There are only five games on tonight’s NHL betting card but with zero NBA games on tonight’s schedule, there could be plenty of extra eyes on these matchups. The Jets are the only team operating on zero rest after facing the Sharks last night and traveling six hours across the state for tonight’s game against the Ducks. Nonetheless, there are some high-quality teams playing tonight and plenty of intriguing bets on DraftKings Sportsbook to consider taking. Below, I went over my favorite choices.
Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks
WPG Jets Puck Line -1.5 (+140)
This does slightly feel like a trap game considering the rest advantage but the Jets are the top team in the league and the Ducks are near the bottom of the standings. Winnipeg owns Anaheim, too, winning 16 of the last 20 matchups dating back to Mar. 24, 2017, including nine of the last 10 matchups by an average of 1.9 goals.
The Jets rank third in goals per game (3.67) and first in power play percentage (31.7%) and should be able to score rather easily. They are also great on the road, boasting a 12-6-0 record and averaging the 10th-most goals per game (3.41). The Ducks have fielded much better goaltending this season than in the past but have still allowed the most shots per game (33.2) and kill penalties just 72.5% of the time, good for 27th in the league. Anaheim struggles offensively, ranking dead last in expected goal percentage (42.88%) and 31st in goals per game (2.41). Things get worse when playing at home, too, allowing the fifth-most goals per game (3.47).
Florida Panthers at Minnesota Wild
Over 5.5 Total Goals (-115)
Taking the Wild on the Moneyline at plus money is tempting but I’m pivoting to the total because of how deadly the Panthers are when playing on the road. First, eight of the last 10 meetings between these teams have gone over this total, including once already this season in a 5-1 Wild win on Oct. 22. The goaltending on both sides should be strong between Sergei Bobrovsky and Marc-Andre Fleury. Still, they’ve both shown moments of weakness and it’s going to be hard to keep the puck out of the net in a matchup between these two teams.
Minnesota and Florida rank sixth (53.25%) and seventh (53.07%) in expected goal percentage, respectively. The Panthers are on their final game of a five-game road trip and could be fatigued but they are coming off a big 6-5 win over the Oilers. They deploy the sixth-best power play unit (26.0%)––an elite matchup on paper considering the Wild’s major weakness has been killing penalties, which it does just 70.7% of the time, good for 30th in the league. Florida is even better on the road, averaging 3.91 goals per game and scoring on nearly 40% of their power play opportunities.
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