NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Los Angeles Kings at New York Rangers
Los Angeles Kings (+110) at New York Rangers (-135) – Total 5.5 (Over, -125)
7 p.m. ET
The Kings come into tonight’s game at MSG off a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils in a game they put up just 13 shots on goal and scored just one goal for the fifth time in nine games this season. The Rangers are coming off back-to-back road losses at Ottawa and Toronto giving up a combined 12 goals. The Blueshirts have just one win in seven road games (1-5-1) but are a perfect 6-0-0 at home. With Igor Shesterkin out for the season, Dylan Garand had started seven consecutive games and has struggled of late giving up 17 goals in his last five games. Needing to give Garand a break, and having no confidence in backup, Spencer Martin, the Rangers signed 38-year-old, James Reimer last week who will get the start tonight. Reimer started on the weekend for their AHL team, the Hartford Wolf Pack, and had a 35-save shutout.
For the LA Kings, it will be a homecoming for both head coach Peter Laviolette who coached the Rangers for two seasons and for Artemi Panarin who makes his second visit to MSG since being traded last season to the Kings. Panarin had an assist in his only game in the Garden. He does have 12 goals in 13 games versus his former team. LA has won five straight over the Rangers, but they will be without Mats Zuccarello and they could be without Quinton Byfield for a third consecutive game (upper body injury).
On to the player props. Happy 26th birthday to Pavel Dorofeyev. The Rangers forward has nine goals in 13 career games against LA. Adam Fox has an assist in 10 of 12 games (back-to-back 2+ assist games) and has picked up an assist in five of the last seven games versus the Kings. J.T. Miller has picked up points in nine of his last 12 games against the Kings. On the LA side, Adrian Kempe has picked up a point in four straight and six of eight overall as well as points in each of his last two visits to MSG.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Panarin/Dorofeyev/Moore all 2+ SOG (+155) – 1 unit
Artemi Panarin anytime goal (+190) – ¼ unit
Pavel Dorofeyev anytime goal (+190) – ¼ unit
Fox assist/Miller point/Kempe point/Panarin point (+392) – ¼ unit
Detroit Red Wings at Edmonton Oilers
Detroit (+150) at Edmonton (-185) – Total 6.5 (-120)
9:30 p.m. ET
The Oilers are coming off an embarrassing 7-2 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The loss had to be a kick in the shorts to Oilers head coach Mike Babcock, who coached the Maple Leafs for five seasons and now he faces the Red Wings, an organization that he was bench boss for 10 seasons. The Oilers have yet to lose back-to-back games this season, and I don’t see that streak coming to an end tonight. I expect the Oilers to strike early in this game and will play their first period team total Over 1.5 goals.
Leon Draisaitl is on a six-game goal streak (nine goals), has 17 goals in 23 games versus Detroit starting goalie John Gibson. Draisaitl has scored the Oilers’ first goal in five of the past six Edmonton games. There has been no stopping Connor McDavid, who has 33 points in 11 games and has nine multi-point games this season. Evan Bouchard is on an eight-game assist streak (10 assists) and assists in 10 of 11 games this season. On the Detroit side, Dylan Larkin has 19 points in 20 career games versus Edmonton, and one-time Oiler Victor Arvidsson has 21 points in 24 games versus the Oilers and points in each of his last four trips to Edmonton.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Leon Draisaitl 1st Edmonton goal (+430) – ¼ unit
Leon Draisaitl anytime goal (+100) – 2 units
McDavid 2+ points/Draisaitl 2+ points (+138) – ½ unit
McDavid/Draisaitl 3+ SOG each (+116) – ½ unit
Larkin/Arvidsson point parlay (+170) – ½ unit
Evan Bouchard 2+ points (+190) – ¼ unit
Note: I will post my plays from the Leafs/Flames game later today on my Twitter (X) feed @westcoasthkyNHL.
