NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are today’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Washington Capitals (10-8-2) at Montreal Canadiens (10-6-3)
Betting Line: Washington (+115) at Montreal (-135) – Total 6 (Over, -120)
7 p.m. ET
This will be the first meeting between these two teams since the Capitals eliminated the Canadiens in last year’s playoffs. Many will remember a fight between the Caps’ Tom Wilson and the Canadiens’ Josh Anderson that spilled on the Capitals bench as the period came to an end. There was also Wilson’s bone-crushing hit on Habs defenseman, Alexandre Carrier, that took Carrier out of the game. I would expect the Habs’ Arber Xhekaj to drop the mitts with Wilson early tonight. So that’s the backdrop for tonight’s game. Now, I will get into the betting angles.
Montreal is on a 9-1 run to the full game Over, and Habs starting goalie Samuel Montembeault is 6-1-1 to the Over 6 total in his last eight games. The full game Over has cashed in four of the last five starts made by Washington goalie, Charlie Lindgren. Washington played last night and is also playing its third game in four days. The Caps are 0-3 this season in the second half of a back-to-back, and Lindgren has started all three games. The Over is 2-1.
The Caps have turned things around with wins over the Oilers and Kings after dropping eight of their previous 10 games. Montreal has lost four straight and six of seven, but I feel this is a scheduling advantage for Montreal. They are facing Charlie Lindgren and not Logan Thompson. Alexander Ovechkin got off to a slow start with just three goals in the team’s first 15 games. He now has goals in three straight and four goals in his last five games. He has 39 goals in sixty games against the Habs and has found the back of the net twice in the four games he has faced Montembeault. The Habs’ Oliver Kapanen has scored the first goal for Montreal five times.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Draw (+330) – .25 units
Washington Capitals/Montreal Canadiens Over 6 (-120) – 1 unit
Oliver Kapanen anytime goal (+450) – .10 units
Oliver Kapanen to score Montreal 1st goal (+1100) – .05 units
Canadiens Money Line (-130) – .50 units
Alexander Ovechkin anytime goal (+180) – .10 units
Strome Point/Carlson assist (+172) – .15 units
Jakob Chychrun Over ½ point (+115) – .20 units
Vegas Golden Knights (9-4-6) at Utah Mammoth (10-7-3)
Betting Line: Vegas (-115) at Utah (-105) – Total 6 (Over, -115)
9 p.m. ET
The Utah Mammoth kick off a four-game homestand tonight when they face the Vegas Golden Knights. Utah has dropped eight of their last 10 games, with both wins coming against the Buffalo Sabres. They lost each of their last three games, 3-2 in overtime. The Mammoth have won five of their seven home games. I would expect number one goalie Karel Vejmelka to get the start tonight for Vegas. Vejmelka is 2-5 with goals against average just under four goals in his seven career starts against VGK.
The Golden Knights returned home on Tuesday after a mini two-game road trip and hung on for a 3-2 win over the Rangers. They have won two of their last three games, with all three games having fallen under the total (all with five combined goals). The Golden Knights won two of the three meetings last season, winning both at home and in Salt Lake City.
Recently recalled (from AHL Henderson Silver Knights), Braeden Bowman has taken full advantage of his spot on the top line and top power play. Bowman has four points (two goals, two assists) in four games (two multi-point games) and both his goals have come on the power play. In yesterday’s column, I included a chart indicating which player scored the team’s first goal most often (not the first goal of the game, necessarily). Pavel Dorofeyev is tied with Morgan Geekie (Bos) and Mika Zibanejad (NYR), scoring their team’s first goal of the game six times this season.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Draw (+350) – .25 units
Pavel Dorofeyev anytime goal (+180) – .10 units
Pavel Dorofeyev to score Vegas’ first goal (+550) – .05 units
Pavel Dorofeyev Over 2.5 SOG (-115) – .50 units
Braeden Bowman anytime goal (+310) – .10 units
Braeden Bowman Over ½ Power Play Point (+375) – .10 units
Los Angeles Kings (10-6-4) at San Jose Sharks (9-8-3)
Betting Line: LA Kings (-175) at SJ Sharks (+150) – Total 5.5 (Over, -120)
10 p.m. ET
The LA Kings officially wrap up their six-game road trip tonight in San Jose, though the team did return to Los Angeles after having their four-game winning streak come to an end on Monday with a 4-1 loss to the Capitals. This will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams this season. The Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only to see the Sharks tie the game, and then Brandt Clarke’s late third-period goal gave LA a 4-3 win.
