Mark Lammey
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With a jam-packed 11-game slate, it’s only right for us to have a mega parlay for tonight’s action on the ice. We have a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, Auston Matthews heading back to his home state and some teams in the first games back since the holiday weekend. We’ve broken down all of the matchups to find the best value possible. In doing so, we’ve pieced together our favorite plays with a great payout for your Thursday night. Let’s dive into it for a big winner to cover your bets for the weekend to come.
Along with our NHL mega parlay, be sure to check out our NHL picks for today’s action.
Florida Panthers -1.5 (-115) over Montreal Canadiens
Tonight will be the first game back after the holiday weekend for the Florida Panthers, which means they’ve been off for almost a full week. However, their recent stretch prior to their time off did not go well. They’ve lost each of their last 3 games, but have a great opportunity for a fresh start of sorts. Two of those losses were to the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, 2 of the best teams in the NHL. Now they will face a Montreal Canadiens team that is far from that caliber.
Not only are they a weaker team overall, they’ll be heading down to South Beach after having been in Tampa to take on the Lightning Wednesday night. For a team that already has poor goaltending, being on a back-to-back is never helpful. Canadiens fans should be prepared to see plenty of pressure put on backup goaltender Sam Montembeault. Montreal allows the 7th-most shots per game, while Florida leads the NHL in shots taken per game. They have had time to let Aleksander Barkov rest up, who is a key part to their success. With the Panthers scoring the 7th-most goals per game at home this season, this is a great get-right spot for them.
Washington Capitals 3-way ML (-105) over Ottawa Senators
Unlike the Panthers, the Capitals are one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference right now. All of the hype has been around Alex Ovechkin chasing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record. However, they have been getting healthy and becoming a more complete team overall. They were in action for the league’s first night back on Tuesday and beat down the New York Rangers in shutout fashion on the road by a final of a 4-0. Keep in mind that’s the same Rangers team that was 2 games away from a Stanley Cup Final appearance last season.
While that marked the Caps 6th-straight road win, now they get to head back to Washington. The last time there, they beat a very strong Winnipeg Jets team 4-1, and the game prior was a win against this same Senators squad. Ottawa is likely riding high from their win over the Bruins on Tuesday night, but they have been far from consistent this season. It’s also worth noting that Ovechkin didn’t even notch a single point in the Caps 4-0 win over the Rangers. After proving they can win even if Ovi doesn’t go off, that bodes well for Washington to beat the Sens for the 2nd time in their last 4 games.
Be sure to check out our full Ottawa Senators vs Washington Capitals predictions
Buffalo Sabres -1.5 (+160) over Detroit Red Wings
We are shifting back to another puck line play to wrap things up. This one feels severely mis-priced, as well. The Sabres may not be the most complete team, but they can sure light up the scoreboard. They are the highest-scoring team in the NHL overall, since the start of the month, and the 2nd highest at home. All of that sets up for more success with the Red Wings on the 2nd night of a back-to-back. The Sabres will also be even more rested, with their Tuesday night game getting postponed due to the severe winter weather in Buffalo.
Regardless, Detroit has been far worse on the road and now it is away from the Motor City for 2 straight nights. The Red Wings have already allowed the 8th-most goals per game on the road, and now starting goalie Vile Husso won’t even be available for this matchup. These teams have already met twice this season, with the Sabres winning both games by a combined score of 13-7. The game that took place in Buffalo was an 8-3 blowout as well. Sabres Tage Thompson had a hat trick in that game, and now Detroit will have backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic in net. With his .880 save percentage, expect another strong outing from Buffalo again tonight.
Lock in our expert’s best NHL player props for tonight’s action
Thursday’s NHL mega parlay (12/29)
Panthers -1.5 (-115)
Capitals 3-way ML (-105)
Sabres -1.5 (+160)
Parlay odds: +849
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