NHL Hockey Betting

Rangers and Wild Streaking Down the Stretch

With just under two weeks to go, it's now or never for teams hunting for a playoff spot in the NHL. The hottest teams in the league right now should be headed to the postseason, but one of them might not be if not for their recent hot streak.

The New York Rangers were fighting to get back into playoff contention in the East a few weeks ago. Now the Rangers are in sixth place in the East and should be able to coast into the playoffs if they can keep playing as well as they have been lately. New York has won their last five games thanks in part to some great goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist. In the five wins Lundqvist allowed only three goals and recorded two shutouts. If he can keep that up in the playoffs the Rangers could make it a lot further than last season when they bowed out in the first round.

The only team playing better hockey than the Rangers lately are the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota has won nine straight to move into a tie for first place in the Northwest division. The Wild have been playing stellar defense and getting just enough offense during their streak, as they have outscored their opponents 31-13. If the Wild hope to keep their streak going they'll have to find a way to solve Calgary twice this week. The Flames come to town on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

The worst teams in the league don't need to worry about falling behind in the playoff race because they're already eliminated from contention.

The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks have both lost five games in a row. The Bruins' offense has dried up during their losing streak as they have scored only four goals in those five games, including getting shut out three times. It hasn't been much better for Chicago, which has potted only eight goals in their five losses. The Bruins' chances of getting back on track this week don't look very good with Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and New Jersey coming up. Chicago has a little bit of an easier road with games against Anaheim, Columbus and Edmonton.