#Hart Trophy

Jack Hughes has been the New Jersey Devils best player by a large margin. He's even getting hyped as one of the best players in the league. How does he compare with other Hart Trophy candidates? The New Jersey Devils are giving fans the season we've been waiting for during this longer-than-expected rebuild. When the Devils took Jack Hughes with the…

This Saturday has an exciting slate of games, including a couple of teams playing well recently. We also have a matchup with some struggling teams that would love to come away with two points. Let's take a look at or three best bets for Saturday's slate of NHL action. Here are our other best bets for Saturday: The Penguins will play 24 hours after…

To mark the halfway point of the 2022-23 regular season, NHL.com is running its third installment of the Trophy Tracker series. Today, we look at the race for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team as selected in a poll by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. There are two important…

Hockey is the most chaotic of the major sports. Stoppages are few and far between, grown men hurl themselves into each other while skating 20 miles per hour, and teams face a neverending battle of possessing the puck or trying to obtain it. But, as with most things, there's a science within the mayhem. We're giving bettors another tool to put in…

The Boston Bruins are the best team in hockey. On a historic pace through 40 games, the Bruins hold an NHL-best record of 32-4-4 and leads the league in points (68), goals against average (2.13) and save percentage (.928). Boston is also second in goals per game (3.85) and third in power play percentage (28.2%). If they hold this pace, the Bruins…

Welcome to NHL99, The Athletic's countdown of the best 100 players in modern NHL history. We're ranking 100 players but calling it 99 because we all know who's No. 1 - it's the 99 spots behind No. 99 we have to figure out. Every Monday through Saturday until February we'll unveil new members of the list. Martin St. Louis' decorated playing career…

The Dallas Stars will stay in New York and battle the Rangers after going up against the Islanders. The Rangers crushed Dallas in their first meeting 6-3. The game was tied at three entering the final period, but New York rattled in three goals in the final 20 minutes and ran away with it. The Stars are tied for the most points in the Western…

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without superstar Auston Matthews when they return home to face the surging Nashville Predators in Wednesday night's NHL action. The reigning Hart Trophy winner missed Tuesday's practice due to an undisclosed injury, and was confirmed out by head coach Sheldon Keefe early on Wednesday. That is good news for the…

Not many non-goaltenders in the NHL will move a spread or total by missing a game, but one who definitely does is Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, the reigning league MVP. He will miss his first game of the season tonight against the visiting Nashville Predators. The Leafs had been -205 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook with a total of…

A lot has been said about Jack Hughes over the last few weeks. He's been given several titles and labels during this heater he has been on..... A Goal Scorer, Otherworldly, Playmaker, The Big Deal. If I wanted to use a now-dated Game of Thrones analogy, I'd argue he is indeed The Prince that was Promised. If I wanted to use an even more dated…

One of the Eastern Conference's top teams is proving they are for real. The 2022-23 Boston Bruins opened the season with key players out with injuries. In addition to that, a new head coach was in place. Overcoming that adversity and defying the odds, the Bruins proved they're for real on their recent stretch of play. You can say they had an easy…

Rewind the clock three years and what you felt in those early days of Maple Leafs training camp was relief. Relief because the organization managed to get Mitch Marner's signature on a contract without a protracted and messy standoff. But relief, too, because they'd finally brought an end to a multi-year cycle of questions and speculation about the…

The 2022-23 NHL season begins in earnest Tuesday night with the New York Rangers hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Vegas Golden Knights. Most of the league starts up Wednesday night, including the defending champion Colorado Avalanche. The Eastern Conference, in particular, is absolutely loaded. Four of the teams…

The Boston Bruins are far and away the best team in hockey. They're 30-4-4, the favorite to win the Stanley Cup at+500 according to BetOnline.ag, and also have the favorite to win the NHL's Coach of the Year award behind their bench. The Jack Adams Trophy is given to the league's best head coach in a given season, and Jim Montgomery is the current…

The Toronto Maple Leafs look for their fifth win in seven games when they host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night. The pregame narrative: Auston Matthews is putting the puck in the net at a vintage clip recently, Mitch Marner has cooled off and there's some sneaky value on a modest shot prop for Vince Dunn. Odds as of 11:10 a.m. on…

The Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues meet for the second time in the last eight days on Tuesday. The pregame narrative: William Nylander scored the overtime winner when these teams met last and we're expecting him to have another big game tonight. His linemate - Michael Bunting - also holds value to find the score sheet. Odds as of 10:51…

The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders play Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Second-Round series Monday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET as the first of two Stanley Cup Playoffs games on the day. Below, we look at the Islanders-Flyers betting odds and lines and make our NHL picks and best bets. Semyon…

