NHL Saturday parlay at mega (+1028) odds, today 12/31: Kings come through in LA

Mark Lammey

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I've been a capper since my love for sports met my proficiency with numbers and math. The NFL and NCAAF have always been my first loves, followed by the NHL. Although I prefer sports that involve hitting people, I still love capping MLB, soccer, tennis, and even some esports. Living in Florida has its perks like year-round sports of any kind. For Mark Lammey media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.

Los Angeles Kings -1.5 (+110) over Philadelphia Flyers

Let’s head out west for our first play. The Kings play host to the Flyers, who are likely flying high after their recent win. However, that was a game against the San Jose Sharks and it required overtime to get it done. The Sharks are the only team in the NHL allowing over 4 goals per game this month. Even with that win, that was only the Flyers’ 3rd victory in their last 10 games.

LA hasn’t been perfect either, but they’re certainly playing better than their California counterparts. They’re also coming off an impressive win over the defending Stanley Cup-champion Colorado Avalanche on the road. That victory marked their 7th in the last 10. We’re backing the puck line given the difference in expected goals against for each of these teams. The Kings rank 7th in that category, while the Flyers are 30th out of 32 teams. With LA’s Kevin Fiala finding a groove, he can help lead the Kings to a multi-goal win on home ice.

Be sure to check out our Philadelphia Flyers vs Los Angeles Kings prediction

Minnesota Wild vs St. Louis Blues – Over 6 (-105)

It’s rather surprising that this game is not only listed at 6 goals rather than 6.5, but that it is priced towards the under. Just looking at the meetings between these Central Division rivals last season tells it all. Those 3 matchups finished with 10, 7 and 11 total goals. That was also when the Blues were much more stout in terms of goaltending, but without Vile Husso, they have been far from that this season. St. Louis has allowed 3.64 goals per game in December alone, and have allowed the 6th-most goals per game overall.

The Wild are more than capable of finding the net with guys like Kirill Kaprizov, despite their most recent game. They were taking on the great defense of the Dallas Stars, but had scored at least 4 goals in 5 of their previous 6 games. As for the Blues, the holiday weekend allowed them to get much more healthy. Jordan Kyrou is flying around like his usual self, and Vladimir Tarasenko looks closer to 100%. They too have scored at least 4 goals in 5 of their last 7 games, so expect both teams to find the back of the net in this rivalry game.

Vancouver Canucks ML (+175) over Calgary Flames

We’ve got our biggest plus-money play to wrap things up. This is actually an identical matchup to an upset we cashed earlier in the season. The Canucks were a similar underdog against the Flames just 2 weeks ago, and were able to take them down. That too was on the road in Calgary, so that factor should not cause any hesitation. The Flames have been getting priced very heavily at home, as if they’re still last year’s team with Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. However, they have not been nearly as consistent, and their 3rd place spot in the Pacific Division is very misleading.

Going 4-2-4 in their last 10 is nothing to write home about, and even the Canucks have been better at 6-4-0 in their last 10. They lost their most recent matchup to the Winnipeg Jets, but they’ve been one of the top teams in the Western Conference all season. Prior to that, Vancouver had won 3 straight, scoring 17 goals in the process. They were able to net 4 goals against Calgary in that matchup 2 weeks ago as well. The Flames came out of the holiday weekend scoring just a single goal on home ice, and the Canucks can come in and steal this one as well.

Don’t miss out on our NHL player props for today’s action!