We are about to enter the homestretch of the NHL season. Teams are two-thirds of the way through their schedule, and we will likely see a flurry of moves over the next two weeks as clubs buy or sell prior to the NHL trade deadline on Friday, March 3, 2023. Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun and Vancouver’s Luke Schenn are two of the top targets for teams and could help flip the Stanley Cup odds in the coming week.
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NHL Parlay Picks for Thursday, February 16, 2023
Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes
Currently, the Carolina Hurricanes are one of three teams with Stanley Cup odds of less than 10-1 along with Boston and Colorado. Carolina doesn’t have a lot of firepower, but this team plays fantastic two-way hockey. Every forward knows how to backcheck with Sebastian Aho leading the way in this department. Aho is such a valuable player that Montreal used a rarely employed tactic to try to acquire him a few seasons ago, and Carolina’s front office was forced to match the offer.
Aho is a well-balanced player with 23 goals and 23 assists on the season. He is one of just three Carolina players with more than 40 points, but this is a team that has a ton of depth. Although only four Carolina teammates have more than 25 points, a whopping eight players have between 20 and 25 points.
Martin Necas leads the Hurricanes with 47 points (21 G, 26 A), while Andrei Svechnikov has 19 goals and 24 assists. Svechnikov is the only everyday player on the roster that has a negative plus/minus, highlighting the type of hockey this team plays. The goaltending hasn’t been great with Frederik Andersen struggling in net though.
Montreal is at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with a -50 goal differential and just 48 points in 53 games. The Canadiens have almost no offense with just four players with 10 goals or more, and only six players have 21 points or more on the team. Cole Caufield is the leading goal scorer by far with 26 goals, but he was just shut down and placed on injured reserve. Nick Suzuki is the leading scorer on the team with 42 points (17 G and 25 A), so we are seeing Montreal bring up young AHL talents like Rafael Harvey-Pinard.
While his start has been promising, these are the kinds of moves that let you know a team is looking ahead to next season. Montreal is no longer about competing but about building for the future.
New Jersey Devils at St. Louis Blues
One of the most intriguing teams in the NHL right now is New Jersey. The Devils are looking like a real competitor in the Eastern Conference, and they are just three points behind Carolina in the Metropolitan Division.
What’s been more impressive is that they are continuing to play well even though star center Jack Hughes is hurt. Hughes was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and he leads the Devils with 35 goals and 32 assists. Unfortunately, he suffered an upper body injury and will miss at least a few weeks according to reports.
Former Calgary forward Dougie Hamilton will be asked to do a lot more with Hughes out, and Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier will look to carry the load.
Meanwhile, St. Louis looks to be tearing it down just a few weeks after trading Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers. Ryan O’Reilly is likely to be traded next, leaving the Blues with only Jordan Binnington and a couple others from the squad that won the Stanley Cup a few years ago. The Blues are currently nine points outside of the playoff picture in the much less competitive Eastern Conference.
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