NHL Consensus Picks: After 20 NHL Season Games Review

This is my second edition of this series. You can find the first article here. On November 22, fifteen NHL games were held, with each of the last teams reaching the twenty-game mark on the season. The season is one-fourth of the way done, so let us look at the best and worst teams to bet on so far on the season. I gather up this information by acting as if I bet $100 on every team before the game started. I use odds found at BetOnline.
Top NHL Hockey Teams
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have stayed on top. Ten games through the season, Vegas was the best team to bet on and it has stayed that way. More impressively though the Golden Knights have continued to win even with the injury issues at the goaltender spot they have had. Vegas has played exactly twenty games, and if you bet $100 on them for every game, you would have won $950.64. The Golden Knights find themselves an underdog constantly and so far, they have thrived in that situation.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues placed third after ten games and have moved up a single spot since then. St. Louis lost in the second round of last year’s playoffs and have been playing even better up to this point. St. Louis has played twenty-two games up until this point in the season. If you bet $100 on all twenty-two games, you would have won $845.24. The Blues have been a dominant team this season, which makes them look like a good pick for the next ten games.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning are sitting comfortably as the number one team in all the NHL right now. Through twenty-one games, Tampa Bay has gone 16-3-2. Tampa Bay has the top two leaders in NHL points right now with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. Stamkos and Kucherov make the Lightning a safe bet any time. The reason the Lightning find themselves in the third position of this list is because they are constantly large favorites. If you bet $100 on every Lightning game, you would have won a total of $806.69.
Worst NHL Hockey Teams
Buffalo Sabres
Once again, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves at the bottom of the rankings. Buffalo has gone 5-13-4 in twenty-two games played, which has placed them second to last in the league. The Sabres have struggled to find consistency at any position on the ice. If you bet $100 on every one of Buffalo’s matchups, you would have lost $1109.51. The Sabres are on a path for another lottery selection in this year’s draft.
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes have been awful this season. Arizona has a 5-16-3 record, which has earned them the last place spot in all the NHL. The Coyotes has been a large favorite in only one game this entire season. That game was when they hosted the Golden Knights in their second game of the season. Ever since the Coyotes have mostly found themselves as large underdogs. If you bet $100 on all the Coyotes games, you would have lost $1058.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens have found themselves in an awful place after high expectations to start this year. The Canadiens would have lost you $842.05 if you bet $100 on all their games. Montreal will need to make some serious changes if they expect to go to the playoffs for a second straight season. Unless those changes are made, I would suggest staying away from most Canadiens bets.
NHL Hockey Teams With The Biggest Changes
Nashville Predators
After ten or so games the Nashville Predators would have lost you $166.76 if you bet $100 on all their games. The Predators have been hot as of recently, winning eight of their last nine. Now if you bet $100 on all of Nashville’s games you would have won $300.01. Nashville made a trade to acquire Kyle Turris which has helped them. Now the Predators look like the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. With the Predators playing this well, they are a team to keep an eye on.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings were one of the hottest teams after ten games, but have cooled down since. The Kings are losers of two straight and six of their last seven. The Kings would have won you $551.47 if you bet $100 on them through their first ten or so games. Now the Kings would have won you $76.29 if you have been betting $100 on each of their twenty-two games.
NHL Hockey – The Rest Of The Bunch
Here are how the rest of the NHL teams would have fared if you had bet $100 on them every game through November 23.
*Teams in parenthesis have negative amounts