NHL Preview & Picks – November 30, 2021

There were originally 9 games scheduled in the NHL tonight but, due to the Islanders having some COVID-19 issues, we’re down to 8 games. Regardless, it’s still a great slate of games with some top tier matchups. The best games of the night are probably the following:

• Washington Capitals @ Florida Panthers
• Tampa Bay Lightning @ St. Louis Blues
• Carolina Hurricanes @ Dallas Stars

I have two plays for tonight, so check ’em out below!

San Jose Sharks @ New Jersey Devils

• Time: 7:00 PM ET
• TV Coverage: ESPN+
• San Jose Sharks: 11-9-1, 5th Pacific (6-5-0 Away)
• New Jersey Devils: 9-6-4, 6th Metropolitan (6-3-2 Home)

Trends:

• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Jose’s last 7 games.
• San Jose are 11-5 SU in their last 16 games against New Jersey.
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Jersey’s last 7 games.
• New Jersey are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have had an up and down start to the season but, look to turn things around winning three of their last four. San Jose also recently placed Evander Kane on waivers and will send him to the AHL if he goes unclaimed. Kane has had some issues recently with gambling and domestic assault and it looks like the Sharks are sick of dealing with his off-ice issues.

San Jose will play their second away game of their five game road trip tonight. They’re coming off a 2-0 win on Sunday vs the Blackhawks. This will also be the final game between these two of the season as New Jersey claimed the first in a 3-2 shootout win.

Looking at this Sharks team from an offensive prospective, they haven’t been great. They have the 8th worst Expected Goals % with a 47.8%. The Sharks also rank near the bottom on the league in Goals For Above Expected, with a -3.61 and average only 2.27 Goals For Per 60. Statistically they’re led by Timo Meier who has 20 points in 16 games and tallied the lone two goals in their win on Sunday.

Defensively, they’ve been better with a 2.27 Goals Against Per 60 ranking middle of the road. The Sharks have a -2.07 Goals Against Above Expected which is again, is average. This may be misleading as the star of the show for San Jose has been James Reimer who has kept this team afloat at certain points. Reimer has been confirmed the starter for tonight and has a +6.9 Goals Saved Above Expected in his 13 games played.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils have made their money at home this season capturing six of their nine wins at the Prudential Center. According to New Jersey’s head coach, Lindy Ruff, Jack Hughes is questionable to return tonight from his shoulder injury (Note: Confirmed In). Hughes hasn’t played since mid October and would be a huge addition back to their lineup. Also, Hughes just signed an extension with the Devils for $63 million over 8 years.

Offensively, the Devils have one of the best Goals For Per 60 average with a 2.5. However, they are failing to capitalize on chances as seen in their Goals For Above Expected (-2.74). One area where they struggle is on the Power Play, ranking 30th in the league. Jesper Bratt and Andreas Johnsson lead the team in points with 17 a piece. Bratt is on a four game point streak and Johnsson has six points in his last two games.

New Jersey defensively has been much better with a Goals Against Above Expected that ranks near the top of the league (-8.25). They’re also on averaging 2.18 Goals Against per 60. Like their Power Play, their Penalty Kill has also struggled ranking 21st (80%). Mackenzie Blackwood has also had a good start to the season with a +3.5 Goals Saved Above Expected. He’s expected to get the start tonight but has had a few struggles as of late giving up three or more goals in three of his last five starts.

PICK: NEW JERSEY DEVILS TO WIN IN REGULATION -1/2 (+100)

The Devils have been playing great hockey at home this year and based off Jack Hughes most recent tweet, it looks like he’ll be in the lineup. The moneyline shifted drastically, almost 15 cents which I don’t particularly like so I’ll take them to win in regulation tonight.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ St. Louis Blues

• Time: 8:00 PM ET
• TV Coverage: ESPN+
• Tampa Bay Lightning: 12-5-3, 3rd Atlantic (5-2-1 Away)
• St. Louis Blues: 11-7-3, 2nd Central (6-3-1 Home)

Trends:

• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games.
• Tampa Bay are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games.
• St. Louis are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games.
• The total has gone OVER in 9 of St. Louis’ last 13 games at home.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday where they were in a tough spot. Tampa did not play well losing the expected goal battle 1.42 to 4.98. Prior to that tough loss, Tampa rattled off three wins in a row that included a 5-4 shoutout win over Minnesota.

Offensively Tampa has looked to have found their groove again averaging 3.57 goals per game in their last 7. They have a 52.57 xGoals % with a -1.08 Goals For Above Expected. Steven Stamkos leads the team in points with 24 through his first 20 games played. He’s also on a four game point streak so he should be a guy you look to target in terms of player props. The Bolts will be without Mathieu Joseph who has been downgraded to doubtful for tonight’s game.

On the opposite side of the puck, Tampa has been good with a -4.06 Goals Against Above Expected. They also rank near the top of the league in Goals Against Per 60 giving up just 2.02. Unlike their Power Play that has struggled due to the injury of Nikita Kucherov, their Penalty Kills ranks 5th in the NHL. While Andrei Vasilevskiy did struggle a bit at the start of the season, he has found his form with a +8.2 Goals Saved Above Expected on the year. However, Brian Elliot has been confirmed the starter which is why the line shifted a bit. Elliot hasn’t been great so far with a -2.7 GSAx through three games.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues are coming off a solid win at home vs the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. They were able to snap a two game road skid where they lost to Detroit and Chicago. St. Louis got off to an incredible start to the season but have seemed to regressed a bit as expected.

Looking at the Blues from an offensive prospective they have been good on the year with a +2.59 Goals For Above Expected. They also rank near the top of the league in Goals For Per 60 with 2.57. One key offensively for them has been the ability to take advantage on special teams with a Power Play ranking 2nd. The Blues may also be without one of their top scorers as David Perron is questionable for tonight.

Defensively, the Blues have also been good with a 2.11 Goals Against per 60 average. They have a -7.24 Goals Against Above expected which ranks 9th. One area that St. Louis needs to clean up is in terms of High Danger Shots Against. They have given up 38 on the year which is near the bottom of the league. Jordan Binnington has been confirmed the starter tonight. He’s been their second best goalie this year in terms of GSAx but still has a +1.0.

PICK: OVER 5.5 (-115)

In my power rankings this games a pick em based off each teams recent form. However, with Elliot being confirmed as the starter I don’t really like the Lightning here. A play I was looking at earlier that is now in play is the over. Tampa has been clicking on offense recently and should be able to generate some scoring chances on this St. Louis defense.

Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.