Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week (April 18th, 2022)

By Hank Blaine • April 18, 2022

Did you happen to bet on any NHL games Saturday? If you did and on any favorites, you cashed in big time. Amazingly, all 14 favorites won their games. That’s a first in league history as far as that type of tracking goes back. Depending on the odds, a $100 14-team parlay featuring all the favorites would’ve paid around $33,000. Here’s a look at two intriguing early week games.

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NHL Betting Picks of the Week (April 18th to 24th)

My latest NHL power rankings: That was quite a show Tarasenko put on here for #StlBlues on Thursday vs. #Sabres. A week without a lot of movement. Check out the list from 1-32! https://t.co/NdujembA9J
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) April 17, 2022

Washington Capitals vs. Colorado Avalanche

When: Tuesday, April 18th, 2022. 9:00pm ET
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
TV: NHL Network, TVAS, ALT2, NBCSWA
Radio: WJFK 106.7 FM (Capitals) // KOA 850 AM (Avalanche)
Live Stream: NHL Live
NHL Betting Odds: Capitals (+1.5) / Rockies (-1.5)

it could be a Stanley Cup preview. Colorado is favored to win it, while Washington probably doesn’t come out of the East but it’s certainly possible.

The Capitals go for the season sweep as they won in Washington, D.C., 6-3 on Oct. 19. Evgeny Kuznetsov had two goals for the Caps. Nick Jensen, Anthony Mantha and Nic Dowd also scored for the Capitals before Alex Ovechkin sent the puck into an empty net from 143 feet to close it out.

J.T. Compher scored short-handed, Darren Helm at even strength and Mikko Rantanen on a late power play for Colorado. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper allowed five goals on 38 shots but was hung out to dry by his teammates in a game that was a defensive adventure at times.

Coach Jared Bednar called it a “bad night” for some of his top players.

“I thought we got outcompeted in a lot of areas, so we gave up way too much,” Bednar said. “I just thought they were the faster, bigger, stronger and hungrier team tonight, start to finish.”

The Caps come off an eight-goal outburst Saturday in a win over Montreal. Anthony Mantha posted four points via two goals and two assists. Ovechkin scored his 47th goal of the season. The Russian is now within three goals of his ninth 50-goal season with seven games left. If he gets there, he would tie Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. It was Ovechkin’s 777th career goal.

Defenseman Dmitry Orlov returned from missing a few games injured and scored a goal and added three assists. It was Orlov’s first four-point game in the NHL. And it was the first by a visiting team’s defenseman in Montreal in over nine years — Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang had four assists on March 2, 2013.

Colorado won its ninth straight game Saturday, 7-4 over Carolina to clinch the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. J.T. Compher and Nathan MacKinnon each scored twice. The Avalanche have amassed an NHL-best 116 points this season as they work their way toward securing a second straight Presidents’ Trophy. They’re two away from tying the 2000-01 Stanley Cup squad for most points during a season in club history.

NHL Betting Pick: Avalanche

Winnipeg Jets vs. New York Rangers

When: Tuesday, April 19th, 2022. 7:00pm ET
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
TV: MSG, TSN3
Radio: 680 CJOB-AM (Jets) // 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio (Rangers)
Live Stream: NHL Live
NHL Betting Odds: TBA

The Rangers are battling the Carolina Hurricanes for the Metropolitan Division title while the Jets technically are still alive for a Wild-Card spot in the West but it would take a miracle at this point. They probably will be eliminated this week.

Winnipeg looked like it quit this weekend in losing at Florida and Tampa Bay in back-to-back games by a combined score of 13-5.

“I don’t know whether it’s tired, lack of motivation (in) some of the guys in the room or what it is, we’re definitely a frustrated group here,” Kyle Connor said following the second loss. “And it’s tough. Yeah, there’s a slight chance, but there is a chance to make the playoffs here. And two critical games and we put up that kind of effort.”

Connor scored a goal and assisted on another in Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Lightning. Connor picked up an assist on Paul Stastny’s first-period goal before scoring one of his own against Brian Elliott later in the period. Connor has now logged 43 goals and 87 points across 73 games played. He has posted at least one point in three of his last four games.

The Rangers are off a 4-0 home win over the Red Wings on Saturday as Vezina Trophy favorite Igor Shesterkin stopped all 20 shots. Former No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere scored twice after being a healthy scratch on Wednesday. Winger Kaapo Kakko left Saturday’s game due to a lower-body injury and is in question for Tuesday. Coach Gerard Gallant didn’t believe the injury was too serious and mentioned that the team was being cautious. Kakko has been limited to 41 games this season due to injuries. He has 16 points.

The Rangers beat the Jets 4-1 on March 6 in Winnipeg. Chris Kreider scored twice, Mike Zibanejad and Barclay Goodrow also scored for the Rangers, and Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba each had two assists. Shesterkin stopped 45 shots.

NHL Betting Pick: Rangers

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