If you’re a betting person, you’ve come to the right place! Last Word On Hockey is here to bring you our NHL Predictions for every game on the schedule. If you haven’t already, be sure to head over to the early edition of NHL Predictions. Our late edition features the St. Louis Blues hosting the New York Islanders. Let LWOH break down each matchup for the evening and give you a leg-up at the betting table.
NHL Predictions
Minnesota Wild vs Detroit Red Wings
Head-to-Head: Wild 1 – 0 Red Wings
While it’s not the most exciting matchup of the night, the Minnesota Wild are heading to town to take on the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams are struggling hard these days, but the Wild is just slightly above the Red Wings. And by slightly, I mean one singular space. Yes, the coveted sixth spot in their division.
Despite winning the last seven out of ten tilts, Minnesota is still a dumpster fire. The team is pretty much done for the season, and they know it. Maybe the Wild will put up a fight against the already-eliminated Red Wings? It couldn’t hurt.
Defenceman Jared Spurgeon has seven points in his last 13 games. Eric Staal has three points in five games. Zach Parise leads the team with 21 goals. This all sounds promising but, alas, it is the Wild. They haven’t been able to get it together all season, and now they’ve succumbed to the fire. Detroit is worse off though, so maybe Minnesota can extinguish the flames? Momentarily, at least.
And then there’s Detroit. To sum up their season so far, there’s only one word: Yikes. Their 15-46-4 record is rough. They’ve got three wins in their last 20 games. Dylan Larkin is heading up the team with 46 points and is second in goals with 17. The Wings goaltending has been so up and down this year and the defence in front of the net leaves something to be desired.
Jimmy Howard is flopping for the team, with a .886 save percentage. Jonathan Bernier is the better bet at the moment, with a .907 save percentage and a 2.93 goals-against average. The Red Wings are doing a complete nosedive, so take advantage of it. Put your faith in the Wild for this game.
Prediction: Wild win 2-0.
Calgary Flames vs Nashville Predators
Head-to-Head: Flames 1 – 1 Predators
The Calgary Flames aren’t in bad shape at this point in the season. They’re working to hammer in that playoff bid. They’re in fourth place in the Pacific Division. Matthew Tkachuk leads the Flames with 54 points. Calgary has 138 actual goals against, above the league average of 126. The Flames will need goaltender David Rittich, who has just a .908 save percentage, to pull it together for this game for the Flames.
The Nashville Predators come into this game having won five of their last seven games and have just broken into the second wild-card spot in the West. This game could have major playoff implications for both teams, as this gives Nashville the opportunity to leapfrog the Flames and claim the first wild-card slot. Captain Roman Josi has been having an incredible season in almost every regard. He has been offensively dominant and a great player. He is a safe bet to play well on any given night and considering the importance of this game for the Predators making the playoffs, assume he will continue to be productive.
With the significance this game holds to both teams, assume for it to be an intense game between the two.
Prediction: Predators win 4-3
St. Louis Blues vs New York Islanders
Head-to-Head: Blues 0 – 1 Islanders
The New York Islanders have recently just gone out and acquired centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Ottawa Senators. With the addition, the Islanders will be looking to move up higher than just a wild-card slot in the East. The Islanders have a 0.915 save percentage, well above the league average of 0.905. Pageau will likely be slotting in on the Islanders’ third line.
The reigning Stanley Cup champions have been excellent this season. They currently sit at the top of the Central division having gone 37-17-10. Led by David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly, the Blues have had a very deep offensive roster with four players already over 50 points. The St. Louis Blues are currently on a five-game winning streak coming into this game and will be looking to continue to add to their lead on the division.
Prediction: Blues win 5-2
Washington Capitals vs Winnipeg Jets
Head-to-Head: Capitals 1 – 0 Jets
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets just played each other Tuesday night where Washington was able to sneak out a 4-3 shootout win. The Capitals have had a strong season thus far, holding a very rounded and complete roster, especially with their offence. The Capitals have struggled of late, however, as they have only gone 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. They hold just a four-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metro division to claim that number one spot. The Capitals will need to pull it together if they want to continue with the success they’ve had for the rest of the season.
The Jets have added Dylan DeMelo to help on their defence recently. It’s been a position they’ve struggled at since the start of the year after trading Jacob Trouba in the off-season and Dustin Byfuglien seems to have played his last game as a Jet. The Jets aren’t even a point out of a playoff spot right now (they are tied at 70 points with Nashville, but lose the tiebreaker). The Jets will be looking to lean on Connor Hellebuyck, who is having a Vezina calibre season, to beat out rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov of the Capitals.
Prediction: Capitals win 4-2
New Jersey Devils vs San Jose Sharks
Head-to-Head: Devils 1 – 0 Sharks
It’s the battle of the underperforming teams. Both the New Jersey Devils and the San Jose Sharks were supposed to be significantly better than this for the 2019-20 season. These two teams have already met on February 20th, and New Jersey was able to take home the 2-1 win.
This game seems like it could come down to a game of goaltending, but not in the conventional sense. Both teams have struggled significantly this season with San Jose having an 0.893 so far and New Jersey with an 0.899 in all situations. The duel of Martin Jones and MacKenzie Blackwood could be the deciding factor in the game. Whichever goalie has the better night could be the deciding factor here.
There is no real playoff implications for either team in this game, as both are very far out of the race. Both teams were sellers at the deadline and traded players for assets. The recent return of Logan Couture is a definite bump for the San Jose Sharks, however, he could still be shaking off some rust from his prior injury.
Prediction: Sharks win 2-1
That’s it for our NHL predictions for the late games on February 27th. Check in again tomorrow for more NHL predictions!
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
