NHL Predictions – Expert Picks on Wednesday, December 18:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions:
Vancouver at Utah (-120, 5.5)
10 p.m. ET
This is the third time this season that Utah has gone from underdog to the betting favorite. In the two previous instances, Utah came up short, losing at home to Washinton and Minnesota. Utah opened as a (-105) home underdog and now flipped to a (-120) home favorite, as they are getting 48% of the bets and 72% of the money.
Vancouver is seeking back-to-back wins for the first time in 17 days following their 4-1 win over Colorado on Monday. The Canucks responded to the criticisms of head coach Rick Tocchet’s comments about having too many “passengers” and not enough players engaged in trying to win a hockey game. The road has been the Canucks happy place. Vancouver is 10-2-1 away from Rogers Arena compared to six wins in 17 home games.
Utah HC are coming off consecutive wins on the road over San Jose and Colorado, scoring four goals in each of the wins and have won four of their last five overall, with all four wins coming away from the Delta Center. Like Vancouver, home ice has not treated the Utah HC very kindly. They have lost five straight and nine of 13 games on home ice, giving up three or more goals in four of their last five losses at the Delta Center.
Look for Karel Vejmelka to get the start tonight for the home team. Vejmelka is in search of his first win against the Canucks (0-2-2, 5.08 GAA, .822 SV) and has had his hands full with Vancouver’s Conor Garland. Garland has five goals in four games versus “Veggie.”
NHL Predictions: Vancouver Canucks TT over 2.5 (-150) – 1.5 units
Conor Garland anytime goal (+235) – ¼ unit
Winnipeg Jets (-185, 6) at Anaheim Ducks
10 p.m. ET
Adam Lowry’s goal with 73 seconds left in regulation capped the Jets’ comeback from down 3-2 midway through the third period to give Winnipeg a 4-3 over the Sharks at San Jose. The Jets now travel to Southern California tonight against an Anaheim team they have dominated, winning nine of the last 10 meetings. I would expect Eric Comrie to get the start in goal tonight for Winnipeg. Comrie is 3-4 this season and has given up three or more goals in six of his seven starts. The Jets are 0-2 in the second half back to backs this season, falling to Nashville and Columbus by identical 4-1 scores. What does this all mean as it pertains to Anaheim? Three is the magic number for the Ducks. Anaheim is 10-1 this season when scoring three goals or more.
NHL Predictions: Anaheim Ducks TT Over 2.5 (-135) – 1.5 units
Anaheim Ducks ML (+145) – ¼ unit Best of the Rest
Florida Panthers/Minnesota Wild 1st period Over 1.5 (-105) – ½ unit
