Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers
It’s the only game on the NHL schedule tonight, ahead of a jam-packed Wednesday sked.
The Oilers return to Edmonton after a 12-day, 3-3-1 road trip, ready for some home cooking against a team that is on fire.
Top Oiler D-man Zach Hyman returned to the lineup just over a week ago, giving Edmonton a boost. That feeds into the optimism for the Stanley Cup finalists alongside the news that both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kasperi Kapanen are due back in the lineup in the coming days, although only RNH might be ready for the Dallas-Edmonton game.
The Stars are a tough matchup. They have an 11-4-3 record and are capable of blowout wins against shaky goalies. A 5-1 win over the Islanders right after a 7-0 destruction of the Canadiens just over a week ago prove it. But they’ll be without co-points leader Mikko Rantanen for this game due to a suspension.
Stars’ left-winger Jason Robertson has scored a goal or more in 6 straight and leads the team with 13 in total. He’s still solid value to be an anytime goalscorer (+121) against an Oilers team that still hasn’t found an answer between the pipes. Goalie Stuart Skinner is 35th in the league in GAA at 3.00 – pretty rough for a league that only has 32 teams.
The Oilers have only lost 15 times out of their most recent 47 games at home. This and Rantanen’s absence might be what’s causing the books to give them the moneyline edge at -140.
Check the latest odds at Lucky Rebel.
Vancouver Canucks @ Anaheim Ducks
There’s a total logjam at the top of the NHL’s Pacific Division, with six teams separated by just 4 points.
Unfortunately for Canucks betting fans, Vancouver isn’t one of those six. The team hasn’t found any consistency this year. They’ve lost 6 out of 7 heading into this Wednesday night game, a run that was only broken by a 6-2 win over Tampa Bay. Vancouver potted 5 goals in the third period to take that game from the Atlantic-leading Lightning, showing that they can get it done when they’re on.
For NHL Futures bettors, the preseason O/U points totals for Vancouver were positive, hovering around 90 points. They’re on pace for barely 70 points right now. Injuries have taken their toll, but every NHL team could say the same.
It all adds up to a potential blowout and betting the Over for this game against the Ducks. Anaheim is virtually tied with Colorado for the league lead in goals per game. That’s a bad matchup for a Vancouver unit that is dead last in the NHL in goals allowed per game.
Utah Mammoth @ Dallas Stars
The NHL’s Western Conference offers some hidden value plays for NHL betting types.
Teams outside the hockey-crazy cities of Toronto, Montreal, Boston, and Detroit don’t get nearly as much of the betting handle, especially for virtually brand-new teams like Utah. The books can also misprice lines on these markets outside of the NHL betting spotlight.
The Mammoth are playing very good hockey in their second year though. They’re on pace for 96-point season, possibly good enough to make the NHL playoffs. They’ve already hit a 7-game win streak this season too. But streakiness is also part of their game, with two 3-game skids since then.
Why we like the Mammoth to possibly be a strong moneyline play as a road underdog on Friday night? This will be Dallas’ third game in 4 nights, their first at home, and it comes after a long flight back from Seattle. Maybe jet lag and even some post-Thanksgiving Day stuffing in the players’ legs will even the ice surface too…
Montreal Canadiens @ Colorado Avalanche
The Avs are running away from the entire NHL as we approach the first-quarter mark of the NHL season.
The Canadiens were on a heater through 10 games from mid-October to mid-November but hit a wall with injuries and youth. The NHL’s youngest team already coming into the season, Montreal has had to lean on their AHL team for call-ups that add to their overall inexperience.
All this, plus the Habs’ coming into Colorado for their 3rd game in four nights, after a game against Vegas the night before, spells trouble if you planned on betting Montreal this Saturday night. Nathan MacKinnon is gunning for the scoring title, Cole Makar is cleaning up every night on defense and offense, and the entire Avalanche team is on a pace for 60-win season.
Even crazier? The Avs GF/GA differential heading into this week was at +38. The next closest team was at +13.
There is value in going with a Canadiens team some nights with an explosive core of players who for a while led the NHL in overall goals. But this is not one of those nights.
If you want to get in on NHL player props, the Canadiens’ Cole Caufield could be great value as an anytime goalscorer. He led the NHL in goals scored for a few weeks, and even though he’s cooled off a little in recent weeks, his chances and work haven’t dropped off at all. He’s due.
Washington Capitals @ New York Islanders
It’s age vs. youth in this Sunday afternoon NHL showdown.
Alex Ovechkin brings his 900+ goals and 40+ age into New York to face Matthew Schaefer’s Calder-worthy defense and 18 years of age.
The issue here is that the Islanders will play without top D-man Alex Romanov, after a shoulder injury suffered last week. With Ovie and Tom Wilson and other big forwards, the Caps can bring size and power to the Islanders’ end without Romanov patrolling it.
Should be a great test for Schaef, who’s already playing over 22 minutes per game. And Ovechkin playing against the best rookie in the league is a great storyline for a national TV audience.
But we don’t do storylines when it comes to NHL bets. Overall it spells bad news for the hosts, especially when you factor in the Caps’ elite goalie, Logan Thompson. He’s in the top 3 in the NHL in goals against average.