NHL Expert Picks: Best Bets for Sunday, October 13

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Published on October 13, 2024

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert Hockey Parlay Picks for
Sunday, Oct. 13

The National Hockey League has four games on tap for Sunday, with the window opening at 6 p.m. ET with the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets tangling. We have a pair of games at 8 p.m. ET, including the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers facing each other on the NHL Network before the night wraps up at 10 p.m. ET with the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights.

We'll provide a couple of parlay opportunities, as you look to build that bankroll for later in the season. Maybe even use some, or all, of these picks to pair with NFL plays for cross-sport opportunities on Sunday. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Picks Tonight

Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets

The Minnesota Wild (1-0-1) were on the short end of a 5-4 shootout loss against the Seattle Kraken on Friday night in the Twin Cities. Then they had to board a Delta Airlines chartered Boeing 757 to Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, where they arrived around 12:01 a.m. CDT. It's a tough turnaround, even early in the season.

Last season, the Wild went 6-6-3 in 15 games when playing on no rest, and the over was 9-5-1 in those games. Eight of those 15 contests were decided by just one goal.

The Winnipeg Jets (2-0-0) are perfect so far, as Connor Hellebuyck has been tremendous in the first week of the season. He has faced 56 shots, allowing just a single goal. He has posted a 0.50 GAA and .982 SV% with a shutout of the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers on opening night on the road Wednesday.

Mark Scheifele has fired out of the box with three goals, including two in their overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks last time out. He also leads the team with four points, while collecting two power-play points with a goal and an assist. And, yes, he leads with 10 shots on goal (SOG), too, for those interested in player prop wagers.

The Jets have won five in a row in this series, including a sweep of the regular-season series in four games in 2023-24. The under is 2-1-2 in the five-game run for the Jets, too. Let's go with the Jets here, as long as Hellebuyck does start, while going low on the total.

Jets ML (-155 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Under 6.0 Goals (-120 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Seattle Kraken at Dallas Stars

The Seattle Kraken (1-1-0) leveled up with a 5-4 shootout win in the Twin Cities against the Wild. They also had to hop on a chartered flight down to the Metroplex.

Seattle did a pretty good job in back-to-back situations last season, going 3-3-1, while the under had a slight 4-3 edge. Seattle did have a minus-seven goal differential in those games.

Joey Daccord allowed four goals on 38 shots in the shootout win in St. Paul, so Philipp Grubauer is expected to be back in the crease. He allowed three goals on 25 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Blues Tuesday afternoon in his season debut. Jordan Eberle had two goals, including a power-play marker, in Saturday's game in the Twin Cities to take the early team lead in goals.

The Dallas Stars (2-0-0) topped the Nashville Predators on Thursday with a 4-3 victory as slight favorites (-127), while blanking the New York Islanders 3-0 behind Jake Oettinger in the home opener Saturday. Oettinger turned aside all 34 shots he faced.

The Stars went a solid 6-3-2 in 11 games last season when playing on no rest, with the over edging the under 6-5-0 while the Stars had a plus-nine goal differential in the second end of back-to-backs.

Dallas swept the season series 3-0, outscoring Seattle 10-4, while the under has cashed in the past two. The Stars have won four in a row, and six of the past seven in the series, with the favorite also 6-1 in the past seven meetings.

Casey DeSmith was added to beef up the backup spot behind Oettinger. He is confirmed to start. The 33-year-old New Hampshire native was 12-9-6 with a 2.89 GAA and .896 SV% with one shutout in Vancouver last season in the regular season.

Taking Dallas on the Moneyline will set you back nearly two times your potential return. Since the Kraken have been involved in two one-goal games and they're facing a backup goaltender, let's take Seattle on the puck line as the underdogs.

Kraken +1.5 (-145 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers

The Flames (2-0-0) tattooed the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night. Facing a back-to-back just up Alberta Route 2 in the Northlands, it's not a terrible turnaround flying about 190 miles north.

Dustin Wolf was terrific against the Flyers, allowing just three goals on 40 shots against the Fly Guys. Now, Dan Vladar is expected to face the Oilers. Jonathan Huberdeau had two goals and four points to kick off the long Canadian Thanksgiving weekend in style.

Calgary was a dismal 1-5-1 in seven games last season when playing on no rest, so that's a concern. They scored just 17 goals while allowing 26 in the second end of those back-to-backs.

The Oilers (0-2-0) have not started well in front of the home fans. Edmonton has been outscored 11-2 against the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks, including a 5-2 setback on home ice against the Blackhawks.

Edmonton was a massive -342 favorite against Chicago, so it was a shocking result, to say the least. Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl were the goal scorers for the Oilers, and Connor McDavid picked up an assist on Draisaitl's power-play goal for his first point in two games.

Last season, Edmonton went 5-5-0 on no rest, while the over/under was also 5-5-0.

Calvin Pickard made the start Saturday. He wasn't the answer after Stuart Skinner was pulled in the opener against the Jets. The Oilers, who were a single win away from a Stanley Cup last season, need to shore up the goaltending in a hurry. Skinner was 2-1-0 with a 2.68 GAA and .904 SV% in three regular-season starts against the Flames in 2023-24.

Based on Edmonton's goaltending so far, allowing 11 goals in two games, and the Flames going over in both outings so far, that's where we're leaning, too.

Over 6.5 Goals (-110 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights

The Ducks (1-0-0) picked up a 2-0 shutout win at San Jose in the regular-season opener Saturday and had to take a flight from the Bay Area to Sin City on a quick charter. At least it will be a happy one, as Lukas Dostal turned aside all 30 shots he faced for his second career NHL shutout.

Isac Lundestrom had the team's first goal midway through the third period, and Trevor Zegras scored into the empty net.

The Golden Knights (2-0-0) will be looking for redemption after inexplicably losing three out of four games to the Ducks in their regular-season series last season

Vegas trampled the Colorado Avalanche 8-4 in the opener and eked out a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Blues, cashing the over both times, while Adin Hill notched wins in both.

It's tempting to back the Ducks for a chance to more than double up, given how well they did against Las Vegas a season ago. James Reimer is expected to make his first Anaheim start.

However, the smart play is to back the Golden Knights on the puck line. Anaheim was just 3-8-0 with a minus-19 goal differential last season when playing on no rest.