Back today after five days off as the National Hockey League shut down for its Christmas break. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed a great holiday season with family and friends.
The NHL actually resumed action last night with 11 games, but we sat things out from a betting perspective out of concern for how players might react to having 3 days entirely away from the rink. Several more teams see their first action tonight since Saturday, and it’ll be interesting to see how much of an advantage teams that played last night might have, especially early in games.
We go into the final few days of December looking to finish in the black for the third straight month. A 3-1 Saturday put us at 17-15 for +2.1 units in December and 69-57 for +9.2 units on the season.
Just one bet tonight for us as we’re looking to exploit a matchup between a red-hot team that played last night against a host that hasn’t played since Saturday and often starts slowly on home ice. We’ve also got breakdowns and opinions on the rest of the matchups below. Good luck!
Odds below are at the time we made the pick. Be sure to check out our live odds page for updated odds on today’s games.
Reasons to bet Vegas: The Golden Knights are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games and have won 6 of their last 8 on the road. LA hasn’t played since Saturday and has lost 8 of its last 11 games on 3+ days rest.
Reasons to bet Los Angeles: The Kings have won 5 straight at home, where they’re 11-5-2 on the season. LA has allowed 4 goals in its last 3 games.
Other things to know:
- The Over is 21-12 in Vegas’ games this year
- The Under is 8-2 in LA’s last 10 home games
- Vegas has allowed 9 regulation time goals in its last 6 games
- Vegas has scored 3+ goals in 8 of its last 9 games
- LA has 1 regulation time win in its last 8 games
Probable goalies: Fleury (confirmed), Quick
Reasons to bet Philadelphia: The Flyers have won 4 straight meetings, including a 5-1 rout of the Panthers Oct. 17 in Philadelphia. Florida has scored 3 goals or less in 8 straight games, excluding empty netters.
Reasons to bet Florida: The Panthers have won 3 straight overall and are 3-1-1 in their last 5 at home. Philadelphia has scored 1 regulation time goal in 3 of its last 5 outings.
Other things to know:
- Philadelphia is 7-6-4 on the road
- Florida is 8-6-3 at home
- The home team is 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings
- Philadelphia has allowed 2 goals or less in 7 of its last 10 games, and 1 regulation time goal against in 4 of its last 8
- Florida has allowed 2 regulation time goals or less in 6 of its last 7 games
- The Under is 14-6-1 in the last 21 meetings
- Trochek is questionable for Florida
Probable goalies: Elliott (confirmed), Reimer (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Boston: The Bruins are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and have allowed 2 regulation time goals or less in 9 of their last 10. Washington has lost 3 straight games and has 0 regulation time wins in its last 5.
Reasons to bet Washington: The Capitals have won 11 straight meetings with the Bruins, including 5-3 and 3-2 wins earlier this year in Boston. Washington is 14-5 at home this season.
Other things to know:
- Boston is 7-5-2 on the road
- Boston has allowed 5 goals in its lsat 5 games
- Washington is 4-1-2 in its last 7 games
- Boston has scored 3 goals or less in 7 of its last 9 games
- Washington has scored 2 goals in its last 3 games and 2 regulation time goals or less in 4 of its last 5
- Boston has lost 15 of its last 21 games on 0 days rest
- Washington has lost 6 of its last 8 games on 0 days rest
- The Under is 34-16-1 in the last 51 meetings
Probable goalies: Khudobin (confirmed), Holtby (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Montreal: The Canadiens shook the Christmas break rust off last night with a 3-1 loss in Carolina while Tampa hasn’t played since Saturday. Montreal is 6-1-1 in the last 8 meetings and 3-0-1 in its last 4 visits to Tampa.
Reasons to bet Tampa: The Lightning has won 9 of its last 10 games, and that one loss came on a goal in the dying seconds at Vegas. Tampa is 15-2-1 at home this season.
Other things to know:
- Montreal is 7-10-1 on the road
- Montreal has scored 2 goals in its last 2 games and 2 or less in 6 of its last 8
- Montreal has allowed 3+ goals in 7 of its last 9 games
- Tampa has scored 3+ goals in 10 straight games
- The Over is 21-14 in Tampa’s games this year
Probable goalies: Price (confirmed), Vasilevskiy (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Toronto: The Leafs have won 23 of their last 36 games when playing with 3 or more days rest. Arizona is 4-12-1 at home this season and has scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 9 of its last 10 games.
Reasons to bet Arizona: The Coyotes have had Toronto’s number lately, winning 6 of the last 7 meetings. The Leafs have lost 4 of their last 5 road games.
Other things to know:
- Arizona beat Colorado 3-1 last night in Colorado
- Toronto is 11-9-1 on the road
- The road team is 7-2-1 in the last 10 meetings
- Toronto has scored 2 goals or less in 5 of its last 7 games
- Toronto has allowed 3 goals or less in 9 of its last 10 games, excluding empty netters
- Arizona has lost 16 of its last 21 games following a victory
- The Under is 20-6 in Arizona’s last 26 games
Probable goalies: Andersen (confirmed), Raanta
Reasons to bet Chicago: The Blackhawks are 4-0-1 in the last 5 meetings and have scored at least 3 goals in each of the last 8. Vancouver has lost 25 of its last 31 home games, dating back to last year.
Reasons to bet Vancouver: The Canucks have scored 4 goals or more in 3 of their last 5 outings. Chicago has lost 5 of its last 6 games on the road.
Other things to know:
- Chicago has lost its last 2 games by a combined score of 8-1
- The Under is 12-3-1 in Chicago’s last 16 games
- Vancouver has lost 8 of its last 9 games, and has 0 regulation time wins in its last 9
- Vancouver has allowed 3+ goals in 9 straight, 4+ in 7 of 9 and 5+ in 5 of 7
- The Under is 7-1-1 in Chicago’s last 9 road games
- The Over is 7-1 in Vancouver’s last 8 games
Probable goalies: Forsberg, Markstrom (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Calgary: The Flames are 9-4-3 on the road this season. San Jose has allowed 4+ goals in 4 of its last 6 games and 7 of its last 10.
Reasons to bet San Jose: The Sharks are 5-1-2 in their last 8 games, scoring 29 goals during that stretch. Calgary has scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 8 of its last 10.
Other things to know:
- San Jose beat Calgary 3-2 Dec. 14 in Calgary
- Calgary has allowed 16 regulation time goals in its last 9 games
- The Under is 22-11 in San Jose’s games this year
- San Jose is 11-6-2 at home
Probable goalies: Smith, Jones
Good luck!
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