This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
17-7. That's my record for the last three days. I am not going to call it the kind of streak that is the opposite of frigid, but I am going to acknowledge my awesomeness while also admitting that tonight's slate has the makings to bring the whole thing crashing down. Because I don't even know if the bookmakers know who to like tonight. There aren't any surefire favorites, and we've got some challenging matchups to analyze. But you know what, I am stepping up, doing the homework, and dropping a pick for every one of the six NHL games on the schedule tonight. Because that's the kind of guy I am. If we lose our shirts tonight, at least it's Friday!
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Sign up at the DraftKings Sportsbook using the DraftKings Ohio Promo Code if you're in the Buckeye State for $200 in bonus bets.
NHL Best Bets Tonight
Panthers vs Red Wings
Honestly, I don't know what to make of this matchup (and I know I'm literally supposed to be the one who knows what to say about these games, or else you wouldn't spend time reading my articles). But it's mostly the Panthers' fault. They're not supposed to be as bad as their 17-8-4 record suggests, which is good for 13th in the Eastern Conference. The Cats are just 3-6-1 in their last 10 road games and only 4-6 in their last 10 overall. They did dismantle the Red Wings 5-1 in Sunrise on 12/8, which started a 6-game losing skid for the Wings. But then the Wings rattled off a 7-4 win in Detroit over the Lightning, which was not supposed to happen, then rallied from 4 goals down to beat the Penguins 5-4 in Pittsburgh, which was also not supposed to happen. Toss in losses to the Sabres and Devils, both of which were supposed to happen, and a win over the Senators - a toss-up - and you've got yourself a nice mixed bag of results. So there you have it. I dug into the trends, and am still coming up confused. Call it bias since my wife's from Detroit, but…
- Red Wings ML +125
Predators vs Capitals
Both of these clubs played last night and looked impressive doing it. The Caps steamrolled the Blue Jackets 6-2 in Columbus. But heck, with the talent mismatch (even with many key players on IR), they were supposed to do that. The Preds might've pulled off the most impressive win of the night across the entire league, topping the Hurricanes 5-3 in Raleigh. In the words of Lee Corso though, not so fast sweetheart. The Predators gave up an unbelievable amount of shots, losing the shot battle 67-25… I don't even put up 60+ shots on Xbox. Goaltender Juuse Saros stood on his head, which is not uncommon since he has ascended to being one of the NHL's elite netminders. We'll probably see the backups for both clubs tonight, and I give the edge to the Caps because Charlie Lindgren is 11-4-2 on the season with a better goals-against-average and save percentage than even Saros is posting. Adding in the fact that the Caps blanked the Preds 3-0 the only other time they faced 'em this season, I like the home team.
- Capitals ML -150
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Lightning vs Jets
The Jets come into this matchup surprisingly hot of late, riding a 3-game win streak. I say surprisingly because their lineup's been pretty banged up, with major contributors like Blake Wheeler, Nate Schmidt, Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers all on the injured list. These guys are slated to return tonight to take on a Lightning team that just had its own 4-game win streak snapped with a loss to the Wild in Minnesota on Wednesday. That 5-1 defeat was just 24 hours after the Bolts dispatched the Blackhawks in Chicago though so we'll let it slide due to the back-to-back. The Jets have won 4 of their last 5 at home, and the Lightning are a modest 9-8 on the road this season, so this one might come down to the titanic battle between the pipes between Vezina winners Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck.
- Jets ML +110
Coyotes vs Blackhawks
Yuck. Two of the worst teams in the NHL. The Blackhawks have lost 5 straight and the Coyotes have lost 4 straight. The Coyotes haven't won on the road since 11/23. The Blackhawks have only 1 win at home since 11/23. Change the channel. Instead of spending more time analyzing these bums, I'm going uniform bet because these clubs do have two of the slickest threads in the game. Which do I like better?
- Coyotes ML +105
Islanders vs Flames
This seems like the exact kind of game where the Flames should win but won't and the Islanders shouldn't win but do. The Isles played in Edmonton last night and lost 4-2 and got completely outplayed. Heading into Calgary on the 2nd leg of a back-to-back is tough, but the Flames are just 2-2-1 in their last 5 home games. These clubs played one other time this year way back on 11/7 and the Isles stole a 4-3 win in overtime despite the Flames pestering the net with 46 shots. I don't have as much confidence in the Flames as their -195 on the moneyline suggests, but as I said in yesterday's article, sometimes you just gotta keep it simple.
- Flames ML -195
Sharks vs Ducks
These California clubs have already faced off thrice this season, with the Ducks holding a 2-1 lead in the season series. The first two affairs were on 11/1 and 11/5 in San Jose and the Ducks won both games in a shootout. The first was a high-flying 6-5 affair where both teams combined for almost 100 shots on goal. Then the second was another gun-slinging game finishing 5-4, and the Sharks tallied 52 shots to the Ducks' 25. The Sharks handily defeated the Ducks 6-1 on 12/9 in Anaheim. In tonight's final matchup of the season series, I don't think the Ducks have it in them to win 3 of the 4 against their intrastate rival. Fins up!
- Sharks ML -140
