Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week (January 24th, 2022)
There was history made in the NHL on Sunday as Vancouver’s Bruce Boudreau coached in his 1,000th NHL game. The 67-year-old became the 29th coach to reach that mark. Boudreau is in his 14th season. He also coached Washington Capitals (2007-2011), Anaheim Ducks (2011-2016) and Minnesota Wild (2016-2020). The Canucks hired him Dec. 5 to replace Travis Green. Here’s a look at two intriguing early-week games.
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Anaheim Ducks vs. Boston Bruins
- When: Monday, January 24th, 2022. 7:00pm ET
- Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA
- TV: NESN, BSSC, BSSD
- Radio: AM830 (Ducks) // 98.5 The Sports Hub (Bruins)
- Live Stream: NHL Live
- NHL Betting Odds: Bruins -1.5
It’s the first meeting of the season between the teams.
It was thought that the Bruins might be without star Brad Marchand for a while after he suffered an upper-body injury in a 4-3 win against the Washington Capitals last Thursday on a hit from forward Garnet Hathaway at 6:48 of the second period. The Bruins thought it was a cheap shot. Replays showed Hathaway decked Marchand from behind. Referee Kendrick Nicholson, closest to the scene, did not call anything. Trail referee Kyle Rehman nabbed Hathaway for interference.
“The [Marchand] one I didn’t like at all. … hit a guy in the numbers in a vulnerable spot,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters. “I’ve seen that from that player in the past, so I didn’t like that one at all. The league may or may not look at it. When it comes to [Marchand], sometimes they kind of move on. But in this particular case, seems like a vulnerable spot, against the boards, back high.”
Later in the game when the Bruins scored a goal, Marchand couldn’t even lift his right arm to celebrate. Yet there Marchand was on Saturday in a 3-2 win over Winnipeg.
“I didn’t expect to play” he said after the win. “I’ve got to give a ton of credit to our training staff. I jumped on the ice and felt OK. It’s going to take a lot to sit out. If you feel you can play, you battle through it. You don’t want to let the guys down.”
David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle and Oskar Steen scored for Boston, which is 10-2 since New Year’s Day. Tuukka Rask made 21 saves for Boston in his third start after re-signing this month following offseason hip surgery. Pastrnak has been on a tear of late with six goals and eight points during a five-game points streak.
The Ducks are off a 5-1 home win over Tampa Bay on Friday. Derek Grant scored two goals, and John Gibson made 32 saves. Anaheim even did it without coach Dallas Eakins, who missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19. He joined All-Star Troy Terry, forward Sonny Milano and key defensemen Cam Fowler and Josh Manson on the COVID shelf for the Ducks. Terry could return Monday and those other players may return Monday, though.
NHL Betting Pick: Bruins
Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Islanders
- When: Tuesday, January 25th, 2022. 7:30pm ET
- Where: UBS Arena, Elmont, NY
- TV: MSG+, NBCSP
- Radio: 97.5 FM The Fanatic (Flyers) // WRHU FM 88.7 FM (Islanders)
- Live Stream: NHL Live
- NHL Betting Odds: TBA
It’s the third meeting of the season between the teams and the Islanders swept a home-and-home on Jan. 17-18. New York prevailed 4-1 at home as Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas scored less than three minutes apart in the second period. Anthony Beauvillier and Matt Martin also scored, and Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 shots. Travis Konecny scored and Martin Jones finished with 27 saves for the Flyers.
The next night in Philadelphia, the Islanders won 4-3 in shootout — Oliver Wahlstrom scored in the ninth round of the tiebreaker. Cizikas tied the game with 4:28 left in regulation. Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves and stopped nine shots in the shootout. Carter Hart made 28 saves in the loss.
Philly is without two of its best players in forward Sean Couturier (upper body) and defenseman Ryan Ellis (lower body). Neither has a in place for their returns.
“I really don’t have a timeline for them to even get on the ice as far as even getting into non-contact drills, even just to begin skating, let alone the conditioning and everything else that goes along with it,” coach Mike Yeo said. “I can’t even begin to guess at what time that is. Obviously the first step is to get a timeline as far as when we can start to expect them on the ice, and then from there we can determine when they’re going to be ready to play.” Couturier has been sidelined since Dec. 18, while Ellis has played one game since Oct 20.
Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle will play in his 965th consecutive game Tuesday. That would break the NHL record of 964 set by Doug Jarvis. The streak started on March 26, 2009 when Yandle played for the Coyotes. Then-coach Wayne Gretzky had scratched him the previous game.
NHL Betting Pick: Islanders
READ MORE: Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week (January 31st, 2022)
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