Tonight’s NHL betting card sees no less than seven game take place, with plenty of strong betting opportunities and matchups, we have opted to go for two teams to cover the Pick Em line for plus money.
Firstly we believe the Toronto Maple Leafs should continue to keep the Buffalo Sabres cold streak going with yet another loss tonight. Elsewhere, the Florida Panthers are on home ice and looking to improve on their 6-5 victory last time out over the Edmonton Oilers.
Picks Summary
- Maple Leafs -1.5 (+100)
- Panthers -1.5 (+110)
*All odds from Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Buffalo Sabres
Friday, December 20, 2024 – 07:00 PM ET at KeyBank Center
Buffalo Falling Apart
What started out as a somewhat positive start to the year, the Buffalo Sabres have since fallen apart at the seams. Currently on an eleven-game losing streak (yes 11 games), things don’t look very hopeful as the Toronto Maple Leafs roll into town tonight.
Toronto might not be as dominant as they would have liked thus far this season having gone 6-4 in their previous 10 games they can’t complain sitting 4th overall in the Eastern Conference (with four games in hand on the conference leaders).
Toronto comes into this game with a 17-14 record on the PK line (which is the fifth-best in the NHL this season), while the Sabres have gone 15-14 ATS this season. Interestingly, a one-unit bet on Buffalo ATS would have returned -1.5 units, but the same stake on all of the Maple Leafs bets would have returned +8 units.
The Pick
Despite the Maple Leafs being 6-7 ATS on the road this season, we can’t ignore the fact the Buffalo Sabres are in dire straits right now. Struggling to keep goals out of their net they have allowed 4.7 goals in their previous 10 games and only faced Toronto a few nights ago, losing that game 5-3.
We see a similar sort of scoreline on the cards tonight, so take Toronto to get the job done in Buffalo and cover the spread for plus money. Currently, the Maple Leafs are at +100 to win by 2 or more goals, we wouldn’t look to lay any less than -110 on this line.
NHL Pick: Maple Leafs -1.5 (+100) at Bet365
Florida Panthers vs. St. Louis Blues
Friday, December 20, 2024 – 07:00 PM ET at Amerant Bank Arena
Ignore The Stats
We are certainly taking a risky bet here if you want to focus on the stats, and we do use stats to guide us for a lot of our NHL picks but on these occasions, we feel they are worth noting but will opt to go against them.
We believe the Florida Panthers are a solid bet to cover the spread on home ice tonight despite the stats saying they have a modest 8-7 ATS record when playing on home ice (middle of the pack in the NHL). Compared to the traveling team St Louis who have the 2nd best ATS record in the NHL when playing on the road, sitting at 12-6.
Interestingly though the Panthers have +5.5 units when playing at home on the PK line (if betting one standard unit per bet). Despite the Blues having such a strong ATS record on the road their total units is less than the Panthers at +4.7 overall.
The Panthers are 3-0 ATS in their previous three home games, and while the Blues have been strong on the road in recent times (winning 6 of their previous 10) they have failed to cover the spread in all four losses, essentially when the Blues lose on the road they rarely cover the spread, at least in recent games.
The Pick
The Florida Panthers were embarrassed in back-to-back games with shutout losses to both the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks (both on the road) but back on home ice last time out they beat the Oilers 6-5.
The Blues on the other hand are 1-4 in their previous five road games and could face a determined Florida tonight, having picked up confidence with their victory over the Oilers we believe their +100 betting odds to cover the spread on home ice is worth a punt tonight.
The Blues have proven they are capable of covering on the road, but the value lies with the home team on this occasion.
NHL Pick: Panthers -1.5 (+110) at Bet365
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*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
