NHL Picks: There are two games in the NHL on Monday as the Minnesota Wild visit the New York Rangers while the Edmonton Oilers host the Montreal Canadiens. The Rangers will be home favorites as they host the Wild while the Canadiens will be road favorites at Edmonton. Let’s look at both matchups and NHL predictions.
Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers
The Rangers are 2-2 at home this season. They have been inconsistent this season as they are still struggling to score goals consistently and their defense has been weak. They are averaging 2.9 goals per game and allowing 3.3 goals per contest so they are fortunate to be around the .500 mark. They will be favored in this contest against a Minnesota team that split their first four games of the season. The Wild have been all about defense as they were leading the league in fewest goals allowed through their first four games. They were struggling to score goals which meant all four of their games went under the NHL betting total. The Rangers are not always a reliable home favorite so the Wild could be an attractive road underdog in this matchup.
These teams have split their last ten meetings and almost every game has been low scoring. Last season each team won at home as the Wild won 2-1 while the Rangers won 4-1. The Rangers have taken five of the last seven at home with three of the last four going under with one push.
Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton Oilers
The Candiens have been red-hot to start the seasons as they won six of their first seven games. Their hot start was somewhat of a mirage though as their overall stats were nothing special. They were outside the top ten in goals scored and in fewest goals allowed. The Oilers lost their first four games of the season but bounce back to win their next two.
These teams split their two meetings last season with each team winning on the road. The Oilers won 4-3 in Montreal while the Canadiens won 4-1 in Edmonton. Six of the last ten meetings have gone over the total. The Canadiens have won the past two in Edmonton after having lost the previous four.
NHL Predictions
We’ll go with the Wild and Rangers under and the Canadiens and Oilers over the NHL betting total.