Is Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews having a better season or a worse season than he did in 2021-22, or are other things going on for Matthews and his team that have changed the way he plays? If so, are those changes a good thing for the Blue and White? Last season, Matthews put together a season for the ages, winning the Rocket…

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche are slated for a New Year's Eve clash in Denver. The pregame narrative: Cale Makar has been holding the Avalanche together lately and we're expecting him to keep putting pucks on the net. Meanwhile, Auston Matthews has value on his own shot prop and is also near even money to score. Odds as of 11:22…

A Pacific division battle is set for Friday night when the Edmonton Oilers (40 points) visit the Seattle Kraken (40 points). The Pacific division is as tight as it gets with the third through sixth teams are separated by just six points. These two teams, Edmonton and Seattle, are one point out of third place. Below is my NHL betting prediction for…

Welcome back to another day of NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head and other factors that may play in. We also have a featured game of the day, which is considered must-watch TV. Today's featured game is the San Jose Sharks vs…

Raleigh, N.C. - The 2001-2002 version of the Carolina Hurricanes had no business being three wins from the Stanley Cup. At that point, they were just a few years removed from playing in front of sparse crowds at the Greensboro Coliseum, where a curtain regularly draped off much of the upper level seating. But the spring of 2002 brought the infancy…

We're at the unofficial halfway mark of the NHL season. Sure, teams haven't quite played 50% of their games yet, but the holiday break serves as a time that we can all take a step back, evaluate things, and then get ready for the final 48 or so games of the season. Teams who slumped to begin the year can start to gain momentum, and those who got…

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is back on the "Who's Hot?" list. He is joined by another returnee, Carolina Hurricanes' goalie Pyote Kochetkov. Kochetkov is a major reason Carolina hasn't suffered a regulation loss in December, while leapfrogging New Jersey into first place in the Metropolitan Division. Carolina (+900) has moved into third…

The Toronto Maple Leafs (20-7-6) ended a two-game losing streak on Tuesday night with a big 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. They'll look to win back-to-back games with a win over the Philadelphia Flyers (11-15-7) in a rare Thursday afternoon game. Toronto is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games, while the Flyers are 3-5-2 during the same…

The 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are down to the final four! The Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers kicked off the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night in a thrilling game. Now, our attention turns to a much lower-scoring series between the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Igor Shesterkin is a Vezina Trophy finalist and Andrei…

Coming off a much-needed win, the Nashville Predators are now in a solid position to win consecutive games. They visit the free-falling Chicago Blackhawks as wide favorites per the NHL odds. The Predators have won three straight against Chicago and eight of their last 10 meetings. However, two of Chicago's victories came at the United Center. Let's…

It's rare to see a player like Jakob Chychurun on the trade block. Chychrun, 24, has quietly become one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. Dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season, Chychrun ranks first among defensemen - who have played a minimum of 700 minutes - in 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes (0.51) and second to Cale Makar in…

The Toronto Maple Leafs host the surging Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at Scotiabank Arena. The pregame narrative: Tampa Bay has won five straight games all by three-plus goals and Brayden Point has been leading the charge. We're backing him to have a big night and are also expecting Auston Matthews to routinely test Andrei Vasilevskiy. Odds as of…

Revenge may be on the mind of the Penguins when they host the New York Rangers in one of eight games in the NHL odds on Tuesday, December 20th. It's the first meeting between the two teams since New York defeated Pittsburgh in overtime in game seven of their first round playoff series last year. Although the Blueshirts can't seem to lose right now,…

This Monday has an exciting slate of games, including a couple of teams playing well recently. We also have a matchup with some struggling teams that would love to come away with two points. Here are our top NHL predictions for Monday. And here's a closer look at Oilers vs. Predators. Oilers (-134) vs. Predators (+112) | o/u 6.5 (-126/+106) The…

Evgeni Malkin, you're up. Since Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan ruled out Sidney Crosby and Tristan Jarry for Game 6, the Penguins' second-line center will lead the team in an elimination game against the New York Rangers. The Penguins lead New York 3-2 and will advance to Round Two for the first time since 2018 with a win. It's could…

This Monday has an exciting slate of games, including a couple of teams playing well recently. We also have a matchup with some struggling teams that would love to come away with two points. Panthers (+142) vs. Bruins (-172) | o/u 6.5 (-122/+100) The Panthers are looking excellent offensively and just put up four goals against the best statistical…

The Florida Panthers (54-15-6) take on the New York Islanders (35-31-9) Tuesday at UBS Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 (ESPN+) Below, we look at the Panthers vs. Islanders odds and lines, and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets. Florida isn't taking its foot off the gas down the stretch, winners of 10 in a row. Their last two have…

