The NHL rolls on into its holiday break, which is from December 24th to the 26th. However, there are still a few games to get to before and after that with the new year on the horizon, and there are some teams that are simply looking to get healthy.
The Las Vegas Knights, who have been one of the biggest surprises of the season, currently holds the league’s longest active winning streak with three games. New Jersey and Boston also have three-game winning streaks. The Los Angeles Kings are the top team in the Western Conference while the Lightning are the top team in the Eastern Conference with 52 points.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +550
The Lightning (25-7-2) won in Colorado and lost in Vegas, but they beat Ottawa at home in a shootout to kick off a four-game homestand. The Lightning will host Minnesota and Montreal over the next week, which follows winning three of their four games on the road. Nikita Kucherov has been on fire, notching three goals and six assists for nine points over his last five games.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1000
The Maple Leafs (21-14-1) lost in Detroit and Columbus, but they did win in Carolina. They’ll stay on the road in New York against the Rangers, and then they head to Arizona. The Maple Leafs are a little banged up as Auston Matthews is still on the sidelines with an upper-body injury, and he is joined by Nikita Soshnikov and Nikita Zaitsev, who both have lower-body injuries. This has contributed to the Maple Leafs losing four of their last five games.
3. New Jersey Devils
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1100
The Devils (20-9-5) won at home over Dallas, Anaheim and the Rangers in a shootout last week, and they’ll stay at home to host Chicago and Detroit this week. Brian Boyle is starting to roll for the Devils as he has four goals and four assists for eight points in his last five games. The Devils have won four of their last five games, scoring four goals or more in all four wins, but a single goal in the game they lost.
4. Los Angeles Kings
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1200
The Kings (22-10-4) lost on the road in New York against both the Rangers and the Islanders, but they won in Philadelphia and then at home against Colorado in overtime. They’ll travel to San Jose this week and then host Vegas. Jonathan Quick has been sharp in goal for the Kings, allowing 12 goals in his last five starts with a save percentage of .923.
5. Washington Capitals
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1200
The Capitals (22-12-1) won in overtime against Anaheim at home and in Dallas, and then this week they’ll stay on the road to visit Arizona , Vegas, the New York Rangers and then it is back home to host Boston. The Capitals has been red-hot, winning eight of their last nine games, and no one player has stood out as they’re playing as a team at both ends of the ice. After a slow start, the Capitals are finally playing like the team that everyone thought they would be.
6. Columbus Blue Jackets
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1400
The Blue Jackets (21-13-2) lost in Carolina and Boston, and in Pittsburgh in a shootout, but they won at home over Toronto. The Blue Jackets will host Philadelphia this week, along with a trip to Pittsburgh. Sergei Bobrovsky continues to be streaky and this hasn’t been one of his best stretches as he as allowed 20 goals in his last five starts with a save percentage of .876. The Blue Jackets need him to return to his early-season level of play to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
7. New York Rangers
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1400
The Rangers (19-12-4) beat Los Angeles and Anaheim at home and they also won in Boston in overtime, but they did lose in New Jersey in a shootout. They’ll host Toronto and Washington this week. Henrik Lundqvist has been on fire lately for the Rangers, giving up 11 goals in his last five starts with a save percentage of .941. “King Henrik” started off slow this season, but he is getting back to his best now and that makes the Ranges a threat in the Eastern Conference.
8. Nashville Predators
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1500
The Predators (21-9-4) won in Calgary, and then they lost at home to Winnipeg and Carolina. They’ll head out on the road this week to Dallas and St. Louis, and the road might be the best thing for the Predators, who have won their last four games away from home. On the other end, the Predators have lost their last three games on home ice and sometimes, it is just nice to get away to get back on track.
9. St. Louis Blues
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1600
The Blues (22-13-2) won at home over Winnipeg, then lost the second half of a home-and-home with the Jets, then they also lost in Calgary and Edmonton. They’ll wrap up this Western Canada trip in Vancouver and then head home to host Nashville. The Blues have lost five of their last five and they’re pretty banged up right now with Jaden Schwartz (ankle) and Jay Bouwmeester (undisclosed) continue to be on injured reserve, and Carl Gunnarsson (upper-body injury) and Sammy Blais (lower-body injury) are also hurt. It is tough to get any momentum when you don’t know who will be in the lineup from day-to-day, and the Blues are just trying to get through it right now.
10. Boston Bruins
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1600
The Bruins (18-10-5) lost at home to the Rangers, then won at home over Columbus and Winnipeg in a shootout, and they also won in Buffalo. They’ll stay home to host Detroit and Ottawa, and then they’ll travel to Washington. Tuukka Rask has been excellent between the pipes for the Bruins, allowing nine goals in his last five games with a .939 save percentage. The Bruins are another team that got off to a slow start, but they still have a lot of proud veterans on this team and if they get rolling, the Eastern Conference had better watch out.
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