NHL Hockey Best Bets for December 19, 2015
Ten games on a busy Saturday in the NHL. Here are our ‘best bets’:
ANAHEIM DUCKS AT NEW JERSEY DEVILS:
We’ve been playing against the Anaheim Ducks on the road for awhile now and will continue to do so until a) the betting market catches up to where the prices *should* be or b) the Ducks start playing better away from Southern California. The Ducks are off one of their worst losses of the year and for most NHL teams that’s a classic ‘buy’ sign. Hockey players are competitive, prideful sorts and in most cases they’re not one to respond lethargically to a bad effort. Devils’ backup goalie Keith Kinkaid will get the start in net here. Which all brings us back to the same mystery question we’ve been asking all along: how can anyone possibly justify the Anaheim Ducks as road favorites? New Jersey isn’t the best home team but that’s not particularly relevant when they’re facing an Anaheim team that is 3-9-1 away from home. They have been playing better both at home and away since their dismal start but that’s a case where they realistically couldn’t play any worse. Some have interpreted the fact that Anaheim is not out of the divisional hunt in the Pacific as a ‘positive’ but they’ve yet to show any urgency about that or anything else. Ducks still dead last in the NHL in goals per game averaging 1.83–the only team in the league putting up fewer than two goals per contest.
BET NEW JERSEY DEVILS +120 OVER ANAHEIM DUCKS
EDMONTON OILERS AT COLORADO AVALANCHE:
This should be a fun game to watch. Oilers finally figuring out that they’ve got some pretty good talent in the lineup beyond injured rookie phenom Connor McDavid. They’ve lost their last two games–against the Rangers and Chicago on the road–but overall they’ve won 8 of their last 11. Oilers starting to get some injured players back as Benoit Pouliot returns here. The Oilers have plenty of forwards that can put the puck in the net. But they may have found them the sort of grinding, physical forward that winning teams covet–think Bryan Bickell when he’s playing well or Nashville’s Paul Gastaud. Jujhar Khaira was the 162nd pick in the 2010 draft but has been very valuable in the aforementioned role. He’s 6’3″ 215 pounds so he’s obviously a handful physically. He’s also not afraid to use that size nor is he afraid to drop the gloves and throw down. He’s Canadian born of Punjabi ancestry so he’s even got an interesting backstory. The Oilers have needed physicality for years and he could be just the answer.
The Avalanche have been on a nice run lately winning 11 of their last 15. There’s a lot of similarities between these teams–they’re adept at scoring goals but not as good defensively. The Avs–and particularly goaltender Semyon Varlamov–have played better in their end of the ice and they’ve also played a lot of ‘Under’ games. In fact, 8 of the last 9 have gone ‘Under’ for Colorado. That just keeps the price reasonable. Look for a shootout.
BET EDMONTON/COLORADO OVER 5.5