Top 3 NHL Goal In First Ten Minutes (GIFT) Odds & Picks: Saturday (12/23)
Betting the GIFT (Goal In First Ten) is simple. Pick whether or not a game will have a goal scored in the first 10 minutes of play (00:00-09:59). It's that easy and all you have to do is root for anyone to score and you win. It is one area of hockey betting that has a nearly league-wide positive success rate with 87.5% of the league currently cashing at 50% or better this season. I have been able to use this season’s GIFT numbers to pick winners with extreme accuracy. Make sure to tail my GIFT ideas this holiday season!
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Saturday’s Best Goal In First Ten Minutes (GIFT) Bets
2023 Season: 26-3-0 (.897) | Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Dallas Stars at Nashville Predators
Dallas continues to be on an absolute GIFT heater, having cashed the prop in 11 straight contests overall and have struck at a 67% clip for the season. They have also cashed at a similar 66% rate on the road. The last time a Dallas game failed to cash was November 28 and that was against the Winnipeg Jets who are quite literally dead last when it comes to cashing GIFTs. The Stars are the closest thing to a sure thing in the GIFT department at the moment.
Nashville’s 19-14 (.576) season strike rate might be 19th in the league but that’s far from last and they have cashed in five more games than not. They may also have only cashed in 44% of their home games but they have cashed four of their last five games including two hits in three home games during that stretch.
Dallas’ heater is too much to ignore and Nashville has been cashing this prop regularly enough recently that this should be 12 straight for the Stars.
Pick: Goal In First Ten (-166)
Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues
Chicago has cashed the GIFT prop at a 73% clip at home this season. They have also cashed in four of their last five and eight of their last 10. Their 74% rate overall GIFT strike rate is tied with Minnesota for tops in the league. Their 23 GIFT cashes are best only by the 24 of Tampa Bay and Vancouver.
The Blues have cashed GIFTs at a 71% clip (23-for-32) this season, tied with Vancouver for the 3rd best strike rate in the league. Their 23 GIFT hits are tied with the Wild and Blackhawks for third-most in the NHL behind only the Lightning and Canucks. They have also cashed in seven of their last eight games and eight of their last ten.
The prodigious GIFT numbers of both Chicago and St. Louis point towards a 24th cash for both squads.
Pick: Goal In First Ten (-160)
Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators
The Penguins have cashed GIFTs at a 64% clip (20-for-31) this season, good for 11th in the NHL. Pittsburgh and Ottawa are two of 15 teams in the league with 20+ GIFT cashes. They have cashed in seven straight and nine of their last ten.
The Senators may not have the 100% strike rate at home that they do on the road but they have still cashed this prop at a 52% clip at Canadian Tire Centre. Ottawa has cashed in seven straight contests, a streak that began at home against the Red Wings back on December 9. The Senators' games have cashed this prop in 71% (20-of-28) of their games overall this season.
Both of these squads come in riding lengthy GIFT streaks so look for the lamp to light early.
Pick: Goal In First Ten (-180)
Parlay Odds: +305
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday:
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- NBA Same Game Parlay Odds, Picks & Predictions
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Luke Monaldo is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @MoKnowsSports and Discord @alydar1227 AKA The GIFTing Crooner. For more from Luke, check out his archive.