NHL Situational Sports Betting Tips December 18-24, 2017
Date 17th Dec 2017
Author Adam Burke
Last Updated: 2017-12-17
NHL situation December 18-24The holiday break is coming for the NHL and that means that the players have a little bit of R&R to look forward to. Unlike the NBA, which is only dark on Christmas Eve, the NHL’s break begins on Sunday and extends through Tuesday, so we’ll have a shortened week next week. Typically, with these breaks, we see the schedule condensed a little bit before and after, but the NHL has made it a point to give its players more rest and only four teams are playing four games in six days for this calendar week.
Suffice it to say, however, that we still have some good NHL situational betting opportunities as teams travel around the country and go through the rigors of the regular season. Sunday’s league-wide off day does not do a whole lot to limit the number of spots because Sundays are a pretty slow day anyway. Thirty teams are in action on Saturday, with Calgary the lone exception, so, with that in mind, let’s see how the week looks to play out.
Here are the NHL situational betting spots for the week ending December 24:
Monday December 18
Columbus Blue Jackets at Boston Bruins – The Bruins play their fourth game in six days on Monday when they host the Blue Jackets. Columbus sandwiched a win over the Islanders last week between two stale pieces of bread, with a terrible performance against Edmonton and a frustrating effort on Saturday against Carolina. We should get a fully engaged Blue Jackets team in this spot. The Bruins play a fifth game in seven days when they visit Buffalo on Tuesday, so we’ll circle that spot. As far as this one, the Blue Jackets should be live here given their Saturday night effort and how they’ve bounced back in the John Tortorella years.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche – The Avalanche played in Pittsburgh last Monday and now host the Penguins to open up this week. Colorado won 2-1 at PPG Paints Arena, but got badly outshot in the win. Their home ice advantage has been dwindling a bit of late after a hot start. Pittsburgh will be out for revenge. This game wraps up a three-game trek to Vegas, Glendale, and Denver. With two days off before facing the Blue Jackets, the Penguins look like the right side here, especially against a slumping Colorado team they just outplayed a week ago.
Los Angeles Kings at Philadelphia Flyers – The Kings wrap up an East Coast swing with their third game in four nights against the Flyers. Los Angeles did the Rangers/Islanders two-step prior to this game and started things in New Jersey last Tuesday. They’ll be looking forward to getting back to California. The Flyers have quietly ripped off six wins in a row. The Kings have been great on the road, but this looks like a bit of a tough spot and we should get the Flyers as a home pup. I’ll look for a barking dog here.
Tuesday December 19
Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres – As mentioned above, we’ll circle this one as a great spot to back the Sabres. This is the fifth game in seven nights for the Bruins and this is a standalone road game in Buffalo. Boston comes right back home with a day off before hosting Winnipeg and Detroit. Coming off of a big game against a top Eastern Conference team like Columbus, this is a flat spot, a letdown spot, and a sandwich spot by virtue of being a standalone roadie. The Sabres have three days off before this one to ease some bumps and bruises. This is my favorite situational play of the week and we’ll get Buffalo with a plus sign.
Florida Panthers at Arizona Coyotes – The Coyotes are in a great spot and this is an angle that we may need to look into a little bit more. The Panthers are coming off of a Sunday game in Vegas with a day off on Monday. They’ll likely spend a bit of time in Sin City and then leave later on Monday with the short flight to Sky Harbor Airport. The Panthers also had two days off in Vegas before the game against the Golden Knights. With a team that has struggled a lot this season, they look like a premium fade here against a Coyotes team happy to get any win that they can.
Minnesota Wild at Ottawa Senators – The first game out of an outdoor game is an interesting spot and that’s what we have with both Ottawa and Montreal on Tuesday. Ottawa’s is at home against a Minnesota team coming off of a matchup against archrival Chicago and with the Wild playing a fifth game in eight days. Despite the concerns with Ottawa and the Erik Karlsson situation, they’re in a great spot on Tuesday.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Vegas Golden Knights – The Golden Knights host a Tampa Bay team with some downtime in Vegas. The Lightning have two days off prior to this one and then will head on home for a couple games and the holiday break. Tampa Bay has been one of the best road teams in the league this season and Vegas, as we know, has been one of the best home teams. This could be a tiny bit of a letdown spot for the Knights, who got up for head coach Gerard Gallant to face his former team on Sunday. Tampa Bay is simply a really good team, so the home ice angle may not carry as much weight here.
