NHL Daily Gambling Preview – 12/20/25

Lost 1.74 units on last night’s NHL slate, going 6-8. Today we have a huge 13 game slate going up against the College Football Playoff. Let’s crush it!

Rangers vs. Flyers (12:30)

Pretty boring matchup to get the day started in the Metro Division. The Rangers are coming into tonight off a 2-1 overtime win in St. Louis on Thursday night, just their second win in their last seven games, falling to 17-15-4 on the season. They’ve especially struggled at home with just a 4-10-3 record in MSG. The Flyers haven’t been all that much better lately. They’re 17-10-6 and have just one win in their last five games, coming off a 5-3 loss in Buffalo on Thursday. I’d slightly lean Philly wins here on the road, but I’m not betting it. Both of these teams have been good defensively, but have struggled offensively, so I like the under here, which I’ll take for half a unit.

Capitals vs. Red Wings (12:30)

This should be a fun Eastern Conference matinee. The Capitals have been solid, with a 19-11-4 record, ending a three game losing streak on Thursday with a 4-0 shutout win at home against the Leafs, playing great on both ends of the ice. The Red Wings have been pretty good too. They lead the Atlantic with a 19-13-3 record, coming off a 4-1 loss at home to the Mammoth on Wednesday, but have been hot lately with a 6-2-1 record in their last nine games. Washington’s better on both ends of the ice, especially defensively, and I like them to get the win at home today. I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the over at 5.5, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond to each get a point for half a unit.

Senators vs. Blackhawks (3:00)

This cross conference game kind of sucks, especially with Bedard out for the Blackhawks. The Senators were struggling, but have seemed to turn it around a bit lately, with three wins in their last four games to improve to 16-13-4 on the season, coming off a 4-0 shutout win at home against the Penguins on Thursday. The Blackhawks have been struggling big time lately, crashing down to 13-15-6 on the year, on a four game losing streak coming off a 4-1 loss in Montreal one Thursday, with just three wins in their last 15 games. Chicago won the first game between these teams 7-3 at home in October. Especially with Bedard out, I love the Sens to answer back here. The price is expensive at -265, and I thought about parlaying the moneyline with Tim Stutzle to get a point, but instead I’ll just take Ottawa in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it. I though about parlaying Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk to each get a point, but that comes out to like -190 on two guys that haven’t averaged more than a point per game, so I’ll just stick with the Sens here.

Wild vs. Oilers (3:00)

Fantastic Western Conference matchup here. The Wild are one of the best teams in hockey with a 21-9-5 record. Coming off a 5-2 win in Columbus on Thursday they’re on a six game win streak and have just three regulation losses since October. The Oilers have turned it around lately, with a 6-1-1 record in their last eight games to improve to 17-12-6 on the season. They’re still struggling on the back end though. These teams played early this month in a barnburner in Edmonton with the Wild winning in a 1-0 shutout on the road. I like Minnesota to win again here and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the under at 6.5, but not enough to bet it. I’m also going big on the player props here. I’ll parlay Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Connor McDavid, and Leon Draisaitl to each get a point for half a unit. I though about adding Quinn Hughes to that mix, but I’ll just stick with the four forwards.

Sabres vs. Islanders (5:00)

Interesting matchup here in the East. My Sabres are on their first four game win streak of the season, 1-0 in the Jarmo era, coming off a nice 5-3 win at home against the Flyers on Thursday in a game where they looked awful early, but really turned it around to get the win. We’re still not good though, in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 15-14-4 record. The Islanders are in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off fucking me over with a 4-1 loss at home to the Canucks last night for their second loss in a row. They’ve been good defensively, but have struggled offensively, with a 19-13-3 record coming into tonight. I’d lean the Sabres win tonight at home to keep their win streak going, but the Buffalo Sabres should not in any way be more than -180 here. So I’m not touching it. I’d lean the under at 6.5, but not enough to bet it, so I’ll stay off this game entirely. Let’s go Buffalo!

Panthers vs. Blues (6:00)

Pretty big mismatch in this cross conference game. The Panthers have turned it around lately even with all their injury struggles. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, erasing a 3-0 deficit in the third period last night to come back and beat the Panthers 4-3 in a shootout at home last night. Florida’s on a great run right now, on a four game win streak with just one loss in their last eight games top improve to 19-13-2 on the year. The Blues on the other hand are awful. They’re 13-15-8, coming off a 2-1 overtime loss at home to the Rangers on Thursday, and they’ve struggled big time on both ends of the ice. Even in the second half of a back to back, I like Florida to win here at home, and to bring down the price I’ll parlay the moneyline with Brad Marchand to get a point for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet it.

Canucks vs. Bruins (7:00)

This is a pretty bad cross conference game here. The Bruins have been way better than expected, with a 20-15 record, coming off a 3-1 loss at home to the Oilers on Thursday, but they have won five of their last seven games. The Canucks meanwhile have been one of the worst teams in the NHL this season with a 14-17-3 record, struggling big time on both ends of the ice. They’re surprisingly on a three game win streak, in the second half of back tonight, coming off a 4-1 win on Long Island last night. I love this bounce back spot for the B’s here, and I’ll take them for a unit. I’ll also parlay David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie to each get a point for half a unit. The total’s a complete toss up here, so I’ll stay off it.

