Welcome back to NHL Predictions, where the Last Word on Hockey provides insight into all of the day’s games. On Wednesday, October 30th’s edition of NHL Predictions, we’ll take a look at six games. Today’s featured game is the battle of the Montreal Canadiens vs Arizona Coyotes.
NHL Predictions
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New Jersey Devils
Head-to-Head: Lightning 0-0 Devils
What has been a battle of the first round in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs once, is a match of two hurting teams as of October 2019. Neither the New Jersey Devils or the Tampa Bay Lightning can be satisfied with their opening month. What about a perfect finish to it? The Devils are coming into this game with two victories on the season so far. New Jersey has had a massive obstacle of maintaining leads all young season long.
On the other side, the Lightning embarked on the road again on Tuesday, when they played the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Tonight, they won’t have to travel notably distant, as they visit the Prudential Center. Last year, Tampa Bay crushed the Devils in all three head-to-head meetings with an overall score of 18-6. Their very last meeting came last December in this building and saw the Bolts win it 5-1. Surely, Tampa Bay will be the favorite of the game, but given the fact of them playing back-to-back games, don’t be shocked if the Devils pull an upset here.
Prediction: Devils win 4-3.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Head-to-Head: Oilers 0-0 Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are still trying to figure out what´s going on with them after the departures of star names in the summer. After a sloppy start, the Blue Jackets had a six-game point streak, which the Flyers halted on Saturday with an impressive 7-4 win. However, Columbus tends to be improving, and therefore they will desire to snag two points tonight.
The Edmonton Oilers fabulous beginning to the season is probably over. The 7-1 marvelous start is now gone. Now it’s the time for Edmonton to show some resilience. As of late, it seemed as if Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are the only ones that show up, being the basis of seemingly everything the team does on the ice. This makes for a few long evenings for the Oilers. They played in Detroit last night. Consequently, they should be tired. Can the Blue Jackets take advantage of that? The Oilers have crumpled the Blue Jackets in each of their latest two visits with a combined 11-2 score.
Prediction: Blue Jackets win 5-2.
Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues
Head-to-Head: Wild 0 – 0 Blues
In the continuation of our NHL Predictions, we progress a little bit more to the west. The St. Louis Blues will host the Minnesota Wild. The Blues had a tad hangover going on early in the season. However, they ended their four-game losing skid with important triumphs over the Avalanche and the Kings. They might have beaten the Los Angeles Kings last Thursday, but they lost Vladimir Tarasenko to injury recently. Now that’s an overpowering price to pay for a victory against a struggling team.
On the road trip during the weekend, the Blues ended up without a goal against the Boston Bruins but erupted to five tallies against the Detroit Red Wings. Now, they come back home to face the Wild. The Wild have struggled to start the year. While they’ve looked admirable at home, with a 3-1 record in their own building, they’ve struggled significantly on the road. Through seven away games so far this year, the Wild are unvictorious. This isn’t likely to change as they head into a buzzing Enterprise Center in St. Louis, the second game of a back-to-back. The first game saw them lose emphatically to the Dallas Stars.
Prediction: Blues win 4-2.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Arizona Coyotes
Head-to-Head: Canadiens 0 – 0 Coyotes
Our next stop with the NHL Predictions will be in the desert. The Arizona Coyotes are red-hot coming into this game versus the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs begin a road trip here in Glendale, before playing the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. It’s a tough back-to-back for Montreal, who toppled the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Canadiens have won two of their five road contests this season.
The Coyotes are firing on all cylinders lately. They are 7-1-1 in their last nine tilts, with their only regulation loss coming against the New York Islanders last Thursday. However, the Coyotes rebounded with a huge 5-3 victory in New Jersey. Arizona finished its four-game road trip on Monday with a 3-1 record.
From their last six head-to-head meetings at Gila River Arena, both teams carry an overall stalemate of three triumphs apiece. Last season, the Canadiens swept the season series from the Coyotes. Nevertheless, the Coyotes are solidly looking, while Montreal has been struggling to put a winning streak together.
Prediction: Coyotes win 3-2.
Florida Panthers vs. Colorado Avalanche
Head-to-Head: Panthers 0 – 1 Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are still on the top of the Western Conference following their marvelous start to the season. However, the injury of Mikko Rantanen is an important blow for them. Gabriel Landeskog was also injured. In their last four contests, they have caught an inconsistent slide. Two six-goal victories in Tampa Bay and Vegas, cracked by two cold evenings facing St. Louis and the Anaheim Ducks. However, the Avalanche have not lost consecutive games so far this season.
The Florida Panthers have had a contradictory back-to-back over the weekend. After toppling the Oilers 6-2 fashion on Sunday, they took a hit with a 7-2 loss against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. The loss against the Canucks also stopped the Panthers eight-game point streak. The Avalanche have already met the Panthers this season in Florida, winning in overtime. Florida was victorious in its last visit to Denver last February. This time, expect a strong push from Colorado.
Prediction: Avalanche win 5-3.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
Head-to-Head: Canucks 1 – 0 Kings
The Vancouver Canucks hold their heads high despite blowing a 5-1 lead last Friday. They rebounded well, though, dominating the Panthers with a 7-2 win three days later. Striking more than a half-dozen times at home is nothing uncommon for the Canucks. The Los Angeles Kings would know a thing or two about that. During the Canucks home opener, Vancouver toppled the Kings 8-2. Since that big win, Vancouver is 7-1-1. On the other side, the Kings seem to remain on a shelf.
Last week, the Kings were able to put together a two-game winning streak, succeeded by three clear losses. Now, the Kings are back home at Staples Center. The Canucks were triumphant in their last two visits to Los Angeles. Undoubtedly, they will be heavy favorites again to claim victory on Wednesday.
Prediction: Canucks win 4-3.
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