Best Canada NHL Bets Ahead of Double Header Weekend
Hockey fans north of the border will be treated to an all-Canadian double header this weekend. To get you ready for the action, we’re going to preview both of the games and analyse the odds, including those found on the futures market. After all, Bodog is the home to the best Canada NHL bets around. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks will kick things off at 7 PM ET, and then the Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets will follow. Bodog is Canada’s leading sportsbook, so you can bet that we’ll have a full suite of NHL gamelines and props ready for puck drop.
Vancouver Canucks @ Toronto Maple Leafs: Saturday, November 12 @ 7 PM ET
The Canucks will continue their Atlantic road trip on Saturday with a stop at Scotiabank Arena where they’ll face the Leafs. After starting the season with seven straight losses, they’ll be eager to continue to progress in the right direction. Currently sixth in the Pacific division with a 4-6-3 record and -6 goal differential, the Canucks have struggled with a weak blueline and poor goaltending performances from Thatcher Demko (3.91 GA/G, .879 SV%). They acquired defenseman Ethan Bear from the Carolina Hurricanes to try to bolster their blueline and have gone 2-2 since he started on November 1, which includes a 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
As for Toronto, they’re tied for second in the Atlantic division with a 7-4-3 record and appear to be over their early season funk that saw them lose four straight games in late October. As a result, they feature heavily in many of the best Canada NHL bets around at the moment They’ve had decent defence and offence this season, giving them a fairly respectable +2 goal differential. Their captain, John Tavares has stepped up while the team’s been down, scoring four goals and registering one assist so far in November. The Leafs are coming off of a 4-3 overtime loss against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Winnipeg Jets @ Calgary Flames: Saturday November 12 @ 10 PM ET
This will be the first of three regular season meetings between the Calgary Flames (5-5-2) and Winnipeg Jets (8-3-1), who are trending in opposite directions. The Flames started strong with just one loss in their first six games, making them one of the best Canada NHL bets for most, and then fell flat with six straight losses. Meanwhile, the Jets are going strong after a shaky season start, with six wins in their last seven games.
The Jets are still awaiting the return of LW Nikolaj Ehlers (lower body), who hasn’t played since October 17, but could start to skate with the team again by the end of the week. They had a dominant game against the defensively stout Dallas Stars on Tuesday, winning 5-1 and beefing up their +10 goal differential.
Calgary’s slide hasn’t been due to a lack of scoring; they’ve scored 15 goals in their six games, including two in their 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Coach Darryl Sutter has pointed to defensive depth as a concern.
Stanley Cup Betting Favourites
If you haven’t yet locked in your picks for the 2023 Stanley Cup winner, now’s a good time. There’s still plenty of value on the futures market, even with the following top five teams.
Colorado Avalanche +425
The defending champions are third in the Central division with a 6-4-1 record and +9 goal differential. They’ve been unlucky with injuries this season and are currently missing Valeri Nichushkin (ankle), Bowen Byram (lower body) and Samuel Girard (lower body). Captain Gabriel Landeskog is still sidelined after undergoing knee surgery and may not make his season debut until mid-January.
Boston Bruins +650
The Boston Bruins are second in the league with 22 points, despite their league-best +23 goal differential. They have the most productive offence in the league, anchored by Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Jake DeBrusk, Taylor Hall, David Krejci and David Pastrnak, who has the fourth-most points in the league. Combine that with Hampus Lindholm, who boasts a league best +/- at +12 and has contributed a point a game, and Linus Ullmark (.932 SV%, 2.05 GA/A), who has been exceptional between the pipes, and you can see why Boston has regained their status as perennial contenders.
Vegas Golden Knights +900
The Golden Knights moved to the top of the league standings with a +19 goal differential. They’ve lost just two games so far this season and have seen just three of their victories come in OT. What they’ve done defensively has been a major accomplishment: No other team has a better GA/A than the Knights (2.14), who’ve managed to come out on top of a goaltending catastrophe when their No. 1 and 2 goalies underwent hip surgeries. Undrafted 25-year-old rookie Logan Thompson capitalized on the opportunity and is tied for the second-best win record in the league (7-2-0); he shut out the Blackhawks and Ducks.
Carolina Hurricanes +1000
The ‘Canes are third in the Metropolitan division with an 8-3-1 record and +5 goal differential. Although they don’t boast a particularly fierce defence or offence, they manage to win a lot of close games, which includes three straight OT/SO wins from late October to early November. Their backup goalie, Antti Raanta (.905 SV%, 2.42 GA/G) has been outperforming their starter, Frederik Andersen (.891 SV%, 2.72 GA/G); however, the team had an emergency call-up to AHL goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov after Andersen left practice unexpectedly on Tuesday.
Toronto Maple Leafs +1000
The Maple Leafs fell short of big expectations at the start of this season, but they still have plenty of time to catch up. Mitch Marner has been their top point getter so far and is coming off of a two-point game on Tuesday where he scored a goal and registered an assist in the Leafs’ OT loss against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Tampa Bay Lightning +1000
Tied for fourth in the Atlantic division with a 7-5-1 record and +1 goal differential, the Lightning are again being propelled forward by RW Nikita Kucherov, who’s registered 21 points (6 goals, 15 assists) in 13 games. As long as Kucherov stays healthy, Tampa will stay competitive and be a dangerous contender in the hunt for the Cup.
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