Dallas Stars' scorers shining bright for NHL bettors
By SCOTT RICKENBACH
The NHL season is three weeks old and already some trends are showing up in the ice. Scott Rickenbach breaks down the teams hockey bettors should keep an eye on – some good, some bad – for this week’s NHL schedule:
Team to watch: Dallas Stars (4-1-0)
The Stars are off and running, with three straight wins in which they netted a total of 13 goals. Dallas leads the NHL in scoring (3.8 GPG) and is third in shots, averaging 33.6 an outing. The biggest weapon for the Stars has been their power play, which is clicking at a 33.3 percent rate, good for fourth-best in the league. Dallas is getting terrific production from its three top forward lines, with centers Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza and Cody Eakin combining for 10 goals and nine assists.
The Stars are on the road this week, wrapping a four-game away swing in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Dallas won the opened two games on this slate, knocking off Tampa Bay and Florida. Following those games Tuesday and Thursday, in which Dallas should hold moneyline value on the road, the Stars return to the Lone Star State to host the Panthers Saturday.
Team in trouble: New York Rangers (3-2-1)
The Rangers opened the season with three straight victories before hitting a three-game skid heading into this week. New York’s scoring, which had 12 goals in the opening trio of games, has just two during this losing skid. Part of that is running into some defensive-minded clubs in New Jersey, Montreal, and Winnipeg but that doesn’t excuse the nine goals given up.
The Rangers hoped to reset this week, hosting San Jose Monday in a tough travel spot for the Sharks. The Blue Shirts gave No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist a breather Monday, hoping to recharge his batteries after looking a step slow in the loss to the Devils. The Rangers play a back-loaded schedule this week, hosting Arizona Thursday, then playing at Philadelphia Saturday, and back home in MSG for Calgary Sunday. They'll need Lundqvist for that rough three-in-four span.
Total team: Boston Bruins (5-0 Over/Under)
After giving up goals in bulk in the opening three games of the season, the Bruins decided a better defense was having a great offense. Boston has erupted for 11 goals in back-to-back wins against Arizona and Colorado after giving up 16 total tallies the three games prior. All five of those games have topped the total with four of those contests set with 5-goal totals. The biggest boost for the Bruins has been their power play, which is scoring on 38.9 percent of its opportunities. That’s the best attack with the man-advantage in the NHL.
Boston scored three times on six power-play opportunities against the Coyotes Sunday and take on Philadelphia (Wednesday) and the N.Y. Islanders (Friday) this week, two teams that haven’t exactly been brick walls with a man in the box. Things could get especially interesting for total bettors when they visit Brooklyn to play the Islanders, who score 3.4 goals a night.
Injury to note: Victor Hedman, D Tampa Bay Lightning
Hedman has been sidelined with a head injury since the middle of the month and missed Saturday’s game against Buffalo. The 6-foot-6 blueliner was back at practice this week and hopes to play against Nashville Tuesday. Hedman is not only a bruiser on the ice for the Bolts but has five assists and a plus-5 rating through his first five games of the schedule.
Playbook: Montreal Candiens (6-0-0)
The Montreal Canadiens have leaned heavily on goaltender Carey Price to carry the franchise the past few seasons, but are taking some of the burden off the Heart Trophy winner in the opening stretch of the season. Montreal, which averaged only 2.61 goals a game last year, is scoring a red-hot 3.3 goals a night, which is good enough for fifth in the NHL and takes a lot of pressure of Price to be perfect between the pipes.
The Habs have changed their offensive attack in 2015-16, controlling the puck when they enter the offensive zone rather than dumping and chasing on the forecheck like previous seasons. Montreal has gotten the puck into the middle of the neutral zone when on the rush, forcing defenders to make a choice: play the puck or cover the wingers.
"I agree that we're coming up with control, but we've always wanted that," Brendan Gallagher told reporters. "I just think we're doing a better job of winning neutral-zone battles, coming up with support, understanding where the puck's going to be going."
