The Toronto Maple Leafs secured a 5-4 win at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, but head coach Sheldon Keefe isn't doing any cartwheels.
"Zero excitement," Keefe said postgame, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton. "Concern is a stretch. Disappointed. We need to get on our toes and get our swagger and confidence."
The Leafs appeared well on their way to securing a straightforward win. Leading 3-1 in the third period, they surrendered a trio of late goals and were forced to go to overtime, where captain John Tavares scored the game-winner with six seconds remaining to end a two-game losing streak.
Toronto blew a similar lead on home ice against the Florida Panthers on Monday, losing 5-3 after conceding four goals in the third frame.
Goaltender Jack Campbell, who was acquired via trade Wednesday, made his Leafs debut and allowed four goals on 30 shots.
"I got caught watching the guys making plays. I was just in awe. It's incredible, so I'm just glad I'm in the blue and white right now," Campbell said after securing his first win with his new club, according to Shilton.
The Leafs were without forward William Nylander, who missed out due to illness. He won't travel to Montreal with his teammates Friday for their game Saturday against the Canadiens, but he may join them in the morning if he's feeling better, Shilton adds.
Ceci was injured Wednesday against the New York Rangers and will be re-evaluated in one month. Toronto is also without top-pairing blue-liner Morgan Rielly, who's on IR due to a broken foot suffered in January.
Liljegren made his NHL debut last month but was sent back to the Toronto Marlies shortly after. In the minors this season, the 20-year-old has recorded 29 points in 38 games.
Toronto will be in action twice this weekend, squaring off against the Anaheim Ducks and the Montreal Canadiens on back-to-back nights.
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We went just 2-2 on Thursday but finished the night strong and will aim to carry that momentum into this weekend's slate.
There are 21 games scheduled over the next three days, which is more than enough to satisfy all your wildest betting desires.
GOATs and scapegoats
The Nashville Predators were our best bet on Thursday, but it's tough to single out one GOAT from their win, as Roman Josi, Mikael Granlund, and Kyle Turris all played starring roles. Instead, we'll go with Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov, who came through in a big way with a three-point night (two goals) to help beat the Arizona Coyotes. Keep doing your thing, Andrei.
As for our scapegoat, well ... you know what's not great for a first-period under?
Detroit scores on the power play with .2 seconds left in the period.
What a miserable way to lose a bet. Thanks for nothing, Buffalo.
Weekend bets
Friday: Dallas Stars -1.5 (+140)
The Minnesota Wild have lost nine of their last 11 road games on no rest, and seven of those came by two goals or more. The Stars have won five of their last six over the Wild in Dallas, and each of those wins came by at least two goals. Back the Stars to get a comfortable victory on Friday.
Saturday: Nashville Predators
We're going back to the well here with the Predators, who've caught fire and are simply playing better hockey right now than the Edmonton Oilers are. Nashville has won six of its last seven road games and seven of its last eight matchups in Edmonton. Back the Preds to make it eight of nine on Saturday.
Saturday: Colorado Avalanche
Tread carefully because I'm lower on the Columbus Blue Jackets than most. They will play Friday night as well, and although they've won four straight games on no rest, their opponents in those matchups were all among the league's bottom teams. Let's see them do it against one of the NHL's best clubs in the Avalanche, who can probably be wagered at a very short price here given the recent form of both sides.
Best bet
Sunday: Chicago Blackhawks
Sunday's game at Bell MTS Place will be massive for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Winnipeg Jets, who are both chasing a wild-card spot and are separated by one point in the standings as of Friday.
The Blackhawks' rise has largely been due to their terrific play away from home, as they've won eight of their last 10 on the road. The Jets, meanwhile, have struggled mightily on home ice, losing nine of their last 11 at MTS place.
This will be the second game in as many nights for the Jets, who've also struggled in back-to-backs, losing six of their last nine on no rest. Chicago won't have played since being robbed of a win by the referees on Thursday, which means they'll be rested and chomping at the bit to avenge that overtime loss.
Trend of the night
The Boston Bruins have lost four straight against the Detroit Red Wings, including three in a row at Little Caesars Arena.
With only a four-game sample size, this is hardly the most overwhelming trend, but it's still remarkable how much the Bruins have struggled against the lowly Wings of late. This game will be the second leg of a back-to-back for Boston as well. There's certainly a case to be made for wagering on Detroit at around +200.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
Meanwhile, starter Frederik Andersen is unavailable for both of Toronto's games this weekend as he battles a neck injury that has him listed as day-to-day, head coach Sheldon Keefe said, per Shilton.
