NHL Hockey Betting

Penguins and Oilers on Hot Streaks

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to be the hottest team on ice, while in the Western Conference the Edmonton Oilers have been a surprisingly solid pick for bettors lately.

The Penguins had their eight-game winning streak snapped Saturday night in a shootout loss to Atlanta. The OT loss was the first for netminder Ty Conklin, who had put together an 8-0 record during the Penguins' recent streak and a 9-0 mark overall for the season. The Penguins continue to get plenty of production from their big weapons with Sidney Crosby recording four goals and 10 assists in the Pens' previous nine games and Evgeni Malkin picking up seven goals and three assists over the same span.

Pittsburgh rebounded from that loss to dump the New York Rangers 4-1 on Monday night, with Malkin scoring three goals, Crosby adding two assists, and Conklin earning the win.

The Oilers are still stuck in the Northwest Division basement but they could start moving up if they continue their recent success. Edmonton has reeled off four straight wins thanks to some strong goaltending from Mathieu Garon. In the four wins Garon posted a 1.25 goals against average and a 0.96 save percentage. Shawn Horcoff has also been red-hot with three goals and five assists in the four wins.

While the Penguins and Oilers are both on their way up, Toronto and Buffalo are both sinking fast in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres have been mired in a long slump that has seen them lose their last nine games. Buffalo's Achilles heel during their bad streak has been overtime and the shootout. Out of the Sabres nine losses, five of them have come in either OT or the shootout.

The Maple Leafs may be ready to give up on the season and start dumping the few stars they have if they keep losing. The Leafs have lost five in a row and have only one win in their last 10 games. Toronto's biggest problem during its losing skid has been putting the puck in the net. In their last five games Toronto has failed to score more than two goals in any game, and in their last 10 games they've only scored 19 goals in total.