NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are today’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Anaheim Ducks (19-10-1) at NY Islanders (17-11-3)
Ducks (+105) at Islanders (-125) – Total 6.5 (Under, -115)
7 p.m. ET
I don’t believe there has ever been a time when a Ducks versus Islanders game was must-watch television, but it is tonight with the top two candidates for Rookie of the Year, facing off against each other for the first time. The Islanders Matthew Schaefer (-220) is still the favorite to capture the award despite the Ducks Beckett Sennecke (+350) leading all rookies in goals (10) and points (26). Sennecke has points in 11 of the Ducks’ past 12 games (assists in eight of nine) and three consecutive multi-point games. Schaefer has assists and points in six of the Islanders’ last eight games.
Both teams have won four of their past five games, and the Ducks are coming off a near-impossible win at Pittsburgh, scoring the tying goal (by Sennecke) shorthanded with one tenth of a second remaining in regulation, and the play started with a face-off 180 feet from the Pittsburgh net. The Ducks would eventually win the game in a shootout, 4-3.
The Islanders’ victories during their current run have come against Tampa (two), Colorado, and Vegas. Bo Horvat and Matt Barzal remain hot for the Islanders. Horvat has points in both four of his last six overall and four of his last six against Anaheim. Barzal has points in three of his last four games and four consecutive games versus Anaheim (11 points in 11 career games). There is also some value with Anthony Duclair, who has scored 13 goals in 22 career games against Anaheim and three goals in his last four meetings with the team from SoCal.
Lastly, like Duclair for the Islanders, a sprinkle on the Ducks’ Mikael Granlund to score a goal tonight. He has four goals in nine games against the Islanders’ starting goalie, David Rittich, and at (+440), he is worth a pizza money wager. Of note, the Islanders have lost five of their last six in the role as the home betting favorite.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Beckett Sennecke anytime goal (+310) – .25 units
Beckett Sennecke Over ½ assist (+145) – .25 units
Matthew Schaefer Over ½ assist (+122) – .25 units
Sennecke/Schaefer point parlay (+230) – .15 units
Horvat/Barzal point parlay (+141) – .40 units
Anthony Duclair anytime goal (+380) – .05 units
Mikael Granlund anytime goal (+440) – .05 units
Anaheim Ducks Money Line (+105) – .25 units
Regulation Draw (+340) – .10 units
San Jose Sharks (14-14-3) at Toronto Maple Leafs (14-11-4)
Sharks (+165) at Maple Leafs (-200) – Total 6.5 (Under, -120)
7 p.m. ET
This is a good spot to grab the underdog San Jose Sharks as they face a Maple Leafs team coming off games against Atlantic Division rivals, Montreal and Toronto. They will also host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in the marquee matchup on Hockey Night in Canada. This sets up as a “sandwich” and a look-ahead game for Toronto.
San Jose won both meetings against the Leafs last season, and both were decided in a shootout. I look for the Sharks to also strike first in this game. San Jose has scored first on the road in three of their last four games, and Collin Graf has scored the Sharks’ first goal in three consecutive games (first goal of the game in back-to-back). For the season, Graf has scored the Sharks’ first goal of the game four times and the overall first goal of the game three times.
On the Toronto side, William Nylander has been dropped to the third line but is still on power play one. He has 13 assists in 14 games. Matthew Knies has four points in four games against the Sharks. Dakota Joshua has five goals in his last nine games versus San Jose. Playing alongside William Nylander, I like his chances at finding the back of the net tonight.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
San Jose Sharks Money Line (+165) – .25 units
Collin Graf anytime goal (+425) – .20 units
Collin Graf to score Sharks 1st goal (+1200) – .05 units
Will Smith/Celebrini point parlay (+173) – .50 units
Tyler Toffoli anytime goal (+240) – .05 units
Sharks to score the 1st goal of the game (+125) – .25 units
Nylander assist/Knies point (+197) – .20 units
Dakota Joshua anytime goal (+650) – .05
Dallas Stars (21-5-5) at Minnesota Wild (16-9-5)
Stars (-145) at Wild (+120) – Total 5.5 (Over, -120)
8 p.m. ET
If not for the incredible start by the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars would be the talk of the NHL. The Stars have won four straight and nine of their last 10 games. Minnesota returns home after a four-game, six-day road trip that saw them bookend wins between two losses (2-2).
The Wild have given up four goals or more in 11 of their 14 losses. Tonight will be another homecoming for Dallas goalie and Minnesota native Jake Oettinger. Oettinger is 8-0-3 with a 2.19 goals against average in his 13 games against Minnesota. The Stars have won eight of the last 10 head-to-head meetings between the two Central Division rivals, with seven of the eight wins by three or more goals and three of the wins by shutout.
