The NHL comes out of its All-Star break this week although teams have played much longer than half their 82-game regular season schedule. The actual halfway point of the season was mid-January. The Boston Bruins remain Cup favorites as the puck drops on the second half. Here’s a look at two intriguing early-week games. Check back for NHL odds.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week (February 6th, 2023)

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New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers

• When: Monday, February 6, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, MB
• TV: NBCSP, MSGSN2
• Radio: WRHU 88.7-FM (Islanders) // 97.5 The Fanatic (Flyers)
• Live Stream: NHL Live
• NHL Betting Odds: Islanders (-1.5) // Flyers (+1.5)

This will be the Islanders debut of Vancouver Canucks All-Star forward Bo Horvat, who was acquired early last week. He represented the Isles at the ASG yet still played for Vancouver’s Pacific Division. With the Canucks as huge disappointments and already having fired their head coach, they are in full seller mode ahead of the March 3 Trade Deadline. So, they traded Horvat, who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, to the Islanders for forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Raty and a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Horvat has 54 points, including an NHL career-high 31 goals, in 49 games this season. He led Vancouver with 11 power-play goals and won 56 percent of his face-offs.

The Islanders can use the help offensively; New York is 25th in the NHL in scoring 2.85 goals per game and last on the power play at 15.5 percent. Horvat also will bring valuable leadership after serving as Canucks captain since the start of the 2019-20 season.

“He’s going to bring a huge element to our team up front, depth scoring. He does a little bit of everything. He kills [penalties], power play, 5-on-5, so he’s going to be a huge part of our team, and that’s a big move for us,” New York All-Star forward Brock Nelson said of his new teammate.

It’s possible that New York gets good young defenseman Noah Dobson (10 goals, 17 assists), back for this one. He has been out since Jan. 21 with an upper-body injury. Philadelphia is on the fringes of the Wild Card race so also could start trading away players. These teams have split two meetings this season. The one in Philadelphia was a 3-1 win by the Flyers on Nov. 29. Kevin Hayes scored two goals, and Carter Hart made 23 saves as Philly ended a 10-game losing trip at the time. Travis Sanheim also scored and Lukáš Sedlák added two assists for Philadelphia. Dobson scored for the Islanders, who had won four in a row.

NHL Betting Pick: New York Islanders

Colorado Avalanche vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

• When: Tuesday, February 3, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Centre Bell, Montreal, QB
• TV: TVAS, ATTSN-PT, ALT
• Radio: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM (Avalanche) // 105.9 The X (Penguins)
• Live Stream: NHL Live
• NHL Betting Odds: TBA

Could be a Stanley Cup Finals preview as the Avalanche are favored to win the Western Conference. Pittsburgh isn’t among the favorites to win the East but the Pens are talented enough to get there in perhaps one last run for the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Pittsburgh’s season has been a volatile one. The Pens started it on a five-game point streak; which turned into a seven-game winless streak. The Penguins proceeded to go on an incredible run, picking up points in 16 of 18, before going through another tough stretch (3-5-2). Since then, they’ve essentially alternated wins and losses.

Obviously, injuries play a part in all of this, with several key players – including Kris Letang and fellow top-four defenseman Jeff Petry – missing time. Shortly after returning from a lower-body injury, No. 1 goaltender Tristan Jarry was ruled out until after the break with a lower-body injury, which is the most notable absence at the moment. Not clear if he will be ready here.

Colorado is starting to play well after a bit of a Stanley Cup hangover and may get two key players back Tuesday in winger Valeri Nichushkin and defenseman Bowen Byram. Byram played the first 10 games of the season and has been out since Nov. 5. The fourth-overall pick in the 2019 Draft, Byram has two goals and five points. When the Avalanche are back at full strength, MacKinnon believes they’ll be difficult to stop.

“I’ll use it as an excuse, I guess, but when guys are hurt, it’s like they were traded away for nothing, so we could use those guys back,” said star Nathan MacKinnon, who also has missed time this year injured.

There’s some talk the team could trade for Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. While Toews isn’t an all-star any longer, he has scored at a rate of 2.04 points per 60. His shot rate has decreased, but he’s still generating quality chances. Can the Avalanche afford it? They’d need the Blackhawks to retain salary, and could even need another team to take on a chunk to make it all work.

This is the first meeting of the season between the teams. Last year, the Avs swept and won 6-4 in Pittsburgh. Nathan MacKinnon had two goals. Jarry made 26 saves for Pittsburgh.

NHL Betting Pick: Pittsburgh Flyers

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