Mark Lammey
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With Monday being a holiday (MLK Day), we have all kinds of action in the sports world beginning early. The NHL is no different with the 11-game slate. Six of the games begin before the usual start time, including 2 early afternoon matchups. Not only do we get to see the puck drop early, but we also have all kinds of opportunities for profit. We’ve looked over the slate and found great value in 3 different spots to provide you with an incredible payout.
Along with our NHL mega parlay, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for today’s action.
Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+135) over Detroit Red Wings
Let’s get things started in one of the mid-afternoon games, which will be even earlier local time. This matchup is in Colorado, which certainly plays a role in this pick. The Avs are not looking like the defending Stanley Cup champions but have a chance to start getting in a groove. They are coming off an incredible 7-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. That too was in Denver, and they now welcome an inconsistent Red Wings team into town.
Detroit is coming off one of the worst losses any team could experience. The Red Wings were at home and still fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0. Goaltender Vile Husso has been on the struggle bus lately, which the Avs can clearly take advantage of. The Wings are allowing the 6th-most goals per game on the road and gave up 12 goals across their last 2 games against Colorado. With the Avs continuing to get healthy and starting to make a bit of a surge, I will back them to continue Saturday’s success on home ice.
Dallas Stars ML (+110) over Vegas Golden Knights
One of the teams that the Avs are trying to catch in the Central Division is the Stars. Dallas had been atop the division the majority of the season until just recently being overtaken by the Winnipeg Jets. Still, this matchup is between 2 of the best teams in the Western Conference. Vegas has led the Pacific Division throughout the season but has shown some flaws since the short Christmas break.
The Golden Knights have had to deal with some injuries to key skaters such as Jack Eichel, and although he is back the Stars have the firepower to match them. Jason Robertson is arguably the best young talent in the league and his 60 points are the 4th-most in the NHL. Even when Dallas fell behind big in its last game, he helped lead the charge to bring things back despite still losing 6-5. The Golden Knights are in the midst of quite a long home-stand, but even that hasn’t helped them as much as they would have hoped. They have lost 2 of their last 3 and the Stars can make it 3 of 4 tonight.
Washington Capitals ML (-105) over New York Islanders
Wrapping things up for us is a classic Metro Division rivalry. With the way these teams are playing, I am also expecting a low-scoring affair. That also makes it no surprise that the total for this game is listed at just 5.5 goals. Therefore it will likely only take a couple of goals to get the win, which is something Alex Ovechkin can do himself. The future Hall of Famer is continuing his quest at the all-time goal record, and of course just had 1 in the Caps most recent game.
It’s surprising that these teams haven’t met yet this season, but Washington has looked strong since the few days off for the Christmas weekend. The Caps have been able to surpass the Islanders in the division and need to bounce back following their recent 2 losses. New York looks to be the perfect candidate to do so given its offensive output as of late. In their last 5 games, the Islanders have not scored more than 2 goals a single time. That’s also the case in 7 of their last 8 games, and again, Ovechkin can produce more than that himself.
Be sure to check out our NHL player props for today’s action – we hit our play last night!
Monday’s NHL mega parlay (1/16)
Avalanche -1.5 (+135)
Stars ML (+110
Capitals ML (-105)
Parlay odds +863
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