Even with some of those ugly numbers for the Wild, two Minnesota players are on my prop list. Throughout the season, I have been on Matt Boldy anytime and first Minnesota goal of the game props, and tonight will be no different. Boldy scored the Wild’s first goal against Dallas in each of the last two games (both against Jake Oettinger) and three of the last six meetings. Nine of Boldy’s 16 goals this season have opened the scoring for Minnesota. For his career, Boldy has 11 points in 14 games against Dallas. Kirill Kaprizov has seven goals in 10 games against Oettinger and 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 14 games against Dallas. Kaprizov has opened the scoring for Minnesota at the Grand Casino Arena in five of their 15 home games.
On the Dallas side, Jason Robertson has 11 goals in 16 games against the Stars. Robertson scored goals in three of the last five Dallas games. Wyatt Johnston has points (15) in seven of the last nine games, but for the second time this season, Johnston is on a four-game goal drought. He has yet to go five consecutive games this season without a goal. In 12 games against the Wild, he has six goals and six assists. Three of his six goals have come with the man advantage. Miro Heiskanen has 15 points in 19 games against the Wild. The Stars have the NHL’s eighth-best power play on the road, and the Wild rank 28th on the penalty kill at home.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Matt Boldy anytime goal (+190) – .20 units
Matt Boldy to score Minnesota’s first goal (+500) – .05 units
Kirill Kaprizov anytime goal (+130) – .20 units
Kirill Kaprizov to score Minnesota’s first goal (+390) – .05 units
Hintz/Robertson/Johnston/Heiskanen point parlay (+579) – .20 units
Jason Robertson anytime goal (+140) – .15 units
Wyatt Johnston anytime goal (+175) – .15 units
Dallas Stars -1.5 (+172) – 1 unit
Dallas Stars Over ½ Power Play Goal (+100) – .25 units
Boston Bruins (18-13-0) at Winnipeg Jets (14-14-1)
Bruins (+120) at Jets (-148) – Total 6 (-110)
8 p.m. ET
Going to keep this very simple. The Jets have given up three or more goals in eight of the 10 games since Connor Hellebuyck went down with an injury. A couple of Bruins player props include Morgan Geekie to score a goal, and as always, I will sprinkle on Geekie to score the Bruins’ first goal. Geekie has Boston’s first goal on the road in six of 15 games and nine times this season.
Elias Lindholm has 29 points in 35 games against the Jets and has points in five of his last six games overall (three multi-point games). David Pastrnak made his return to the lineup on Tuesday and had three assists. In 17 games against the Jets, he has 19 points. Mark Scheifele and Gabe Vilardi each have three goals in four games against Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Bruins Team Total Over 3 (+105) – 1.25 units
Morgan Geekie anytime goal (+190) – .20 units
Morgan Geekie to score Boston 1st goal (+550) – .05 units
Geekie/Lindholm/Pastrnak point parlay (+425) – .25 units
Mark Scheifele anytime goal (+155) – .10 units
Gabe Vilardi anytime goal (+195) – .10 units
Florida Panthers (15-12-2) at Colorado Avalanche (21-2-7)
Panthers (+190) at Avalanche (-235) – Total 6 (Over, -120)
9:30 p.m. ET
The Colorado Avalanche returned home from a four-game road trip, but with three of the four games against the Islanders, Rangers and Flyers, it was not the most grueling trip that the Avs had to go through. Their opponents tonight, the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, played a tough, back-and-forth game in Utah last night, outlasting the Mammoth, 4-3, as Esa Lindell scored the game-winner with just under a minute to play in regulation.
Now it’s back-to-back in elevation for Florida, and they will turn to their backup goalie, Daniill Tarasov. I have zero interest in laying (-235) on the Avalanche to win the game, but I will play Colorado on the puck line for both the first and second period. I will also have a play on Colorado to score a power play goal tonight. Colorado has the 11th-ranked power play at home, and the Panthers are dead last on the penalty kill on the road.
Nathan MacKinnon has had five or more shots on goal in seven of his last eight games and six or more shots in each of his last six games. One Panthers player that I will continue to ride is Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers forward has goals in four straight and six of seven. He has had success against both Colorado goalies, scoring a combined seven goals. He has also registered three shots on goal in six consecutive games.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Colorado Avalanche 1st period -1/2 goal (+122) – 1 unit
Colorado Avalanche 2nd period -1/2 goal (+114) – 1 unit
Colorado Avalanche Over ½ power play goal (-140) – .25 units
Nathan MacKinnon Over 4.5 SOG (+126) – .50 units
Nathan MacKinnon Over 5.5 SOG (+240) – .25 units
Carter Verhaeghe anytime goal (+240) – .10 units
Carter Verhaeghe Over 2.5 SOG (+105) – .20 units