Depending on how his debut goes, Campbell could start Saturday in Montreal as well, Keefe added.
The Maple Leafs acquired Campbell and winger Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday in exchange for forward Trevor Moore and a pair of third-round draft picks.
Campbell was brought in to reinforce Toronto's backup position, which has been a glaring hole for the club. The 28-year-old posted an 8-10-2 record with the Kings this season along with a .900 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average.
The Maple Leafs enter Friday's tilt with the Ducks having lost two in a row, and sit one point back of the Florida Panthers for third spot in the Atlantic Division with one extra game played.
Geoff Ward publicly criticized his Calgary Flames after they fell 3-2 to the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.
The bench boss implied his squad has lost its identity after it failed to register a shot on goal for the first 12 minutes of the third period and ultimately lost a third straight game.
“I think we’ve got to find it,” he told reporters postgame. “I thought we had it for a while. We’ve got to find it again. We tried to be a scoring team last year. You saw what happened during playoff time. We’ve got to check in now and make sure we get back to our identity because we’re not there now. Collectively, we have to be better, we have to be more desperate, we have to compete harder, and we have to understand what our identity is and we have to start playing to it.”
Thursday's defeat was the Flames' first game without Mark Giordano - who's week-to-week with a hamstring injury - but Ward didn't use the captain's absence as an excuse.
“This isn’t something that just happened tonight (Thursday night),” Ward said.
“We’ve played stretches where we’ve been good. But, consistently, these are the things at playoff time that you have to pay attention to all of the time," he added. "You guys tell me. Look at teams that go on long playoff runs. What stands out about them? We have a decision to make as a team - are we prepared to do it? Because if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to get more of the same. That’s the bottom line.”
Though Calgary currently occupies the second Western Conference wild-card spot, the team has only managed two wins in its last eight contests, both coming by way of shootout.
This is the Flames' first three-game losing streak since Ward took the reins in late November. Calgary reeled off a seven-game win streak to begin his tenure, with the first victory coming two days before Bill Peters resigned.
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On this date last season, the Carolina Hurricanes sat three points out of a wild-card spot with less than a 40% chance of making the playoffs.
Not only were the Canes three points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who had played one less game, but they were eight behind the Montreal Canadiens for seventh in the Eastern Conference.
However, the Hurricanes passed both teams over the final two months of the regular season and ultimately reached the conference finals before losing to the Boston Bruins, who later came within one win of lifting the Stanley Cup.
Fast forward exactly one year to Feb. 7, 2020, and Carolina is currently occupying the final wild-card spot in the East with a 60.8% chance to make the postseason. It's a much better position than the Hurricanes were in at this time last season, yet their Stanley Cup odds are a staggering 40-1 - more than double the odds of the Toronto Maple Leafs (16-1), a team with just a 39.3% chance to reach the playoffs.
Team
Stanley Cup odds
Tampa Bay Lightning
6-1
Boston Bruins
8-1
St. Louis Blues
8-1
Vegas Golden Knights
8-1
Colorado Avalanche
10-1
Washington Capitals
10-1
Dallas Stars
12-1
Pittsburgh Penguins
12-1
Toronto Maple Leafs
16-1
Vancouver Canucks
16-1
Arizona Coyotes
25-1
Edmonton Oilers
25-1
Florida Panthers
25-1
Calgary Flames
30-1
Carolina Hurricanes
40-1
Columbus Blue Jackets
40-1
Nashville Predators
40-1
New York Islanders
40-1
Philadelphia Flyers
50-1
The Canes were actually being offered at 16-1 earlier this season after a strong start, but oddsmakers have since cooled on a team that's been winning fewer games despite no drop-off in its underlying performance.
On the surface, it appears Carolina's offense is average, with the team ranking 12th in goals for this season. However, the Hurricanes lead the NHL in expected goals for per game (xGF/60). They're also first in high-danger scoring chances per game (HDCF/60) and fourth in total scoring chances created per 60 minutes (SCF/60).
Why haven't they scored more goals? The team is being hindered by below-average shooting percentages on scoring opportunities - both high danger and overall - which should be due for some positive regression.
The Canes also lead the NHL in expected goals for percentage and Corsi For percentage (CF%), which refers to the percentage of shot attempts per game that are for that team. That's partially due to the quality chances the Hurricanes have been generating, but it's also because they've allowed the third-fewest shots against per game (SA/60). Additionally, only three other teams have given up less scoring chances per contest (SCA/60).
