We have a six-game slate tonight taking place across the NHL. The only real marquee matchup tonight is the Golden Knights against the Bruins. I break down all the games and offer my best bets along with a few player props to take a look at.
Game Previews:
Colorado Avalanche @ Philadelphia Flyers
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Colorado Avalanche: 13-8-1, 3rd Central (8-5-0 Away)
- Philadelphia Flyers: 8-12-5, 7th Metropolitan (5-7-1 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Colorado Avalanche | -190 | -200 | -1.5 (+130) | o5.5 (-115) |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +160 | +170 | +1.5 (-150) | u5.5 (-105) |
The Flyers enter this matchup on a two game losing streak dropping home games to the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils. Philadelphia is riddled with injuries right now including Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk and Cam Atkinson. These injuries also haven’t helped their offensive woes as they rank dead last in GF/G.
Colorado opened up December with a win at Buffalo but followed that up with a 5-1 loss in Boston. Just like Philadelphia, Colorado has several key players out. Even with a depleted lineup, the Avalanche have been able to scratch out victories going 13-8-1 overall.
COL: A. Georgiev (11-3-1), 2.58 GAA, .922 SV%
PHI: C. Hart (7-7-4), 2.82 GAA, .911 SV%
St. Louis Blues @ New York Rangers
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- St. Louis Blues: 11-13-0, 6th Central (6-7-0 Away)
- New York Rangers: 11-10-5, 5th Metropolitan (4-6-4 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| St. Louis Blues | +145 | +145 | +1.5 (-170) | o5.5 (-120) |
| New York Rangers | -170 | -170 | -1.5 (+145) | u5.5 (+100) |
The Blues have had an up and down season to say the least. They started off the year on an eight game losing streak then followed that up with a seven game winning streak. However, they’ve regressed since that run losing five of their last six. Jordan Binnington has been sub-par to start the year after he played extremely well during the post season last season.
New York is also in a slump of their own losing their last two games overall. At home, they haven’t won since November 13th. The Rangers have been able to generate chances up front but have had issues capitalizing on those opportunities. Igor Shesterkin has also regressed slightly from his Vezina winning performance last year.
STL: J. Binnington (9-10-0), 3.27 GAA, .895 SV%
NYR: I. Shesterkin (10-4-4), 2.59 GAA, .913 SV%
Vegas Golden Knights @ Boston Bruins
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Vegas Golden Knights: 18-7-1, 1st Pacific (9-1-1 Away)
- Boston Bruins: 20-3-0,1st Atlantic (14-0-0 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +140 | +155 | +1.5 (-165) | o6.0 (-110) |
| Boston Bruins | -165 | -180 | -1.5 (+140) | u6.0 (-110) |
The Golden Knights and Boston Bruins have both had excellent starts to the year under new head coaches. Bruce Cassidy, the current head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, will make his first return to Boston after being let go in the offseason.
Vegas had a major question mark to start the year off in net and Logan Thompson has firmly cemented himself as their number one guy. The Golden Knights have oddly enough been better on the road this year with a 11-2-1 record. Vegas does have a few key members of their team sidelined with Jack Eichel also being questionable for tonight’s matchup.
Boston has yet to lose at TD Garden this season with a 14-0-0 record. Linus Ulmark has been phenomenal for them with a +10.6 GSAx. Their offense and defense hasn’t been to bad either as they lead the NHL in GF/G and GA/G.
VGS: L. Thompson (12-5-0), 2.53 GAA, .920 SV%
BOS: L. Ullmark (14-1-0), 1.93 GAA, .936 SV%
Washington Capitals @ Edmonton Oilers
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Washington Capitals: 10-12-4, 6th Metropolitan (3-8-3 Away)
- Edmonton Oilers: 14-11-0, 4th Pacific (7-6-0 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Washington Capitals | +130 | +140 | +1.5 (-175) | o6.5 (-110) |
| Edmonton Oilers | -150 | -165 | -1.5 (+145) | u6.5 (-110) |
The Capitals have lost three of their last four games including seven of their last eight on the road. They’ve been plagued by injuries since the start of the year, specially up front. Their depleted lineup has proved costly for them ranking 27th in GF/G.
Following a trip to the Western Conference Finals last year, the Oilers have gotten off to a mediocre start. Their offense has picked up right where they’ve left off but new goaltender Jack Campbell has had a less than ideal start. Through his first thirteen starts he has a 4.12 GAA and ranks 3rd last in GSAx.
