NHL Thursday parlay at mega (+956) odds, today 1/5: Capitals carve through Columbus

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin

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.

Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (+120) over Seattle Kraken

Our first play features teams that had very different nights on Tuesday. The Leafs had looked great recently, but fell in a shootout to the St. Louis Blues as significant favorites. Meanwhile, the Kraken were able to upset Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on the road. However, one of the most important things in sports betting is not to be a prisoner of the moment. Even the best team in hockey — the Boston Bruins — lost to the Arizona Coyotes last month.

The fact remains that the Leafs simply have too much depth for the Kraken to keep up with. Seattle may be coming off back-to-back wins, but they lost 7 of 10 prior to those contests. Now they have to head to Toronto, where Auston Matthews and company are absolutely elite. Their 13-2-4 home record is second only to the Bruins. The Leafs should also have some solid memories of facing the Kraken, as they scored 6 goals in each of their wins against them last season. Seattle is certainly better this year, but with Toronto still allowing just 2.37 goals on home ice, we’ll back them in a big bounce-back spot tonight.

Be sure to check out our Seattle Kraken vs Toronto Maple Leafs prediction

Washington Capitals -1.5 (+140) over Columbus Blue Jackets

Before we dive into our second play, if you’d like to take a slightly safer route, snag the Carolina Hurricanes on the 3-way money line if you’d like for around +700 odds. However, we’re here to bring you a mega parlay, so let’s break down this Caps matchup. They’re taking on the Blue Jackets, who are the clear bottom of the pack in the Eastern Conference. With just 11 wins on the year, they’re at least 3 games back from anyone else. They were able to sneak in a win over the weekend against the Chicago Blackhawks, but they’re the worst team in the NHL.

They followed that up by getting completely shut out on Tuesday night by a mediocre Ottawa Senators team. They were also beaten by that terrible Blackhawks team 5-2 just prior to the Christmas weekend. While the Caps were taken down by the Buffalo Sabres in overtime on Tuesday, that’s the highest-scoring team in hockey. Meanwhile, the Jackets score just 2.61 goals per game, tied with the Montreal Canadiens for the 3rd-fewest in the league. Washington just decimated the Canadiens 9-2 over the weekend, so expect another big win for Alex Ovechkin and the Caps.

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Pittsburgh Penguins ML (+100) over Vegas Golden Knights

Let’s wrap up with a slight road underdog. The Penguins are coming off that Winter Classic game, which was a tough battle with the Boston Bruins. After taking the 1-0 lead, they ended up falling 2-1 with goaltender Tristan Jarry suffering a lower body injury. While there has not been any firm update on his status, Casey DeSmith is more than capable of getting the job done. In comparison to Jarry’s .918 save percentage, his .911 is not a significant drop-off. He’ll also have the benefit of being in net against the Golden Knights team that is once again experiencing significant injuries.

Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault are both still absent, which has led to inconsistency. Despite winning their last 2 games, they came by just a single goal and prior that was a bad loss to the Anaheim Ducks, who have just 10 wins on the season. Being in different conferences, these teams don’t meet often, but the Pens have already defeated the Knights to start December. They also beat them in both meetings last year, scoring 5 goals in each matchup. Now facing them again to start another new month and year, this is a great spot to back an upset.