Navigate

Top NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (12/18)

by |

The NHL season is underway! Let's highlight a few key games for today, Monday, Dec. 18.

Monday's NHL Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Minnesota Wild (+102) at Pittsburgh Penguins (-122) | O/U 6 (-112/-108)

On any given night, you don't know which Penguins team you're going to see. The largest inconsistency has come from the offense that features a group of future Hall of Famers. They have now dipped below three goals per game, and in five of their last seven, they have scored just one goal and are coming off a brutal 7-0 loss to the Maple Leafs.

The Wild have played three games in five days, two of which resulted in shootouts,  but the good news is they won each of them. The goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury has not been as effective as last year, but Gustavsson has vastly improved by allowing two or fewer goals in seven straight.

The Pens get another tough goalie and you can’t trust this offense at the moment. The Wild are not a very good offense, and I like Tristian Jarry to rebound. Even without the hook, you should go with the under.

Pick: Under 6 Total Goals (-108)

Florida Panthers (-135) at Calgary Flames (+114) | O/U 6.5 (-105/-115)

The Flames can turn up the heat at times but have also gone cold, and December has not been good for them, going 2-4-2 so far. The positives are they have come away with some points and kept many of these games close. Without Jacob Markstrom, the goaltending has taken a huge dip, and it's showing.

The Panthers have historically had one of the better offenses and, just two years ago, averaged four goals a game, but this year, they're near the league average at 3.00. Their 56.9 expected goal percentage is indicative of the incredible opportunities they get, but they just aren't finding the back of the net, which shows as they were shut out in back-to-back games while attempting 60 shots.

We should see a better effort from the Panthers offense against a favorable matchup and they have Sergei Bobrovsky giving them the goalie advantage.

Pick: Panthers Moneyline (-135)

Seattle Kraken (+160) at Dallas Stars (-192) | O/U 6 (-120/+100)

The Kraken have had some better results recently, winning two of the last three after getting just two points from the previous eight games. A big part of that has been Joey Daccord playing very well in the net as he steps in for the injured Philipp Grubauer and has allowed five goals combined in his last four games.

The Stars are one of the better teams in the league, and they come in with a deep and balanced roster. The question for Dallas is the availability of their star goalie. Jake Oettinger went down in the previous game against the Blues, and now his status is in the air. This would mean Scott Wedgwood would get the start, and although he's 6-1-2 on the year, he's allowed four goals in three of his last four games, and five of his wins have been by one goal.

This will be the first time these two teams face each other since the series in the playoffs last year. Of those seven games, five went over six total goals. These two teams will not have their primary goaltenders, and although both have played well, we should still see a high-scoring game and exciting game.

Pick: Over 6 Total Goals (-120)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:


Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Try Premium for FREE in our mobile app

BettingPros App