Free Hockey Picks: 2 NHL Teams To Lock In For Monday
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Monday's five-game NHL slate has an interesting mix when you look at odds. In two of the games, the road teams are favored, while another one is basically a pick 'em.
However, the other two favorites are solid, and two that are worth locking in to bet on Monday night.
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Vancouver Canucks at Montreal Canadiens (-160)
The Montreal Canadiens are probably glad to see the Vancouver Canucks again so soon. In a three-game series in Vancouver during the second week of the season, Montreal took two out of three, scoring a whopping 17 goals in those three games. With the matchup between these teams now shifting to Montreal, the Canadiens are excited to welcome the Canucks into their building to see if they can keep the offense rolling.
If the first eight games are any indication as to whether the Canadiens are scoring against everybody or just the Canucks, it appears to be the former. Montreal leads the league with an impressive 4.13 goals per game on nearly 34 shots. They've also been fairly decent on the power play, scoring on almost 26 percent of their opportunities with the extra attacker.
That league-leading offensive attack will match up with a Vancouver team that gives up 3.36 goals per game on a league-high 36 shots. No team in the NHL is spending more time in the penalty box than the Canucks, which could be an opportunity for Montreal's power play to get a decent amount of work in.
Other contributors who were all able to get points include Jonathan Drouin, who leads Montreal with seven assists, as well as defensemen Shea Weber and Jeff Petry. Youngsters like Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have also been contributors, and each has already found ways to score goals against Vancouver.
It should be noted that the Canucks find ways to score goals as well, tallying 11 in the three games earlier this season against Montreal and ranking sixth overall in goals per game.
The matchup in net is also fairly even, with Montreal's Carey Price having a better goals-against average but a worse save percentage than Vancouver's Braden Holtby.
However, the Canadiens and their excellent goal-scoring attack against one of the worst defenses in hockey makes them one of the picks to lock in on for Monday.
Pick: Montreal
Nashville Predators at Tampa Bay Lightning (-170)
The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning got off to a strong start for the season, winning their first three games. They then dropped back-to-back games on the road, one of which was on the wrong end of a 1-0 shutout. But it appears Tampa Bay got back on track Saturday with a 4-3 win at home against these very Nashville Predators, and it will look to finish off the sweep on Monday night.
On Saturday, the Lightning used a massive four-goal second period to generate all of their offense. Tyler Johnson and Steven Stamkos each scored on the power play, while Callan Foote and Victor Hedman buried even-strength goals.
It was the culmination of a game in which the Lightning outshot Nashville 33-26 while also outhitting them and dominating them in the faceoff circle.
Things also got very chippy in the game, with 64 total penalty minutes dished out, including for two fights and matching 10-minute misconducts late in the game. The Lightning have one of the better offenses in the league, scoring 3.17 goals per game on a league-high 34 shots with a power play that is close to 24 percent. Compare that to Nashville, which also puts up a decent amount of shots with 32.4 but sits just 27th with 2.38 goals scored.
The big difference lies on special teams, where not only do the Predators have just a 12.1 percent success rate on the power play, but their 63.6 percent penalty kill rate is the worst in hockey.
For Tampa Bay, expect Stamkos and Hedman to be at the forefront of its attack once again. The two are tied for the team lead with seven points, along with Brayden Point. Another name to watch is Anthony Cirelli, who, like Point, has five assists, including two from Saturday's game against Nashville. Others like Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn are hoping to contribute as well, with Killorn earning an assist Saturday as well.
Now, Nashville did find a way to score twice on the power play on Saturday, and it will likely turn to its regular starter Juuse Saros after giving the reins to Pekka Rinne last game. However, Andrei Vasilevskiy has been a rock in net for Tampa Bay.
With tensions perhaps a little high from the last game, I trust the Lightning's ability to capitalize on power-play chances against the league's worst penalty kill and complete the quick two-game sweep of their new division foe.
Pick: TAMPA
NHL Betting Tips
Hockey is one of the tougher sports to bet on, mainly because people get roped into betting on a team to win by 2 goals. The need for an empty-net goal always plays into the minds of sports bettors. The win by -1.5 goals bet is standard in hockey. If you were tempted to parlay both these games at -1.5 goals the Parlay would be +510. Check out DraftKings Sportsbook Review for more info on this subject.
Derek Hudson
Derek is a long time sports bettor who grew up in Providence, RI. Derek is data driven and believes the key to betting the sportsbooks is finding an edge in analytics. Derek is happily married and has two young boys. Derek will bet on anything if you let him.
