NHL Best Bets & Picks: Golden Knights vs Flames and Kraken vs Sharks – Expert Game Previews
The National Hockey League (NHL) has a full evening slate, with seven games with a puck drop of 7 p.m. EST or later. We'll focus on a pair of 10 p.m. EST puck drops to give you more time to get your bets in.
We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Saturday's college football playoff games, NBA and/or NCAA basketball action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.
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For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.
Vegas Golden Knights 
at Calgary Flames 
The Golden Knights (16-6-10) and Flames (14-17-4) meet at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, with a puck drop of 10 p.m. EST. The game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.
Vegas has run this series lately, winning five of the previous six meetings, including a 6-1 win in the most recent battle at The Fortress on Oct. 18 as heavy favorites (-230) as the Over (6) cashed. VGK is 2-0 this season against Calgary, too, winning at the Saddledome by a 4-2 count on Oct. 14 as moderate road faves (-170) as the total pushed at most shops.
The Golden Knights are likely champing at the bit to get back on the field after a 2-1 setback in a shootout against the New Jersey Devils last time out on Wednesday. There was very little support for Carter Hart, who stopped 32 of 33 shots, but only Pavel Dorofeyev offered an offense, a power-play goal at 15:49 of the third period to force the extra session.
VGK is 6-0-2 since Nov. 29, picking up at least one point in each of those eight games, while cashing the Under in five of the past six outings.
Calgary doubled up Seattle 4-2 on Thursday as moderate favorites (-160) as the Over (5.5) cashed. The Flames are playing much better of late, going 5-2-0 in the past seven games, while the Over is 4-1 in the past five outings.
Akira Schmid (11-2-4, 2.32 GAA, .903 SV%, 2 SO) and Devin Cooley (3-4-2, 2.34 GAA, .913 SV%) are the confirmed goaltenders.
First off, we're going with the Under, as both of these goaltenders have been hot all season, conceding very little. And, we'll take VGK straight up, as it's surprising it isn't favored by more based on the dominance in this series.
- Golden Knights ML (-125 at BetMGM)
- Under 5.5 Goals (-110 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel Sportsbooks)
Seattle Kraken 
at San Jose Sharks 
The Kraken (12-14-6) and Sharks (17-15-3) meet at SAP Center, also with a 10 p.m. EST puck drop on ESPN+.
Seattle has won three of the past four meetings, each as a moderate favorite. The losing winning team has scored four or more goals in each of the past six meetings, with the winning team averaging 5.5 goals per game (GPG), while the losing team has two or fewer goals in each of the past five in the series, averaging 1.4 GPG.
These teams have split the first two meetings in this series, with San Jose winning 6-1 in Seattle as a moderate underdog (+145) as the Over (6) cashed on Nov. 5, while Seattle won 4-1 as a moderate favorite (-150) on Nov. 15 as the Under (5.5) cashed. The Over is 4-1-1 in the past six in the series, too.
These aren't your typical Sharks, though. San Jose lost 5-3 to the Dallas Stars last time out on Thursday, but that snapped a three-game win streak. The Over is a perfect 3-for-3 in the span, too, with the Sharks averaging 5.0 GPG, while allowing 4.4 GPG.
Joey Daccord (8-9-4, 2.90 GAA, .896 SV%, 2 SO) is likely to start for the Kraken, while Yaroslav Askarov (12-8-1, 3.22 GAA, .900 SV%) is confirmed to go for the home side.
With the Kraken just 5-7-3 on the road this season, and the Sharks 10-6-3 at home, we're going to side with San Jose to get the job done, throwing out the series trends.
In addition, we'll go with the Over, not because the Over is 4-1-1 in the past six in the series, although that helps, but because the Sharks score a ton, and give up a ton. Macklin Celebrini has three goals and 10 points with a plus-6 rating in just the past four games. Celebrini as an Anytime Goal Scorer (+130) at plus-money is a good bet.
- Sharks ML (+105 at BetMGM)
- Over 6 Goals (-120 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
Parlay Strategy and Super Parlay Picks for NHL Betting Slates
4-Leg NHL Super Parlay (+1016 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Sharks ML vs. Kraken - Over 6.5 - SGP (+246)
- Golden Knights ML at Flames - Under 5.5 (+222)
2-Leg NHL Totals Parlay (+257 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Over 6.5 (+104) - Sharks vs. Kraken
- Under 5.5 (-110) - Golden Knights at Flames
2-Leg NHL Sides Parlay (+217 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Sharks ML (-126) vs. Kraken
- Golden Knights ML (-130) at Flames
