Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – October 23rd, 2023

One of the great days in modern NHL regular-season history is on tap Tuesday with the Frozen Frenzy: Evey team in the league will be in action but the opening puck drops have been staggered so that no two games begin at the same time. In addition, there will be a “whip-around” Frozen Frenzy show hosted by John Buccigross on ESPN+ and ESPN2. Here are our two favorite games from the Frenzy on Tuesday.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week (October 23rd, 2023)

NHL POWER RANKINGS: Early overreactions for each team.

1. @GoldenKnights
2. @Avalanche
3. @NHLBruins
4-32. CLICK LINK: https://t.co/A41PSI0W94 pic.twitter.com/m3U0loQhQX

— theScore (@theScore) October 23, 2023

Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks

• When: Tuesday, October 24th, 2023, 8:30 PM ET
• Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub (Bruins) // WGR 550 AM (Blackhawks)
• Live Stream: ESPN+
• NHL Betting Odds: TBA

This already wraps up the season series between the Original Six rivals. Bruins forward David Pastrnak plays against Blackhawks center Connor Bedard for the second time in the NHL; Pastrnak scored twice and Bedard had his first NHL goal in Boston’s 3-1 win at TD Garden on Oct. 11.

Trent Frederic also scored for Boston and reigning Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark made 20 saves. Pastrnak’s 41 regular-season goals lead the league in the 2023 calendar year. Bedard drew a penalty for tripping Brad Marchand in the second period. He remained in the game after his awkward collision into the boards with about five minutes left, but was working out the kinks in his right shoulder after talking to reporters in the locker room. Arvid Soderblom stopped 32 shots for the Blackhawks in that first loss.

Chicago enters at 2-4-0 off a 5-3 home loss to Vegas. Ticket prices for Bedard’s home debut were through the roof, and the rookie didn’t wait long to give the fans what they wanted. He scored his first home goal on the power play 1:30 into the first period. But, Chicago didn’t have nearly enough offense to match up with the defending Cup champs.

“We battled for a couple of periods, and we didn’t come out with great energy at first in the third and then we had some chances got power plays and got going a bit and then just made a mistake again,” Chicago’s Connor Murphy said.

Boston finished with the best record in the NHL last year and is 5-0 this year after a 3-1 win in Anaheim on Sunday. Bruins 19-year-old rookie Matt Poitras potted the first two goals of his career – the tying and winning tallies. Poitras (19 years, 226 days) became the fifth-youngest Bruin over the last 30 years to record their first multi-goal game: David Pastrnak (18 years, 230 days on Jan. 10, 2015), Phil Kessel (19 years, 107 days on Jan. 17, 2007), Patrice Bergeron (18 years, 172 days on Jan. 12, 2004) and Sergei Samsonov (19 years, 164 days on April 9, 1998).

Linus Ullmark made 28 saves to improve to 3-0-0 on the season. “Our goaltending has been really good,” said Coach Jim Montgomery. “I think, probably, it’s why we’re unbeaten is because of the great job both of them [Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman] have been doing.”

Boston has won five of the past six in the series.

NHL Betting Pick: Bruins

Edmonton Oilers vs. Minnesota Wild

• When: Tuesday, October 24th, 2023, 9:00 PM ET
• Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN
• TV: NHLPP, ESPN+
• Radio: 630 CHED AM (Oilers) // KFAN FM 100.3 (Wild)
• Live Stream: ESPN+
• NHL Betting Odds: TBA

The Oilers begin life without reigning Hart Trophy winner and clear betting favorite Connor McDavid. He is expected to be out 1-2 weeks for the Oilers with an upper-body injury sustained in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

McDavid did not play the last 4:20 of the third period and remained on the bench for overtime at Rogers Place. The forward appeared to reach to his left side on a rush up the ice and skated to the bench on his final shift. McDavid had two assists in the loss. He has eight points (two goals, six assists) in five games for Edmonton (1-3-1).

They blew a two-goal lead against the Jets to fall to 1-3-1 through their first five games. An expected Stanley Cup contender, they’re already nine points behind the 6-0 defending champion Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific Division. Even with McDavid, things haven’t gone according to script for the Oilers.

In their four losses, they’ve been outworked twice and been justly demolished for their lack of effort. They’ve also twice allowed games they’ve had in their grasp to slip away with individual mistakes.

“We’re just too up and down,” Leon Draisaitl said. “We’re not consistent enough.

Minnesota was upset 5-4 in OT at home by Columbus on Saturday. Jack Roslovic won it when he skated with the puck from the Blue Jackets end, eluded two defenders and scored with a wrist shot from the edge of the right face-off circle. Filip Gustavsson made 49 saves, and Marcus Johansson and Dakota Mermis each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota (2-2-1), which has lost two in a row and three of four. Joel Eriksson Ek had two assists. The Blue Jackets outshot the Wild 54-28.

“We weren’t good defensively,” Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. “We weren’t good in the game. We didn’t execute defensively. We didn’t execute getting out of our zone. So, yeah, we didn’t do a lot of good things in this game and yet we still had an opportunity in it, which was positive. But we’ve got to clean a lot of our hockey up.”

This is the first meeting of the season between the teams. The home team has won the past four in the series.

NHL Betting Pick: Wild

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READ MORE: Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – October 30th, 2023