Wednesday gets us over the hump for the back half of the week with five exciting matchups from the NHL that should thrill hockey fans and present some excellent opportunities for us to hit it big with some picks.
We are riding high after our hit on the Pad Stack Challenge yesterday with Mark Scheifele not just scoring the one goal we needed but a hat trick against the Florida Panthers. Hopefully the win helps us continue moving in the right direction with our Best Bets.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Golden Knights ML (-105), Golden Knights Maple Leafs Under 6.0 goals (+100)
The Leafs are down multiple key forwards with Auston Matthews, Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf all being labeled as out for this one. It will create a very different looking Leafs offence with Pontus Holmberg being moved into the second line centre spot and will be given a big opportunity to play with Matthew Knies and Toronto’s lead goal scorer William Nylander.
The Buds will also be inserting fresh faces on offence with Fraser Minten, Nikita Grebyonkin and Alex Steeves. This may work against them more than people expect as Toronto has turned more into a defensive-minded team rather than an offensive juggernaut like they were in the past.
They have the sixth-best goals against average in the NHL at 2.63 and have the eighth-best penalty kill, operating at almost 84 per cent on the season.
They were already struggling to generate offence with the 17th-best goals per game average at 3.05 and will insert more AHL level talent into the lineup. The Golden Knights are at their worst when playing on the road this season with a 3-3-2 record but have found success when playing in the six.
Vegas has won three of their last four matchups versus the Leafs, including victories in their last two trips to Toronto.
Go against the public that has 76 per cent of the moneyline bets on the Leafs to win and ride with the Golden Knights and starting netminder Adin Hill, who has a goals against average of 2.90 and a .921 save percentage in five career appearances versus Toronto.
Bet: Predators ML (-140), Predators Kraken Over 5.5 goals (-120), Jonathan Marchessault anytime goal (+210)
The Predators and Kraken have played some very close games in the past with both teams trading wins in each of their last six matchups with the Kraken winning their most recent meeting 7-3 earlier this season.
The Predators will certainly want to bounce back but will have to do it on the road where they are 2-4-3 on the season. This is due for a change as Nashville excelled on the road last season with a 24-14-3 record, including the ninth-best road offence.
They are long overdue for a couple of wins and to get on a roll with two of their last three losses coming in overtime. They have been competing at a high level but if they want to stay competitive in this one they will need to score goals and that should come in this matchup. Nashville and Seattle have combined for six or more goals in seven of their ten all-time meetings.
Nashville ranks almost dead last in goals with a 2.42 average per game largely due to the slow start from a handful of Predator forwards like Ryan O’Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault and breakout star from last season, Luke Evangelista.
This should be a solid matchup for Marchessault, who has a great history versus Seattle with nine goals and four assists for 13 points in 13 career matchups against them. He is long overdue for a goal with just one over their last 11 games and is listed at a fantastic odd for a guy coming off a 42-goal campaign last season.
