Tampa Bay Lightning @ Columbus Blue Jackets
Game# 39-40

Currently, the NHL odds at BetOnline has Columbus as a money line underdog of +129 in their game against the at Eastern Conference’s top team.

Tampa Bay has won 5 straight and the last 4 have all been decided by 2 goals or more. The Lightning have been offensively explosive all season long while averaging a robust 3.9 goals scored per game.

Columbus is 5-1 during its previous 6 games and that’s improved their money line season record to 33-24. The Blue Jackets have met Tampa Bay twice already this season and will be out to revenge 2 embarrassing losses in which they were outscored by a combined 12-2 margin.

Any money line home underdog (Columbus) that’s playing after game 41 of their season, versus an opponent (Tampa Bay) that’s won 4 straight games by 2 goals or more, and they’re (Lightning) averaging 2.85 or more goals scored per game on the season, resulted in those home underdogs going 33-10 (76.7%) since 1997.
Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets +129

Las Vegas Golden Knights @ Colorado Avalanche
Game# 43-44

At this present time, 5Dimes is displaying Las Vegas as a money line favorite of -123.

After a very encouraging start to their season, the Colorado Avalanche have fallen on extremely hard times of late. Specifically, the Avalanche have lost 20 of their last 24 games played. Furthermore, Colorado has allowed an alarmingly high 3.9 goals per game throughout their previous 10 outings.

Las Vegas is coming off an impressive 5-1 win over Nashville which halted a 3-game losing streak. The Golden Knights have gone a more than respectable 10-7 during their preceding 17 away games. Las Vegas is also averaging a lofty 3.4 goals scored per game thru its previous 5 appearances.

Any money line road favorite (Las Vegas) that’s playing in February, and they lost 3 of their prior 4 games, resulted in those road favorites going 42-12 (77.8%) during the last 5 seasons. Those 54 road favorites had an average money line of -132.5.
Pick: Las Vegas Golden Knights -123

Washington Capitals @ Los Angeles Kings
Game# 47-48

The Los Angeles Kings have endured an enormously disappointing season. As a matter of fact, entering today they’ve lost 4 straight and allowed an extremely concerning average of 4.9 goals per game.

Washington is coming off yesterday’s 5-2 loss at Anaheim and have now lost 2 of its last 3. Nevertheless, the Capitals are 4-0 in their previous 4 games following a loss.

BetOnline has Washington as a money line road favorite of -118. Any money line road favorite (Washington) that’s lost 2 of their last 3 games and is playing in February, resulted in those teams going 60-20 (75%) throughout the past 5 seasons.

The defending Stanley Cup champions figure to get a plethora of public action on them when considering they’re facing a struggling Los Angeles Kings team. I rarely choose to side with public betting. However, it’s hard to ignore an applicable NHL betting angle that overwhelmingly backs the money line road favorite in this game.
Pick: Washington Capitals -118

Ross Benjamin is a top sports analyst and one of the sports industry's most respected handicappers. Follow him on Twitter: @RossBenjamin1 or visit his website at RBWins.com