three of those wins. The Flyers are hoping to keep the streak alive against the Sharks who will be playing back-to-back games. Hart has a 13-7-3 record and a .916 save percentage to go along with a stellar 2.27 goals-against average. In contrast, the Sharks are struggling, dropping four straight games, including Friday nights overtime loss to the Kings. Time for the Flyers to show they are a playoff contender.
The San Jose Sharks are just not playing very well at all. In fact, they have gone 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. It’s tough to pinpoint their ineptness but their defence can be a good place to start. The Sharks rank next to last in defence and consequently their goaltending suffers. Their combined .892 save percentage and 3.25 goals-against average are disturbing for Sharks fans. The Sharks need to figure it out soon, or the playoffs might as well be dream… a bad dream.
Prediction: Flyers win 4-2
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