NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Sunday, December 29

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Published on December 29, 2024

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Sunday, Dec. 29

There are nine games on the National Hockey League schedule for Sunday. We're going to focus on the late window with puck drops of 8:00 p.m. ET or later, including the nationally televised game between the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Let's get started.

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Dallas Stars at Chicago Blackhawks

The Stars (20-13-1) invade the Windy City to battle the Blackhawks (12-22-2) at the United Center on the west side of Chicago. The game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN2.

This is their fourth and final meeting of the season. The home side is 3-for-3 so far. Dallas won the first meetings in the Metroplex by a combined score of 7-3 with a pair of under results, while the Blackhawks demolished the Stars 6-2 as a heavy underdog (+193) as the over (6.0) cashed.

In that loss in Chitown, backup Casey DeSmith was in the crease. He let in six goals on 26 shots, including three markers for Taylor Hall. Connor Bedard, Louis Crevier and Teuvo Teravainen also lit the lamp for the home side.

Dallas is coming off a 3-2 overtime loss against the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center last time out while going 1-2-1 in the past four games. They're just 2-4-0 in the past six on the road, too, and both victories were against the Utah Hockey Club.

For Chicago, it was buried 6-2 last time out in Buffalo. The Blackhawks are on a three-game skid after a three-game win streak. The Blackhawks had shown some good signs, but they've slipped back into their bad habits.

Since Jake Oettinger (16-9-1, 2.44 GAA, .908 save percentage, one shutout) is projected to start against Arvid Soderblom (5-8-1, 2.62 GAA, .911 save percentage), we'll back the visitors straight up, while leaning low on the total.

Stars -1.5 (+108 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-120 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Don't make any bets on your go-to sports betting apps without ensuring you have the best and latest NHL odds.

Philadelphia Flyers at Los Angeles Kings

The Flyers (16-16-4) and the Kings (20-10-5) meet at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles with a puck drop of 9:00 p.m. ET. The game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.

These teams met in Philadelphia on December 19, with the Kings coming away with a 7-3 victory as moderate favorites (-163) with the over (5.5) cashing easily.

In the first period of that game, Los Angeles' Kevin Fiala and Philadelphia's Noah Cates exchanged goals, while Tanner Jeannot and Anze Kopitar bookended a couple of Tyson Foerster goals in the second period. The teams were tied up 3-3 after 40 minutes. However, in the third period, it was all Los Angeles, as Warren Foegele and Kopitar scored against Aleksei Kolosov to make it 5-3. Quinton Byfield had an empty-net goal to make it 6-3, and Fiala put a bow on the scoring after the goaltender returned to the net, as L.A. won 7-3.

Darcy Kuemper was the beneficiary of all of the offensive support, picking up the road victory. Kuemper backstopped Saturday's 4-3 home win over the Edmonton Oilers, so David Rittich (10-8-0, 2.46 GAA, .891 save percentage) is expected to start for the home side, with Kolosov back in net for Philly after Samuel Ersson posted the 3-1 win in Anaheim on Saturday.

In games on no rest, the Flyers are 1-5-0 with the over going 4-1-1 this season. That includes the 7-3 loss to the Kings in the first meeting, as that setback came on the heels of a 6-4 loss in Detroit the previous night.

The Kings are 4-1-0 on no rest with the total going 2-2-1 in five games this season.

The Kings are built better for back-to-back games, as Kuemper and Rittich are a solid veteran combination. While Ersson is solid, the Fly Guys are lacking in the backup department. Let's take the Kings on the puck line and the over.