NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (1/13)
Hockey season is in full swing. There are some intriguing matchups today, so let's look at the best games to target.
Monday's NHL Best Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Los Angeles Kings (+146) at Edmonton Oilers (-176) | O/U 5.5 (-120/+100)
We're finally seeing the Oilers team we believed could be a Stanley Cup threat. They had a slow start - 6-7-1 - but have turned it around and are 20-6-1 since.
The struggles on offense played a big part early on. Everyone except Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid struggled, but like we saw last season, when the rest of that core group, like Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, started to contribute this team became too tough to defend.
The Kings could be up to the task with one of the best defensive units in the league. They are leading the league by allowing 2.45 goals per game, and their blue line is one of the most physical units in the league. It is the only team to allow fewer than 1,000 shots this year.
They are not the most explosive offense, but they can be aggressive. They lead the league with a 56.1% expected goal share at full strength. This combination was how they won the last matchup. They limited Edmonton's shots, especially high-danger shots. The Oilers have had trouble showing dominance against good teams, which will allow the Kings to hang around and grab the win.
Pick: Kings Moneyline (+146)
Florida Panthers (-178) at Philadelphia Flyers (+146) | O/U 6.5 (+110/-134)
It continues to be a disastrous season for the Flyers as they sit in last place in the Metropolitan Division.
Last season, they had one of the worst offenses, ranking 26th in goals scored. They are better this season, ranking 15th, but that's not enough to be a playoff threat. The goaltending was their strength last season, but it has been terrible this season, allowing 3.47 goals per game (30th). You can’t blame the defensive line because they are allowing the tenth-fewest shots on goal this year.
The thing about being the defending champions is every opponent will give you their best performance every night, and the Panthers have struggled at times. They're on a small 3-4-1 slide and they've been shut out twice in that span. It could be a matter of bad luck as their Corsi and Fenwick percentages are each over 52% and they dominate the offensive zone time.
It was another rough performance for Sergei Bobrovsky last time out - allowing four goals on just 18 shots. This could be a game where we see the Flyers find some success on the offensive end, but the defense could have a tough time against this top-tier offense.
Pick: Over 6.5 Goals (+110)