Welcome back to Canada’s favourite weekend NHL preview article, HNIC Coast To Coast! Please don’t fact-check that. As we do here on Canada Sports Betting every Friday, we’re here to break down every NHL game involving Canadian teams, particularly those on Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. We’re in for a treat this week, with a Canada-on-Canada prime-time headliner and an elite matchup for the late-night game, along with three other Saturday games and a pair on Sunday. Let’s dive into the action!
7:00 p.m. ET HNIC Matchup: Montreal Canadiens @ Calgary Flames
Our first headliner of the night is a double-Canadian battle, featuring two teams on the outside looking in. Montreal sits 11 points back of the second wild-card spot in the East, and Calgary sits a more respectable eight back of Vegas.
Montreal has really struggled of late, losing three of their last 13, with their victories coming against Arizona, Nashville, and Columbus. They did just force overtime against Boston, though, and last week saw them keep their loss to Toronto within a single goal, so you can’t completely disrespect them. The Flames, on the other hand, have won seven of their last 11, though they’ve also lost four of their last six, including a brutal three-game losing streak that saw them trail a combined 18-5 to Florida, Carolina, and Colorado. They’ll likely choose to forget that and focus more on their 4-1 win over Vegas on Thursday.
Watch out for Calgary’s Yegor Sharangovich in this one – he has eight goals and 11 points in his last 10 games.
Bet on Canadiens vs. Flames
MTL +145
CGY -170
10:00 p.m. ET HNIC Headliner: Colorado Avalanche @ Edmonton Oilers
On the other end of the province, it’s a megastar battle between Nathan MacKinnon & Cale Makar’s Colorado Avalanche and Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers.
Colorado are scorching of late, winning five in a row and seven of their last eight. Of those seven wins, five were by at least four goals, showing a level of dominance that has you wondering if 2022 is right around the corner again. The Avs, who made moves for Casey Mittlestadt, Sean Walker, and Yakov Trenin at the trade deadline would certainly like to think that’s the case.
The Oilers have been no slouches either, winning seven of their last nine and taking Pittsburgh and Washington by a combined score of 11-2 this week. Particularly notable was Zach Hyman’s fourth hat trick of the season on Wednesday, bringing him up to 46 goals on the season. The 31-year-old seems to be aging in reverse – his 59-goal pace would’ve set a career high in points as recently as two years ago.
Interestingly, these two teams haven’t played each other yet this year, and have three games ahead of them over the next month.
Bet on Avalanche vs. Oilers
COL +110
EDM -130
Other Canadian NHL Games On Saturday
There are four other games in Canadian NHL action on Saturday:
Ottawa Senators @ New York Islanders, 12:30 p.m. ET – The Senators snapped a seven-game losing streak on Tuesday with an overtime win against the Penguins, and followed it up with a shootout victory against the Blue Jackets. They’ve lost both of their previous games against the Islanders in regulation, so this will be a tough task ahead.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:00 p.m. ET – It’s rare for anything to move quietly in Toronto, but the Maple Leafs winning 17 of their last 23 almost feels under the radar. They’ll face a similarly tough opponent in the Canes, though, as they’ve gone 22-7-2 since Christmas. We’ll have a full preview of this game here on CSB come Saturday.
Washington Capitals @ Vancouver Canucks, 10:00 p.m. ET – The Canucks are still licking their wounds aver blowing an early 3-0 lead against the Avalanche on Wednesday, ultimately succumbing in overtime. All the same, their 5-1-2 record in their last eight is cause for keeping hopes high. Washington is making one last swing at the playoffs, with an 8-4-1 record in their last 13, but hope is slowly fading.
| Away Team |  | | Home Team | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | +145 | -170 | New York Islanders | 12:30 PM |
| Carolina Hurricanes | -110 | -105 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 7:00 PM |
| Montreal Canadiens | +145 | -170 | Calgary Flames | 7:00 PM |
| Washington Capitals | TBD | TBD | Vancouver Canucks | 10:00 PM |
| Colorado Avalanche | +110 | -130 | Edmonton Oilers | 10:00 PM |
Sunday Canadian NHL Action
There are two games involving Canadian teams on Sunday:
Winnipeg Jets @ Columbus Blue Jackets, 6:00 p.m. ET – The Jets are the lone Canadian team with Saturday off this weekend, and that extra rest should be a boost for them against a Columbus team that hosts San Jose the night before. The Jets have won 11 of their last 16 but lost on Wednesday to Nashville. Their momentum will likely be dictated by how things go against Anaheim on Friday.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Ottawa Senators, 6:00 p.m. ET – These two teams will likely be pretty sleepy when they roll into Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday, with Carolina playing the night before in Toronto and the Senators coming home from Long Island.
