Following the action-packed eight-game NHL slate on Monday, we’re back with a seven-game slate tonight, and only one team to worry about when it comes to rest advantages, the Sharks. As a result, San Jose finds itself as a heavy +230 underdog on the Moneyline against Los Angeles. That said, here are my favorite bets for tonight’s betting card on DraftKings Sportsbook.
2024-25 NHL Record: 17-12
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Anaheim Ducks at New York Islanders
NY Islanders Puck Line -1.5 (+102)
Ilya Sorokin has already been confirmed as the starter for tonight’s tilt against Anaheim and the matchup simply cannot get any better. Sorokin has been elite to start the season, allowing just 1.74 goals per game and posting a .937 save percentage. The Islanders’ defensive presence has also been strong, making tonight a very tough matchup for the Ducks to score consistently, let alone stay in the game.
First off, Sorokin is 4-0 in his career against the Ducks and has allowed just 1.75 goals per game in that span. While the Ducks already struggle to handle the Islanders, having lost the past six meetings, that is the case for the rest of the league so far this season, too. Anaheim has been very inconsistent offensively –– ranking 31st in both goals per game (2.25) and expected goal percentage (42.54%) as well as 27th in shots per game (27.4). Not only do the Ducks struggle to create high-quality chances, they have also failed to take advantage of the power play, ranking 31st with just a 7.7% power play percentage through eight games.
New York is by no means an offensive powerhouse itself, ranking just two spots below Anaheim in goals per game (2.50) but its defensive presence should simply be too much for Anaheim to overcome. The Ducks could stun the Islanders if they find ample opportunities on the powerplay regularly against their third-worst penalty-kill unit in the league (69.2%) but Sorokin certainly won’t let any easy chances slip past him. Across the past six meetings between these teams, the Islanders have outscored the Ducks, 31 to 11, which averages out to about 5.1 goals per game for New York and just 1.8 goals per game for Anaheim.
Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins
David Pastrnak Anytime Goalscorer (-105)
When in doubt, attack poor goaltending with potent goalscorers, and that’s exactly what I’m doing here tonight with Pastrnak against Samuel Ersson. Ersson has had a rough start to the season through five starts, allowing 3.56 goals per game and posting just a .872 save percentage. It’s not all on Ersson, though, as the Flyers as a whole have been truly awful to start the season, allowing the most goals per game (4.44) despite allowing the ninth-fewest shots per game (28.2).
Boston will score some goals tonight and I’d be willing to bet that Pastrnak wants to join in on the fun. He’s netted a goal in 4-of-5 home games this season and has totaled 11 goals across the last nine meetings versus the Flyers. Philadelphia ranks first in goals against above expected (11.92) by a very wide margin and has also allowed a combined 1.86 goals per game to opposing wings. Pastrnak is also averaging 4.33 shots per game and ranks seventh in the league in total shots (39) –– I wouldn’t be surprised to see him light the lamp twice (+500 on DraftKings Sportsbook), something he has done in four of nine career games against the Flyers.
Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins
Over 6 Total Goals (-115)
The Penguins have a very serious goaltending problem and facing the red-hot Wild isn’t going to make things any easier. I’d strongly consider taking the Wild to surpass 3.5 goals on DraftKings Sportsbook, which is set at +130 odds, as well, because they’ve cleared this line in three straight games and in 5-of-8 games this season.
Pittsburgh has already started three different goaltenders this season and recently sent down its usually-trustworthy goaltender, Tristan Jarry, to the AHL, leaving Joel Blomqvist and Alex Nedeljkovic on the roster. Blomqvist is expected to draw the start and has been better than Nedeljkovic with a .901 save percentage, but he has still allowed 3.34 goals per game. The Wild finish up a huge seven-game road trip tonight but they’ve still scored 14 goals in their last three games. They rank ninth in goals per game (3.63), 14th in expected goal percentage (50.7%) and fourth in goals above expected (4.84). The Penguins rank second in goals allowed per game (4.20) and first in expected goals against (28.64). Mismatch!
Although it has struggled to score consistently, Pittsburgh still fields solid enough talent to take possibly advantage of Marc-Andre Fleury. He has allowed 2.89 goals per game to go along with a .900 save percentage in two starts this season. This total has gone over in six of the last 10 meetings between these two teams, as well.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