With the Kings on the front end of a back-to-back, the team announced on Thursday that Darcy Kuemper will not make the trip to San Jose (he will start Friday vs Boston) and Anton Forsberg will get the start with Pheonix Copley (recalled from the Ontario Reign) to serve as the backup. The team also announced that Drew Doughty will be out another two to three weeks.
The Kings decided to shake up their line combinations, and their top line will have Quinton Byfield in the middle, flanked by Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe. Andre Kuzmenko slots back into the lineup after spending a few days in the press box and will join Anze Kopitar and Trevor Moore on the second line. The line juggling hurts Alex Laferriere, who now goes down to the third line. One thing with Laferriere, he has scored the Kings’ first goal of the game four times this season.
The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over Utah on Tuesday night as Macklin Celebrini scored all three goals for San Jose. He now has scored the Sharks’ first goal at home in three consecutive games and four of the last five. Celebrini was limited to one assist in the October 28th loss earlier this season, but does have two goals in his two other games versus LA. His 13 goals and 30 points have him third in the NHL scoring race, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon (33) and Connor McDavid (32).
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Draw (+350) – .25 units
Macklin Celebrini anytime goal (+140) – .10 units
Macklin Celebrini to score Sharks 1st goal (+410) – .05 units
Bedard/Celebrini anytime goal parlay (+488) – .20 units
Alex Laferriere 1st Kings goal (+1200) – .05 units
Alex Laferriere anytime goal (+360) – .05 units
San Jose Sharks Money Line (+150) – 1 unit
Will Smith/William Eklund point parlay (+208) – .20 units
Brandt Clarke assist (+180) -.10 units
Dallas Stars (12-5-3) at Vancouver Canucks (9-10-2)
Betting Line: Dallas (-145) at Vancouver (+120) – Total 6.5 (Under, -120)
10 p.m. ET
The Stars come into Vancouver off a wild 3-2 loss to the NY Islanders on Tuesday, snapping their five-game winning streak. The Stars had thought they had tied the game just before the clock struck zero, only to have the goal overturned (correct ruling) for goalie interference. Now they head to Vancouver to face a Canucks team that rallied from down 2-0 earlier in the season and beat Dallas, 5-3. The Canucks have won the last two meetings (both games in Dallas) while the Stars have won their last two trips to Vancouver.
The Stars’ Jason Robertson has been torching opposing goalies with 8 goals on 32 shots in his last four games. Stars captain Jamie Benn is one goal shy of 400. He was born in Victoria, British Columbia, so tonight would be as good as any night to reach the milestone. He has six goals in 11 games versus Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen. On the Vancouver side, captain Quinn Hughes has been quite the puck distributor. Hughes has 10 assists (3.4,3) in his last three games and has had four shots on goal or more in four of his last five games. Elias Pettersson (forward, not defenseman) has four goals in six games against Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger. The Canucks last 10 games and 12 of 13 have all gone Over the total (seven or more goals).
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Jason Robertson anytime goal (+140) – .10 units
Jason Robertson Over 3.5 SOG (+102) – 1 unit
Jason Robertson Over 4.5 SOG (+225) – .35 units
Quinn Hughes Over 1.5 points (+176) – .35 units
Quinn Hughes Over 2.5 SOG (-130) – 1 unit
Quinn Hughes Over 3.5 SOG (+188) – .35 units
Elias Pettersson anytime goal (+220) – .10 units
Jamie Benn anytime goal (+460) – .10 units
Dallas Stars/Vancouver Canucks Over 6.5 goals (+100) – 1 unit