WSH: C. Lindgren (2-3-2), 3.51 GAA, .890 SV%
EDM: S. Skinner (7-5-0), 2.91 GAA, .914 SV%
Arizona Coyotes @ Calgary Flames
- Time: 9:00 PM ET
- Arizona Coyotes: 7-11-4, 7th Central (6-9-3 Away)
- Calgary Flames: 11-10-3, 5th Pacific (8-5-1 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Arizona Coyotes | +275 | +280 | +1.5 (+105) | o6.0 (-110) |
| Calgary Flames | -330 | -340 | -1.5 (-125) | u6.0 (-110) |
The Arizona State Coyotes have lost four straight including eight of their last nine. There hasn’t been many positives for this team as they rank 28th in GF/G and 22nd in GA/G. Arizona’s last win against the Flames was back on November 16th, 2019.
After making some major offseason moves, the Flames have yet to fully click as a unit. They continue to generate a ton of chances but fail to capitalize on them ranking 29th in Shooting %. Their defense has been great but Jacob Markstrom has had issues with a -0.1 GSAx.
ARI: K. Vejmelka (6-6-3), 3.03 GAA, .913 SV%
CGY: D. Vladar (3-4-1), 2.61 GAA, .915 SV%
Montreal Canadiens @ Vancouver Canucks
- Time: 9:30 PM ET
- Montreal Canadiens: 12-11-1, 6th Atlantic (6-5-1 Away)
- Vancouver Canucks: 10-12-3, 6th Pacific (4-6-1 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Montreal Canadiens | +175 | +205 | +1.5 (-130) | o6.5 (-120) |
| Vancouver Canucks | -205 | -245 | -1.5 (+110) | u6.5 (+100) |
These teams have already squared off once before this season on November 9th. The Canadiens defeated the Canucks 5-2 behind a two goal night from Kirby Dach.
The Canadiens will play their third consecutive road game tonight. They split their first two games, defeating the Flames and losing to the Oilers most recently. Montreal hasn’t really excelled on offense or defense but has found ways to win games. Sam Montembeault has been great for them ranking 10th in GSAx with a +6.3.
The Canucks have struggled at home this year with a 4-6-1 record. They narrowly defeated the Coyotes on Saturday and will look for revenge on the Canadiens tonight. They’ve been solid up front but with a subpar defensive unit and goaltending, they’ve had issues closing out games.
MTL: S. Montembeault (5-2-1), 2.47 GAA, .924 SV%
VAN: S. Martin (7-2-1), 3.08 GAA, .901 SV%
Pick(s):
- Edmonton Oilers in Regulation (-105) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.26 to win 0.25 Units
It seems like a tale of two stories with these teams. The Capitals are in a downward spiral losing three of their last four while Edmonton has won four of their last five. The Capitals have struggled all season on the road with a 3-8-3 record. They’ve been injury riddled from the start and their offense specially has paid the price. Edmonton has started to round into form of that team we saw make a deep playoff push last season. They still need to improve along the blue line but their offense has scored at least three goals in each of their past five games. It’s looking like Stuart Skinner will get that start for them who’s been their best option in net this year which makes me like this play even more. I believe the Oilers can take care of business at home and win this one in regulation.
Player Props to Target:
- Kevin Hayes over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-110) – DraftKings
- He’s gone over this number in four of his last five games. During that span, he’s averaging 3.4 SOG and 6.0 shot attempts per game. At home, he’s recorded over 2.5 SOG in three of his last five. The Avalanche rank 25th in SOG Allowed per game and give up the 4th most SOG per game to Left Wingers.
- Mika Zibanejad over 3.5 Shots on Goal (-118) – BetRivers
- He’s gone over this number in four of his last five games. During that span, he’s averaging 3.6 SOG and 6.0 shot attempts per game. At home, he’s recorded over 3.5 SOG in three of his last five. The Blues rank 26th in SOG Allowed per game and give up the 10th most SOG per game to Centers.
- Noah Hanifin over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-125) – DraftKings
- He’s only gone over this number twice in his last five games. During that span, he’s averaging 1.6 SOG and 4.0 shot attempts per game. At home, he’s recorded over 2.5 SOG in three of his last five. The Coyotes rank 30th in SOG Allowed per game and give up the most SOG per game to Defensemen.
- Elias Pettersson over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-175) – DraftKings
- He’s gone over this number in each of his last five games. During that span, he’s averaging 4.6 SOG and 8.0 shot attempts per game. At home, he’s recorded over 2.5 SOG in four of his last five. The Canadiens rank 23rd in SOG Allowed per game and give up the 15th most SOG per game to Centers.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