Gregg Forwerck / National Hockey League / Getty
Carolina's unique ability to create quality chances at one end and limit them at the other makes this a very dangerous team, which isn't accurately reflected in the standings.
The Canes will have to fight down the stretch to secure a playoff spot, but it's nothing they aren't used to. They were worse off at this time last year but played their best hockey down the stretch, closing out the regular season on a 21-8-1 run.
This season, a lot will depend on whether the capable Petr Mrazek can get his 2.73 goals-against average and .900 save percentage closer to the 2.39 and .914 marks he posted last season. With respectable goaltending, this Carolina team is certainly capable of another strong finish and a deep playoff run.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
The Washington Capitals had a full week off ahead of January's NHL All-Star Game, but Craig Laughlin remained in midseason form, gushing over the phone one morning during his break from the rink about the irresistible symbolism of Alex Ovechkin's greatest goal. You know the one: A Phoenix Coyotes defenseman knocks the Russian winger off balance in the slot in 2006, only for Ovi to corral the puck while falling onto his back before blindly flicking it - mostly with one hand - through the sliver between the goalie's outstretched stick and the post.
The play astounded on its merits alone. Then came the moment that, to the Capitals' veteran TV color analyst, elevated Ovechkin's contortion to a higher sphere of significance: Wayne Gretzky, the head coach of those Coyotes, gazing up at a replay on the arena video board, resigned to marveling helplessly from the bench.
"It just adds to the lore," Laughlin said. "The greatest goal-scorer of all time is looking at this and just saying, 'Wow.' To me, that says something about Alex's greatness."
For 15 seasons, Ovechkin's propensity to fool netminders has carried him ever higher on the NHL's all-time goals leaderboard, past a succession of Original Six legends and icons of later years, ever closer to the gold standard below whom they all sit. Past Jean Beliveau and Maurice Richard. Past Joe Sakic and Brendan Shanahan. Just since the calendar turned to 2020, he's passed Teemu Selanne, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, and Mark Messier.
Two constants have underpinned Ovechkin's ascent to eighth place in this corner of the record books. One is his own consistency. Never in a season has he scored fewer than 30 goals. He's reached or exceeded 50 eight times, good for third in league history behind Gretzky's and Mike Bossy's nine.
The other constant? Laughlin and play-by-play partner Joe Beninati at rafter level, the vantage point from which they've called nearly all of Ovechkin's steps toward the next momentous number he'll soon reach.
Joe Beninati (left) and Craig Laughlin. Courtesy of NBC Sports Washington
The Capitals captain enters Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers with 698 career goals, well back of Gretzky's record total of 894 but merely an inspired flurry shy of 700; D.C. and the wider hockey world are set to fete his breakthrough. The Capitals, according to The Washington Post, plan to stage a tribute featuring video messages from teammates and an appearance from Ovechkin's son Sergei, who was born in 2018, a couple of months after his dad won the Stanley Cup.
When that celebration goes down, Beninati and Laughlin - the voices of the Capitals on NBC Sports Washington since 1996 - will be uniquely positioned to appreciate Ovechkin's accomplishment, as they are now to contemplate the totality of the legacy they've watched him compile.
"He's challenged my powers of description ever since he jumped into the game," Beninati told theScore. "There are things that he does at times that look like they're superhuman. He forces you as an announcer to be ready for something you may have never seen before."
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Beninati and Laughlin were in the booth for Ovechkin's NHL debut against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 5, 2005, when the full-toothed newcomer from Moscow dislodged a stanchion behind the Columbus net on his first shift by ramming defenseman Radoslav Suchy into the boards. "This guy is the real deal," Laughlin thought to himself, even before Ovechkin scored on one-timers from the high slot and near the goalmouth later that night.
The duo watched Ovechkin retain and flex that combination of power, flair, and timing as the Capitals grew from league doormats to perennial playoff washouts to Cup champions. Laughlin thinks Ovechkin has evolved into one of history's most well-rounded scorers, a 236-pound winger whose footwork, shoulder fakes, backhand, and passing ability don't garner enough recognition in the shadow of his bruising shot.
"(People) think he's just this shooter," Laughlin said. "They don't see the fact he had to bust his butt to get past the defender. He had to then get away from a guy who's trying to clobber him. Then he had to get away from a stick that's trying to take away his stick. Then he gets open. Then he shoots.
