NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are today’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Utah Mammoth (8-4-0) at Buffalo Sabres (5-4-3)
Betting Line: (Utah -130, 6.5)
7 p.m. ET
The Utah Mammoth head to KeyBank Center to face the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres have played four consecutive games that have gone past 60 minutes, all ending with an identical 4-3 score. Buffalo’s win over Washington on Saturday snapped a three-game losing streak. After winning seven in a row, Utah has dropped back-to-back games with losses to Edmonton and Tampa. They now begin a four-game road trip that continues tomorrow in Toronto and then finishes with a back-to-back set in Montreal and Ottawa.
Tonight marks the first time that the teams will meet since making a trade in the summer that sent J.J. Peterka to Utah for Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring. Doan has had a solid start to the season (four goals, nine points in 12 games), taking advantage of playing in Buffalo’s top six forward group as well as being on the top power play unit. Rasmus Dahlin is fourth in team scoring (one goal, eight assists) and joins Doan on the Sabres’ number one power play unit. He is currently on a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist). Peterka is one of five Utah forwards with 10 or more points (four goals, six assists). Utah’s Logan Cooley has scored the Mammoth’s first goal of the game four times this season, three of those coming on the road. I will play it safe and take him for the first Utah goal as opposed to the first goal of the game. No guts on my part
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Josh Doan goal anytime goal (+220) – .10 units
Isak Rosen anytime goal (+440) – .10 units
Josh Doan point/Dahlin assist (+189) – .10 units
J.J. Peterka anytime goal (+250) – .10 units
Logan Cooley anytime goal (+190) – .10 units
Logan Cooley 1st Utah goal of the game (+650) – .05 units
Philadelphia Flyers (6-5-1) at Montreal Canadiens (9-3-0)
Betting Line: (Montreal -155, 5.5)
7 p.m. ET
The Montreal Canadiens are riding a three-game winning streak, with all three games ending 4-3 and the last two games needing overtime. The Flyers are coming off back-to-back losses, having scored three goals in their last two games. In Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, who have the worst record in the league, the Flyers had just nine shots on goal through two periods before eventually finishing with 18. One Flyers player who has had no problem in getting shots to the net is Trevor Zegras. Zegras has cashed his shots on goal prop in six consecutive games. The former Anaheim Ducks forward leads the team in points and has slotted in very well in Philadelphia under Rick Tocchet.
Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes is a perfect 6-0 to start the season and is likely to get the start tonight. In his one game against the Flyers (last season), he was lit up for six goals on 30 shots in the Flyers’ 6-4 win over the Canadiens. Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier scored twice. No one is hotter than Montreal’s Nick Suzuki. Since being held without a point on opening night, Suzuki has registered a point in all 11 games (2 goals and 16 assists), and five times he has had two or more.
Last season’s Rookie of the Year, Lane Hutson, is on a six-game heater of his own (1 goal and 6 assists) and Juraj Slavkovsky has goals in three straight and Cole Caufield (3) and Alex Newhook (2) have scored in back-to-back games. Caufield has six goals in 10 games versus the Flyers, while Caufield has 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 15 games against Philly. The one issue with playing Montreal Canadiens props tonight is they have very little value if you are looking to target the top line.
The Canadiens are 3-1 this season as the home betting favorite and are 19-5 in the last three-plus seasons when favored to win a home game. The Flyers will be seeking their first road win of the season (0-2-1).
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Trevor Zegras Over 1.5 shots on goal (-150) – .75 units
Montreal Canadiens Money Line (-150) – .50 units
Boston Bruins (7-7-0) at New York Islanders (6-5-1)
Betting Line: (NY Islanders (-165, 6.5)
7 p.m. ET
These two teams met eight days ago in Boston, with the Islanders jumping out to a 2-0 first period lead, only to see the Bruins score five unanswered goals for a 5-2 victory. After cashing the full game Over in nine of their first 10 games, New York has played consecutive “low event” hockey games, winning 3-1 and 3-2. The first period Over 1.5 goals is (5-1) in Islanders home games this season, and all four Boston road games have cashed the first period Over 1.5 goals.
