Thursday NHL Picks: November 6th Top Hockey Bets

The New Jersey Devils opened the campaign like a house on fire by recovering from dropping the season opener with eight consecutive victories.

Then came a collective slap in the face when the Devils headed out on a western swing. New Jersey lost three of four games on its most recent road trip. In those defeats at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, the Devils were outscored by a collective 17-7 margin. The lone victory of the trek was a 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings, but that joy was easily forgotten by the time they headed back east.

The Devils will turn the corner, but facing the Montreal Canadiens in the return to action on Thursday is not a set up for success.

New Jersey remains atop the Metropolitan Division, but the Canadiens are sitting atop the Eastern Conference, and arrive in New Jersey having seen a three-game winning streak snapped last outing by blowing a late lead against the Philadelphia Flyers.

While the Devils players have spent a couple of days dealing with the effects of a cross-continent flight and all of the family commitments that come after a week away, the Canadiens have been able to dial in on their quest.

This is a perfect time to take the underdog Canadiens (+130 on DraftKings). It also is an opportunity to take the over (6.5), a number Montreal has surpassed in five consecutive games.

Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings: Under 5.5

Out on the West Coast, the Kings play host to the struggling Florida Panthers in a game that has all the makings of a low-scoring affair.

Los Angeles finally claimed a home-ice victory by beating the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday 3-0. It has been a hard go at both ends of the ice for the Kings, but the affair confirmed to them what they must do to win: defend. The victory marked the third consecutive game and fifth time in six outings Los Angeles has held a team to fewer than 30 shots.

Meanwhile, Florida will most definitely snap their attention to defending after surrendering a converted touchdown in a 7-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

The Panthers, who are 29th offensively and struggling to score without both Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk in the lineup, paid dearly in Anaheim in a game they led 3-2 late in the second period. Tack on the fact they sit at last in the Eastern Conference, a renewed focus on defending will take place.

Pittsburgh Penguins (-105) over the Washington Capitals

The Capitals snapped a four-game slide by dropping the struggling St. Louis Blues by a 6-1 score on Wednesday, but that was not the biggest cause for celebration. Making it all the more a party was Alex Ovechkin finally scoring to become the first player in history to score 900 regular-season goals.

Now the Capitals must find the emotional level to hit the ice against a rested Penguins club waiting for their arrival. The Penguins have dropped two straight after being one of the league’s early surprises, but bank on them being dialled up to face their rivals.

It could be worth building a parlay that includes Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby scoring a goal. In 75 career games against Washington, Crosby has tallied 33 times, including the last three games and four of the last five meetings.