"There's steps along the way that I don't think we give Alexander credit for when it comes to scoring goals. You need those steps. Without those steps, he's not going to be where he is now."
Ovechkin certainly gets fair credit for the spectacular ways in which he's deposited pucks in nets. Different highlights spring to mind in different conversations. Remember when he spun to beat Montreal's Roman Hamrlik to a loose puck, outraced Kyle Chipchura to the crease, and scored on Carey Price in mid-slide? Remember when, during the 2009 playoffs, he eluded one New York Ranger's check and stickhandled through another's legs - "Dazzling moves!" Beninati said at the time - before sprawling to beat Henrik Lundqvist with a backhand? Remember when he trumped Price again by juggling an airborne puck and banking it in off the goalie's backside? ("That is a thing of beauty," Laughlin remarked on air.)
One could never exhaustively catalog Ovechkin's handiwork from memory alone. For that purpose, NBC Sports Washington recently aired his regular-season goals in a single go - at the time, all 692 of them.
"I remember most of them," Beninati said. "I've been lucky."
Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post / Getty Images
Laughlin, a forward for Washington through the mid-1980s, was lucky in his own right back then. He'd park himself by the crease on the power play as defensemen Scott Stevens and Kevin Hatcher pounded shots from the point, more than a few of which, he said, would ricochet "off my ass and into the net." He also shared the ice with longtime Capitals star Mike Gartner, a hard-shooting, scorchingly fast right-winger whose 708 career goals make him the next legendary scorer Ovechkin is working to eclipse.
Gartner features in Laughlin's ideal conception of Ovechkin's 700th. Scoring from his back as a bright-eyed rookie in front of Gretzky? Poetry. So Laughlin figures it would be fitting if this next landmark goal materialized at Washington's Capital One Arena, where Ovechkin could celebrate beneath Gartner's retired No. 11.
Beninati's first hope for No. 700 is that he, Laughlin, and their production team actually get to work the game in question. He was standing in line outside of the arena on Jan. 11, 2017, when Ovechkin scored his 1,000th point in the first minute of an NBCSN national telecast. (NBC Sports Washington is scheduled to broadcast the Caps' next seven games.)
Fortune sided with Beninati and Laughlin on other marquee occasions. They were on the mic for Ovechkin's 400th goal, an anticlimactic empty-netter at Carolina, and his 500th, a top-shelf wrister on the power play at home against Ottawa. Beninati saw a photographer's camera light up and called that play on the fly: "In a flash! Welcome to the club!"
Fun as they are, potential milestone nights also roil the nerves, Beninati said, though he never tries to moderate his anticipation by scripting ideas of what to say. Much the opposite: Spontaneity and instinct are paramount. Two seasons ago, Beninati won a share of a local Emmy for his network's coverage of No. 600 by waiting patiently as Ovechkin whacked at the puck during a scramble against Winnipeg. Ovechkin's third shot attempt finally cleared the thicket of limbs.
"And then 'overpowering' just came out of my mind," Beninati recalled. "People had said this guy was slowing down. He's not slowing down. He's still going strong."
Now more than ever, it seems.
Ovechkin has three hat tricks in his last six games and an NHL-best 40 goals on the season. That blistering output has him on pace to progress from 600 to 700 goals in fewer games than even Gretzky. Another record beckons below the radar in his near future: Ovechkin is 16 power-play goals away from breaking Dave Andreychuk's all-time mark of 274.
Patrick McDermott / NHL / Getty Images
What form his 700th goal will take is anyone's guess. As ever, Beninati won't prescribe his reaction in advance. But he will cop to hoping that a certain nightmare scenario - a net-front deflection that renders the scorer's identity unclear - doesn't come to pass.
"Did he get it? Did he not get it? Oh, God, what should I say?" Beninati said. "You want it to be a blast down the wing that goes in cleanly, where you see every piece of nylon in the net move."
Beninati and Laughlin like to banter on occasion during play. But once Ovechkin is sitting on 699 goals, the color analyst said he'll hew toward silence, joking that he'd risk a punch from Beninati if he were to talk over No. 700. That intention is characteristic of their whole approach to the task. Ovechkin's orchestration of history, the announcers say, ought to be about him. They'll be there to accentuate the moment, beginning with Beninati's call and Laughlin keeping quiet a little while longer.
"I want to let it breathe," Laughlin said. "I want to watch the fans' reaction. I want to hear the fans. I want to take in the moment - and then, when I do talk after it, to really put a bow and a ribbon around just what we saw."
