NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Saturday, December 21

Written by

Published on December 21, 2024

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Saturday, Dec. 21

We have 11 total games on the National Hockey League slate on Saturday. We'll avoid the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators matinee game on NHL Network, as well as the two 4 p.m. ET puck drops.

Let's focus on the Original Six battle with the Detroit Red Wings visiting the Montreal Canadiens at 7:00 p.m. ET, also on NHL Network. In addition, we'll look to an all-Canadian battle in the Pacific Northwest, as the Ottawa Senators stop in to face the Vancouver Canucks. We'll target those two games and a few parlay opportunities, trying to build that bankroll for the holidays. Let's get started.

Get your holiday spending bankroll topped off with fantastic sportsbook promos like this BetMGM bonus code that offers up to $1,500 in bonus bets.

Best NHL Picks Tonight

Detroit Red Wings at Montreal Canadiens

The Red Wings (13-15-4) and the Canadiens (13-16-3) tangle at Bell Centre at 7:00 p.m. ET. This Original Six game can be viewed or streamed on the NHL Network.

These teams met in the front end of the home-and-home Friday, with the Canadiens coming away with a 4-3 win in Detroit as moderate underdogs (+137) as the over (6) connected. It was the fourth straight meeting the total went high.

Emil Heineman opened the scoring for the Habs Friday at 7:09 of the first period. It was a seesaw battle in the first period. Patrick Kane answered for the Wings, while Jake Evans notched a short-handed goal at 18:31 to re-take the lead. But, Joe Veleno answered right back just 56 seconds later to send the teams to the room tied 2-2 after 20.

There was no scoring in the second period, but Tyler Motte scored for the home side just 100 seconds into the third, as Detroit had its first lead of the day. It was a short-lived advantage, as Arber Xhekaj leveled the game 3-3 at 8:42 of the third, and Patrik Laine scored on the power play at 12:02 to put a bow on the scoring. That made a winner of Sam Montembeault, who kicked aside 25 of the 28 shots he faced to best Cam Talbot, who had 29 saves with four goals allowed.

In this rematch, Alex Lyon (5-4-0, 2.88 GAA, .903 save percentage, one shutout) is projected to start. Cayden Primeau (2-3-1, 4.70 GAA, .836 save percentage) is likely in net for the home side.

Based on the goaltender matchup, it's a good idea to back the Red Wings to try and make it 2-for-2 for the road side in this home-and-home. We'll also go high on the total based on Friday's result, as well as Primeau's poor GAA and SV% numbers.

Red Wings ML (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Over 6.0 Goals (-120 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks

The Senators (17-13-2) make their third stop on a nine-game road trip Saturday in Vancouver against the Canucks (16-10-6).

This is an intriguing matchup, as the Canucks have won five in a row in this series since November 8th, 2022. However, Ottawa enters this game red-hot with five straight wins, outscoring the opposition 17-5 since December 1th1 with two shutouts and two overtime victories in that span.

Linus Ullmark (12-7-2, 2.37 GAA, .916 save percentage, three shutouts) has been on one lately. He is expected to be in between the pipes opposite projected starter Thatcher Demko (1-1-2, 3.18 GAA, .887 save percentage).

The 31-year-old Ullmark has allowed just 10 goals in eight starts in December, going 7-0-1 with a 1.23 GAA and sparkling .959 save percentage with a pair of shutouts, including a 30-save 3-0 win on the current trip in Seattle on Tuesday. However, Ullmark was only able to turn aside 17 of the 21 shots he faced in Canada's capital city on November 23 in the first meeting with the Canucks in a 4-3 loss.

Jake DeBrusk was the offensive star that evening for the visitors, as he had two goals and an assist, while Kiefer Sherwood lit the lamp and contributed an assist. For the Sens, Brady Tkachuk had a goal, and he also amassed 21 penalty minutes.

Lately, the Canucks are just 3-3-3 in the past nine games, with the under cashing in each of the past three outings.

It's hard to pick against the Senators right now. Roll with Ottawa on the Moneyline, while confidence is a little higher playing the under.