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New York hits the road feeling good about itself after a 9-0 demolition of New Jersey, and it matters that Ilya Sorokin looked fully dialed in coming off the lower-body injury. The Islanders needed that kind of goalie stability to survive a tight Eastern picture, and now they open a seven-game trip with a matchup that has not treated them kindly. Nashville finally gets back home after weeks away and they should be motivated after a rough finish in Edmonton. The Predators have controlled this head-to-head for years, they have been strong at home against New York, and they’re catching the Islanders in a classic spot where a huge win can create a little emotional drop. These are the current

Edmonton rolls into Winnipeg trying to clean up the one part of its profile that still looks shaky: road results. The ceiling is obvious when the top end is flying, and Connor McDavid’s current run is the kind of form that can break a matchup open before the game settles. Winnipeg, meanwhile, is stuck in the worst kind of skid for bettors. It’s not just losing, it’s losing after holding leads, bleeding in overtime, and getting burned on special teams at the exact moments that decide puck lines and one-goal outcomes. Edmonton has already handled this matchup twice in December, and the pressure point is clear again tonight: can the Jets protect a lead and stay disciplined long enough to

Vancouver shows up in Detroit trying to stop a four-game slide that’s been driven by slow starts and too many coverage breakdowns. They dug a hole early again in Buffalo, made it interesting late, and still came up short. That kind of script is brutal for bettors because it forces you to rely on comeback variance instead of controlling the game state. Detroit’s response in Ottawa looked like a team that got the message. Todd McLellan changed the lines, the Wings scored from multiple spots, and Lucas Raymond finally got one to drop. The bigger takeaway is the intent: Detroit came out fast, built a lead, and played the game from in front. These teams met in early December and

Pittsburgh is finally stacking wins, and the five-game heater feels more repeatable than a random hot week. The Penguins have played with better game control since the break, they’ve gotten timely finishing from the top of the lineup, and they’re not giving away long stretches the way they did earlier in the season. The timing gets even more interesting if Evgeni Malkin returns. Even if he’s not in peak rhythm right away, his presence changes how teams defend Pittsburgh’s middle-six and it often sharpens the power play. On the other side, New Jersey is walking into this one trying to flush a brutal stretch, capped by a 9-0 loss, with offense that has gone cold at the worst time. This