Wednesday December 20
Toronto Maple Leafs at Columbus Blue Jackets – The highlight game of Wednesday’s small slate is at Nationwide Arena, where the Blue Jackets host the Maple Leafs. This should be a high-tempo, up-and-down game for both teams. Toronto is in a back-to-back with travel and Columbus has a look-ahead to a roadie in Pittsburgh on Thursday. That makes this a bit of a tough spot for both teams. Columbus has been in a bit of a rut lately and John Tortorella keeps encouraging roster moves to shake things up. Toronto has hit a bit of a rough patch as well. It’s tough to bet this one.
Thursday December 21
Anaheim Ducks at New York Islanders – The Islanders battle the Ducks as the third road game in four nights and the fifth in eight nights on this lengthy trip. Clearly the spot favors the Islanders in this situation and we should see the price reflect that. Anaheim’s injury woes have hurt them in the standings and in the betting market, so I don’t know what kind of number we get in this spot, but it does seem like the Islanders will be a pretty decent favorite, especially with a great home record at Barclays Center this season.
Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks – You’ll lose this bet more often than you’ll win it, but the Canucks should have some value on Thursday. San Jose returns home from a road trip that ended in Edmonton with a game against former head coach Todd McClellan. They’ll host the Sharks on Saturday before going into the holiday break. If this wasn’t a standalone road game for the Canucks, I’d love this spot, but it is, so who knows what they will look like. In any event, there should be value on taking the underdog. Keep in mind, it is a play that will lose more than it wins, but the break-even point probably won’t be where the line is.
Friday December 22
Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers – I’d look to back the Wild in this spot. The Panthers return home from a nice trip out west and the Wild have a couple of days in Florida to enjoy some sun and some sights. It certainly doesn’t suck to leave the Twin Cities for the Sunshine State in late December. If the spot holds up on Tuesday, we’ll also likely catch Minnesota in a spot where the players are looking to get back after it and score a nice win. The Panthers are probably looking ahead to the break. The road team looks good here.
Saturday December 23
Buffalo Sabres at Carolina Hurricanes – We’ve got a huge card on Saturday. This might be the best spot of the day with the Sabres playing a standalone road game in Raleigh just to fly right back home for the holidays. The Sabres host the Flyers on Friday, so this is also a back-to-back with travel. For a team not going anywhere, this is a bad spot against a rested team. There won’t be any buzz in the building to generate any excitement for the Sabres. It’s just a bad spot all around and Carolina is an easy look.
Anaheim Ducks at Pittsburgh Penguins – You’ll pay a big price, but for the sixth road game in nine nights for the Ducks, it might be worth it. This isn’t a back-to-back for the Ducks, but this is the end of a very long road trip. Pittsburgh will be coming off of the Columbus game, but with the way the Jackets are playing, this doesn’t look like that bad of a spot for them. You’ll have to lay a big number, but with 15 games on the card, parlay pieces are not hard to find.
Chicago Blackhawks at New Jersey Devils – The Blackhawks may not be fully engaged for this one. Veteran teams know how to pace themselves. Going into the break with a win is nice and all, but the Blackhawks have a more important division game on Thursday and then visit a Devils team that people still don’t really believe in. It seems like a tricky spot for the visitors, so looking at the Devils makes a lot of sense.
Ottawa Senators at Florida Panthers – The Panthers could be in line for a tough week, but this is a good spot for them. The Senators enjoyed some Florida warmth this week and then head back home for the holidays. The Panthers will be looking to roll something positive into the break and we could see some of the bad teams step up a bit in hopes of doing that. Florida feels like one of those teams with this spot.
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