Welcome back to HNIC Coast To Coast! Every week, Canada Sports Betting goes through the seven Canadian National Hockey League teams and sees where they stand in the weekend’s hockey schedule. Six of the seven Canadian teams (sorry Winnipeg) look to pick up some points this weekend, across seven games. Let’s dive straight into the schedule and break down what’s at stake:
7:00 p.m. ET HNIC Matchup: New York Islanders @ Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have been hovering up, down, and around the .500 barrier all season, and will get another chance to return to the mark on Saturday night against the Islanders. The past week has been all over the place for the Habs, with a shootout win last Saturday against the Sabres, a regulation loss against the Predators, and a 12-round shootout loss to the Penguins along the way. Sean Monahan has been reasonably hot with three goals and an assist in his last five games, but the rest of the team’s production has not been as plentiful.
On the other side, the Islanders are on their longest winning streak of the season, though that might not be the case when they enter the Bell Centre. After wins against Columbus, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Anaheim, they’ll be taking on the Boston Bruins on Friday. We’ll see if this 9-1-4 run of theirs continues, or if they show up vulnerable to a hungry Montreal team.
Bet on Islanders vs. Canadiens
NYI -120
MTL +100
10:00 p.m. ET HNIC Headliner: Florida Panthers @ Edmonton Oilers
It was never going to last forever, but that still didn’t make it any less of a letdown Thursday night when the Oilers’ winning streak was finally. Turning a corner from their putrid start to the season, the Oilers had won eight in a row heading into a home game against Tampa Bay on Thursday, but Stuart Skinner was no match for Steven Stamkos and his first career four-goal game.
Perhaps this is the end of the line for that streak, but there’s a lot to like for the Oilers of late. From the start of the winning streak to Thursday night, Connor McDavid has a ridiculous 24 points in nine games, a clip much more reminiscent of his dominance last season than his 16-in-16 start. While McDavid is the far-and-away leader, Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Leon Draisaitl are all above the point-per-game threshold in this stretch as well.
Most importantly, outside of last night, Skinner has really settled down, going on a .935 SV% run over those previous eight games. It goes to show you that what the Oilers needed most was really just for the goalies to give them a chance, and they’re getting that now. They’ll need it again against the Panthers, who will be hungry after being shut out twice in a row by Seattle and Vancouver.
Bet on Panthers vs. Oilers
FLA +125
EDM -150
Other Canadian NHL Games On Saturday
There are three other games in Canadian NHL action on Saturday:
Vancouver Canucks @ Minnesota Wild, 2:00 p.m. ET – The vibes are hot in Vancouver right now, as the Canucks are on their first extended winning streak since their dominant first month of the season. On a night where Roberto Luongo was celebrated and raised to the Ring of Honour at Rogers Arena, Thatcher Demko put up a fitting performance between the pipes and shut out the Florida Panthers by a 4-0 score on Thursday, extending Vancouver’s win streak to four. This game will be their second against Minnesota this year, having beat them 2-0 on Dec. 7.
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:00 p.m. ET – It’s a homecoming for former Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas as he returns to Toronto for the first time since switching organizations this summer. We’ll be breaking this game down separately, in its own preview, so look out for that on Saturday morning.
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Calgary Flames, 10:00 p.m. ET – The Flames are back on rocky footing after some sign of recovery in November, starting December with a 1-4-2 record. On the plus side, they’ve got points in their last two – on the minus, both were still losses, and Calgary must get through the Bolts to avoid losing their fifth in a row.
| Away Team |  | | Home Team | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Canucks | -105 | -115 | Minnesota Wild | 1:00 PM |
| New York Islanders | -120 | +100 | Montreal Canadiens | 4:00 PM |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +110 | -130 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 7:00 PM |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | -110 | -110 | Calgary Flames | 7:00 PM |
| Florida Panthers | +125 | -150 | Edmonton Oilers | 10:00 PM |
Sunday Canadian NHL Action
There are two games in Canadian NHL action this Sunday:
Vancouver Canucks @ Chicago Blackhawks, 7:00 p.m. ET – For the first time in his career, Connor Bedard gets to face the city he called home. This one is in Chicago, so he likely won’t have the waves of family that tend to come with these kinds of moments, but there will be no doubt that he’ll treat this game with a ton of pride. The Canucks will be favoured even despite the multiple-day rest disadvantage, but I’m interested to see what No. 98 does to rise to the moment.
Ottawa Senators @ Vegas Golden Knights, 7:00 p.m. ET – The vibes for the Senators heading into this one will likely depend on their game Friday against the Stars. Beat Dallas, and you head into the weekend with good vibes after beating a good team. Lose, and you’re back on another losing skid, with four losses in their last five. This is the second game in a five-game road stretch, which can be expanded into an 11 of 14 game run away from home. Ottawa hasn’t played on the road much this year – just seven of 24 games, in fact. The Golden Knights remain their usual selves, with an opportunity to enter this game on a 7-0-3 run if they take care of the Sabres on Friday.
