NHL Daily Gambling Preview – 12/31/23

Anthony Falcone

Dec 31

Happy New Year's Eve. I couldn't make it three winning days in a row on the NHL, going 3-4 to lose 1.19 units last night Big nine game slate for a Sunday today to finish off 2023! Let's go out hot with some wins!

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Wild vs. Jets (2:00)

We start today's slate with the same early game in the Central that we had yesterday, with these teams playing the second half of a home and home after yesterday's 4-2 win for the Jets at home. The Jets have been fantastic this season, a huge surprise going into the year. They're coming into today's game on a seven game point streak with a 9-1-2 record in their last twelve games and have been playing really well on both ends of the ice. The Wild have been playing really well lately too after their brutal start to the season. Yesterday they had a four game win streak come to an end with just their second loss in their last nine games. Just as I took them yesterday, I'll go right back with Winnipeg here for half a unit again. I'd lean the over, but not enough to bet it.

Red Wings vs. Bruins (5:00)

Fun early start in this Atlantic Division game. The Red Wings have struggled recently and on Friday they picked up just their second win in their last eight games with a big 5-4 overtime win in a fun game at home against the Predators. They've been very good offensively but have really struggled on the back end. The Bruins got a big 5-2 win over the Devils at home yesterday, their second win in a row. They lead the Atlantic and have played well on both ends of the ice, especially defensively. The Red Wings are 2-1 this season against the B's, losing 4-1 on the road, winning 5-4 at home, and then winning 5-2 on the road in Boston. I'd lean the Bruins win this game on the road tonight to tie the season series, but not enough to bet on it with the B's in the second half of a back to back. I'd slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet that either. I'll lay off this game completely.

Senators vs. Sabres (6:00)

A matchup between the two biggest disappointments this season in the Atlantic Division. The Sabres last night picked up a nice win on Jeff Skinner's game winner against the Blue Jackets in overtime, winning 3-2, just our second win in our last six games. The Senators have been even worse than us. They're coming off a 6-2 loss to the Devils (double winner for me) on Friday night and have just two wins in their last nine games. In the first game between these teams the Sabres won 6-4 on the road in Ottawa. The Sens have the better offense while the Sabres have the slightly better defense in this matchup. With Buffalo in the second half of a back to back, I'd slightly lean the Senators win this game, but not enough to even consider betting it. I do like the over in this game though with two brutal defenses and I'll take it for half a unit.

Penguins vs. Islanders (6:00)

Interesting matchup in the Metro Division after these teams just played a few days ago. On Wednesday, the Pens won a 7-0 blowout against the Isles on the road on Long Island. The Isles have been the better team here though, tied with the Flyers in points for a playoff spot in the Metro. They bounced back from that embarrassing loss to the Pens with a 5-1 win on Friday against the Caps. The Penguins have struggled this season but they're easily playing their best hockey right now. They're on a five game point streak with a 6-1-1 record in their last eight games, coming off a 4-2 win against the Blues last night. Pittsburgh has struggled a bit offensively but their defense and Tristan Jarry in goal have been good. With the Pens in the second half of a back to back, I'd lean the Islanders answer back from that blowout with a win on the road to tie the season series, but not enough for me to bet it. I'd also slightly lean the over, but the best play on this game is none at all.

Lightning vs. Canadiens (7:00)

Pretty big mismatch in the Atlantic tonight. Both of these teams are in the second half of back to backs today after losses last night. The Lightning have been pretty solid this year, but have struggled on the back end. They've lost their last two games in a row, coming off a 5-1 loss to the Rangers at home last night. The Habs have been pretty terrible, struggling on both ends of the ice. Last night they lost 4-1 on the road against the Panthers, their third loss in their last four games. Tampa won the first game between these teams 5-3 on the road and I'd expect them to win again tonight at home. I'll take the Bolts in regulation for half a unit. I'd lean the over but not enough to bet on it.

Stars vs. Blackhawks (8:00)

Huge mismatch tonight in the Central Division for the second time in the last three days. I took the loss on the first game between these teams on Friday night, while being on the right side, as the Stars needed overtime to get a 5-4 win at home against the Blackhawks. The Stars have been a very good team this season. They've picked up at least a point in seven of their last eight games and have four wins in their last five games. The Blackhawks have been awful this season, and have been one of the worst teams in the NHL. I'll go back to the puck line again like I did on Friday night with the Stars -1.5 for half a unit since every other play I'd have on this game is too expensive to be worth betting. I'd lean the over, but I'll just stick with Dallas here.

Avalanche vs. Sharks (8:00)

Giant mismatch tonight in Colorado. The Avs, coming off a 2-1 win in St. Louis on Friday night, have picked up at least a point in each of their last four games, with three wins in that span. They're a tough team to figure out. The Sharks have been awful. They got blow out again on Thursday, getting shut out 5-0 by the Oilers for their seventh loss in a row. This is still easily the worst team in the NHL and possibly in history. This should be a blowout win for the Avs and the -380 moneyline shows that. I'll take the Colorado puck line for a unit. I looked at some alt lines, but even those aren't worth it. I'd slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet that either.

Flames vs. Flyers (8:00)

Interesting cross conference matchup here. Both of these teams are coming off 2-1 losses to the Kraken in their last game. The Flames haven't been all that great on either end of the ice. They have just four wins in their last twelve games. The Flyers have been the biggest shock of the year and Torts has his defense playing great hockey to lead them to be currently sitting in a playoff spot, in third place in the Metro. They've picked up just a win in their last four games, coming off their OT loss in Seattle on Friday. I like Philly to get the win on the road here with a huge edge defensively, and I'll take them for half a unit as a dog. I like the under here as well and I'll take the alternate under 6 for half a unit too.

Ducks vs. Oilers (8:00)

Pretty big Pacific Division mismatch to end 2023. The first game between these teams on November 26th was a blowout, with the Oilers winning 8-2 at home. Edmonton's been fantastic lately with Connor McDavid leading the way. Last night they erased a 2-0 deficit in LA, coming back to win 3-2 in a shootout for their fourth win in a row and they've now won twelve of their last 15 games. The offense has been incredible but the defense has had their struggles. The Ducks have been pretty bad this year on both ends of the ice. They're coming off a 2-0 shutout loss against the Coyotes at home on Friday and have just one win in their last four games. Even in the second half of a back to back, I like the Oilers to win here. I'll take them in regulation for half a unit, along with their team total over 3.5 for a unit. I'd lean the over on the game but not enough to bet it.

Game Bets

.5u Jets ML (-117)

.5u Senators/Sabres over 7 (+100)

.5u Lightning in regulation (-125)

.5u Stars -1.5 (-146)

1u Avalanche -1.5 (-152)

.5u Flyers ML (+118)

.5u Flames/Flyers under 6 (-125)

.5u Oilers in regulation (-136)

1u Oilers TT over 3.5 (-146)

Futures

4u Vegas Golden Knights - Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)