On to the player props. Islanders’ defenseman Tony DeAngelo has cashed his shots on goal prop (1.5) going over the total in three straight, four of five, and eight of the last 10 games. Simon Holmstrom has points in three straight games (two goals and one assist) and four of the last five. Rookie Matthew Schaefer has put up three or more shots on goal in five of his last seven games. The Bruins’ Pavel Zacha is on a three-game assist streak. Morgan Geekie’s six-game goal streak came to an end over the weekend in the Bruins’ 2-1 upset win over Carolina. The Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy had two assists when the teams met earlier this season and now has 20 “helpers” in 26 games against the Islanders.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Charlie McAvoy Over ½ assist (+154) – .25 units
Matthew Schaefer Over 2.5 shots on goal (+110) -.25 units
1st period Over 1.5 goals (-144) – 1 unit
Tony DeAngelo Over 1.5 shots on goal (-160) – .10 units
Tampa Bay Lightning (6-4-2) at Colorado Avalanche (7-1-5)
Betting Line: (Colorado -150, 6)
9:30 p.m. ET – TNT
After opening the season with just one win in their first seven games, the Tampa Bay Lightning look more like the team we are accustomed to, rattling off five consecutive wins (outscoring the opposition 17-9). You may have heard the phrase that good goaltending contributes to 70% of a team’s success but bad goaltending results in 100% of your failure. After giving up 12 goals in his first three starts of the season, Andrei Vasilevskiy has given up just four goals in the three games he has started on this current Tampa run.
Colorado is coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at San Jose that saw the return of goalie Mackenzie Blackwood from off-season surgery to the lineup for the first time this season. The Avs have dropped five of their last seven games, with four of the losses coming in games that have gone past regulation. Even with highly skilled players like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Marty Necas, the Avs are 0-3 in overtime and 0-2 in the shootout. Tampa has won the last three meetings against Colorado and five of the last six. They scored four or more goals in all five wins and covered the puck line (-1.5 goals) in four of the five wins.
Tampa has been one of the league’s best teams, if not the best, when it comes to scoring four goals or more in a victory. They have done so in four of six wins this season and over the last two-plus seasons have scored at least four goals in 77 of their 98 wins (79%). Colorado has given up at least four goals in four of their six losses. For me, if you like Tampa to win tonight, then the better value is on their team total as opposed to their money line (+125). Anthony Cirelli has goals in back-to-back games for the Bolts and leads the team with seven goals. After not scoring in the first eight games of the season, Brandon Hagel has goals in four straight.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Tampa Lightning Team Total Over 3.5 (+168) – .50 units
Detroit Red Wings (9-4-0) at Vegas Golden Knights (6-2-3)
Betting Line: (Vegas -200,6)
10 p.m. ET
Tonight is the final stop on a five-game road trip for the Red Wings, who have won three of the first four games. The Wings’ nine victories and 18 points are tied with Montreal for top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Golden Knights have been scuffling in recent games, dropping three of four, scoring just three goals in the losses. The Red Wings’ Alex DeBrincat is on a six-game point streak that includes assists in four straight and goals in four of the last five. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are both riding four-game point streaks. At the time of this writing of the column, I don’t have goalie confirmations. If it is Akira Schmid for Vegas, take note that Dylan Larkin had a hat trick in the one game he faced Schmid.
The Golden Knights’ Tomas Hertl has goals in back-to-back games, and based on lines at the Knights’ recent practice, Brett Howden is getting bumped to the top line, making his anytime goal prop (+430) a great value play. The first period Over has been a strong play in Knights games, going 4-1 at home and 8-3 overall. The last three meetings between the Wings and Knights in Vegas have all cashed the first period Over 1.5 goals.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
1st period Over 1.5 (-144) – 1 unit
Tomas Hertl goal (+200) – .10 units
Brett Howden goal (+430) – .10 units
Dylan Larkin goal (+200) – .10 units
William Karlsson anytime goal (+320) – .10 units
Lucas Raymond assist (+116) -.10 units
Mortiz Seider assist (+138) – .10 units
Alex DeBrincat assist (+140) – .10 units