At a betting line of -250, the Avalanche are given an 71.43% implied probability in this series. Each team has a win in two previous playoff meetings. The Avs are 3-1 straight up in their past four games against the Oilers and 3-0 SU in the last three games between two teams at Colorado's Ball Arena. Defenseman Sam Girard (broken sternum) is out…

The Vancouver Canucks are reportedly asking for NHL players in a potential Bo Horvat trade rather than draft picks and prospects. It's not set in stone that the Vancouver Canucks will trade Bo Horvat. The Canucks and Horvat may very well get past their contract impasse and find their way to a deal that satisfies both sides. But there's a reason why…

The Hart Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the most valuable player in the NHL. According to hockey betting sites, Connor McDavid is the runaway favorite right now. But if you're looking for value, you'll have to look outside of McDavid. Connor McDavid is tearing up the National Hockey League right now with 59 points in 30 games. He's on…

A well-rested Wild side welcomes a Red Wings team getting ready to play the second half of a back-to-back in Minnesota on Wednesday, December 14th. Puck drop for this tilt is scheduled for 7:30 pm ET in the first half of a TNT doubleheader with the Canucks and Flames to follow on a quiet Wednesday night in the NHL. There are just three games in…

The Maurice'Rocket' Richard Trophy was introduced in 1999 and is awarded to the NHL's leading goal-scorer each season. It could be called the Alexander Ovechkin award because the Great Eight has claimed the trophy a record nine times (41%) since its inception. Auston Matthews has taken home the title in back-to-back seasons and is very much looking…

The NHL season is just about to get going and the Minnesota Wild are still in a little bit of an afterglow of breaking on to the trendy scene of Cool Teams last season, headlined by Kirill Kaprizov. But how much do you think that is going to carry over into actual success? And how much are you willing to bet on it? Well we gathered up some bets…

In 1991, the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup by defeating the Minnesota North Stars. A couple of years later, Minnesota abandoned the land of 10000 lakes and moved to Dallas, but they'll always have a place in the Penguins' history. The Penguins (16-8-4) have won five straight and have points in 14 of their last 16 games (12-2-2).…

If you think it's inevitable that the New Jersey Devils are going to eventually fall back to reality, you may have to think again. One-third of the way through this season and the Devils are still owners of the second-best record in the league as they travel to Broadway to take on the Rangers on Monday, December 12th. Faceoff for this year's second…

In 2021-22 Jacob Markstrom finished the season as a Vezina Trophy finalist, compiling the best statistical season of his 13-year career. His contract, valued at $6 million average annual value (AAV), appeared to be a bargain, thanks to a 35-15-9 record in 63 games. Moreover, he led all netminders with nine shutouts and finished fourth in wins,…

Welcome to NHL 99, The Athletic's countdown of the best 100 players in modern NHL history. We're ranking 100 players but calling it 99 because we all know who's No. 1 - it's the 99 spots behind No. 99 we have to figure out. Every Monday through Saturday until February we'll unveil new members of the list. Stan Mikita was arguably the NHL's most…

During last week's Chiclets Game Notes, we dove into who we would give the NHL awards to if the season ended today. Here is the link to check it out now so this blog will make sense. Plus, Army looks terrific on it. Here are the $EBR picks: Norris Trophy: Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets) - A little-known fact about this award is that a new player has…

If you got an NFL hangover from US Thanksgiving on Thursday, find a comfortable spot to settle in on Friday, because there's a ton of NHL action for you to watch and bet on. All but four teams in the league will be on the ice on Black Friday, November 25th. Nobody has had a better start to this season than the Boston Bruins. With a record of…

When the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SNO, SN NOW), it will feature two of the best young forwards in Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Stars forward Jason Robertson. Matthews, 25, has 485 points (271 goals, 214 assists) in 433 NHL games. Robertson, 23, has 166…

When it comes to surprises in the NHL this season, the New Jersey Devils have stolen the headlines in the Eastern Conference, but don't sleep on the Detroit Red Wings. The once-proud franchise has missed the playoffs in six straight seasons, but could be on its way back this year. On Tuesday, December 6th, Detroit faces a stiff test when they visit…

The Los Angeles Kings are in rebuild mode, which can go a long way in explaining why they have lost nine of their last 12 games coming into this matchup. Meanwhile Colorado just keeps on keeping on after a hard win against St. Louis. The Avalanche have now won four straight and are 21-3-3 in the last 27 games. Let's take a look at this matchup, the…

Discussions about awards usually begin with the definition of honor being twisted into a pretzel. The Hart Trophy arguably leads in this regard, with people often convoluting'best' with'most valuable.' The NHL's definition aids in the interpretation, stating that the Hart Trophy is "an annual award given to the player adjudged to be the most…