Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Tuesday, December 9

Expert NHL previews, picks & key matchups for today’s games—get odds, player props & insights to sharpen your bets before puck drop.

December 9, 2025

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Tuesday, December 9

By:

Daniel Dobish

December 9, 2025

NHL Picks

Expert NHL Game Previews, Matchups and Key Insights

The National Hockey League (NHL) has a total of 10 games on the slate, including a nationally-televised doubleheader on TNT and HBO Max featuring the Vegas Golden Knights and New York Islanders at 7 p.m. ET, while the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators battle at 9:30 p.m. ET in the second end, while also being available on truTV, too. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes can also be streamed at 7:30 p.m. ET on hulu.

Man, we almost hit our three-team SGP for Kings-Mammoth Monday. Adrian Kempe got the hard part out of the way early, etching his name on the stat sheet with a goal just 7:50 in. But, while the Kings won, and Kempe was in the bag with at least one point, the Under 5.5 was flipped to over with an empty-net goal with just 98 seconds remaining. Ironically, while the Wild won against the Kraken, we also missed the total by a half-goal there, too. So, our sides parlay hit, but it we just missed a "mammoth" payoff by inches.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with the Monday Night Football clash from the NFL, NBA action and/or NCAA basketball. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.

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NHL Best Bets & Picks: Kings vs Golden Knights vs Islanders and Avalanche vs Predators – Expert Game Previews

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.

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert Game Previews, Picks & Matchup Insights

Vegas Golden Knights at New York Islanders

The Golden Knights (14-6-8) and the Islanders (16-11-3) do battle in the national game. VGK has posted a 7-2-4 mark on the road, while the Isles are just 7-6-2 at home.

New York swept this series last season, though, and it won 4-3 in overtime at "The Fortress" on Nov. 13, as Jean-Gabriel Pageau won it in the extra session on an unassisted shorthanded goal, beating Akira Schmid. That made a road winner out of Ilya Sorokin, who stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced.

Bo Horvat and Jonathan Drouin chipped in with two assists apiece, while rookie Matthew Schaefer had a goal and an assist in that road win in Vegas. Tomas Hertl, Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore were the goal scorers for VGK.

The Islanders are doing a good job this season despite ranking just 14.4 percent on the power play, good for 29th in the NHL. On the kill, though, they're a solid 7th at 83.3 percent, while allowing just 2.7 goals per game (GPG), also ranking 7th.

For the Golden Knights, they'll put that PK of New York to the test, as VGK hits at a 25.0 percent rate, good for sixth in the league. The PK has been so-so for Vegas, ranking 12th with an 81.7 percent mark.

Based on New York's recent dominance in this series, we'll side with the Islanders on home ice.

The Under has cashed on the first two road games for the Golden Knights, while the Under is 4-1 in the past five for the Islanders, and 11-2 across the past 13 games. There aren't many sixes out there, but if you can get U6, go for it, but look to alternate totals and buy up.

Islanders ML (+124 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-122 at BetRivers Sportsbook)

Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators

The Avalanche (21-2-6) and the Predators (10-14-4) meet at Bridgestone Arena in the Music City in the second end of the nationally-televised doubleheader.

The Avs are dominant everywhere, including the road, where Colorado is a healthy 10-2-4. The Predators are just 6-8-2 on home ice, as Nashville continues to struggle in all facets of the game.

The Preds have struggled to light the lamp, hitting for just 2.6 GPG, ranking 28th, while going just 25th on the power play at 15.7 percent. On the flip side, it allows 3.6 GPG to rank 31st, and Nashville is 81.1 percent on the penalty kill at 16th.

The Over is 6-1 in the past seven games for Nashville, including the past three at home. However, the last time the Under cashed at Bridgestone Arena was a 3-0 win by the Avalanche on Nov. 22 behind Mackenzie Blackwood.

In that first meeting in Nashville, Brent Burns scored an unassisted goal 15 seconds into the game, while Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Drury added empty-net goals. Blackwood made 35 saves, while Juuse Saros stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced, and he probably deserved a better fate.

Since a 6-3 loss against the Islanders to kick off the current four-game road trip, the Avs won 3-2 in overtime against the Rangers, and 3-2 in regulation against the Flyers. The Under has cashed in both of those wins, while going 5-1 in the past six road games.

Despite Nashville's recent Over run, we'll go low on the total here, especially on a 6.5. And, based on Colorado's dominance, we'll lay the goal and a half, as playing it on the moneyline costs you more than two times your potential return.