Canadiens vs. Penguins (7:00)

This should be a fun game in the East, but it isn’t a great matchup. The Habs are 18-12-4 on the season, but haven’t played all that great lately, coming off a 4-1 win at home against the Blackhawks on Thursday. The Penguins are struggling big time, on a seven game losing streak, coming off a 4-0 shutout loss in Ottawa on Thursday. These teams just played a week and a half ago with the Canadiens getting a 4-2 win on the road. I’d slightly lean they win again here at home, but not enough to bet it. I’d also lean the over, but not enough to take that either. I do like player props though, and I’ll parlay Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Sidney Crosby to each get a point for half a unit. 

Lightning vs. Hurricanes (7:00)

Great matchup here between two of the best teams in the East. The Lightning come into tonight, with a really good 18-13-3 record, but on a three game losing streak coming off a 2-1 loss at home to the Kings on Thursday night. The Hurricanes lead the Eastern Conference with a 22-9-3 record, on a six game point streak. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, having a five game win streak come to an end last night with a 4-3 shootout loss on the road against the Panthers as they blew a 3-0 third period lead. With the Canes in the second half of a back to back, I’d slightly lean Tampa wins here at home, but not enough to bet it. I’d slightly lean the under with two solid defenses here, but not enough to bet that either. I considered a handful of player props on this game, but really the only one I like is Kucherov, and the price is too expensive on him, so I’ll just stay off this game entirely.

Predators vs. Maple Leafs (7:00)

Pretty terrible cross conference matchup here. The Predators have been garbage, with a 13-16-4 record, but they have played much better as of late, with seven wins in their last eleven games, coming off a 4-1 loss at home to the Hurricanes on Wednesday. The Leafs aren’t all that much better. They’re just 15-13-5, coming off getting shut out 4-0 by the Caps on the road on Thursday. In the first week of the season, Toronto dominated the first game between these teams, winning 7-4 at home. I’d lean the Leafs win here again on the road, but I still don’t trust them to bet on it, even though I considered it quite a bit. I do like the over in this game though, especially at 5.5, which I’ll take for half a unit. I thought about parlaying it with Nylander to get a point, but I’d rather just lay the -135, I don’t think bumping it up to +111 is worth it.

Flames vs. Golden Knights (10:00)

The Flames are playing way better hockey lately, but I still think this is a pretty big mismatch in the Pacific Division. Coming off a 4-2 win at home against the Kraken on Thursday, Calgary’s won five of their last seven games to improve to 14-17-4 on the season. Their offense has been putrid, despite their defense being pretty good. The Golden Knights are a very good team though, with a 16-6-10 record. Coming off yet another shootout loss, falling 2-1 at home to the Devils in a great game on Wednesday, they’re on an eight game point streak with a 6-0-2 record in that span. Vegas dominated both previous games between these teams back in October, winning 4-2 on the road and 6-1 at home. I like them to keep rolling, and I’ll take them for a unit at a cheaper price than I expected. I’d slightly lean the over, but didn’t even consider betting it. Jack Eichel’s out injured tonight, with his status changing from illness to lower body injury after he missed Wednesday’s game, so I’ll go back to my same player prop I had on Wednesday, and I’ll take Mark Stone to have over 1.5 points for half a unit.

Ducks vs. Blue Jackets (10:00)

This isn’t a great matchup, with both of these teams struggling, but I’d expect plenty of action and a bunch of goals here. The Ducks are 20-13-2 on the season, in the second half of a back to back tonight, getting blown out 8-3 at home by the Stars last night, and they have just one win in their last five games. The Blue Jackets are just 14-14-6 on the year, and have kinda sucked. They have just three wins in their last 13 games. The first game between these teams on Tuesday was fun, with the Jackets winning 4-3 at home in overtime. I’d slightly lean the Ducks answer back here at home, but in the second half of a back to back, I don’t think they’re worth betting. Both of these defenses stink though, and I love the over, which I’ll take for a unit. I like a bunch of player props in this game. I’ll parlay Zach Werenski and Leo Carlsson to each get a point for half a unit, then individually I’ll take Kirill Marchenko, Cutter Gauthier, and Troy Terry for half a unit each to get a point. I’ll also take a half unit long shot parlaying all five of those guys to get a point too.

Sharks vs. Kraken (10:00)

Terrible Pacific Division matchup to end the night between two lousy teams. The Sharks have been pretty solid lately, with a 17-15-3 record, having a three game win streak come to an end on Thursday with an expected 5-3 loss at home to the Stars. Their success has been on the back of an incredible sophomore season by Macklin Celebrini, the only player in the league to have over 50 points right now besides Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. The Kraken have really struggled lately, on a four game losing streak coming off a 4-2 loss in Calgary on Thursday night, with just one win in their last eleven games to drop to 12-14-6 on the season. These teams split their first two games in November in Seattle, with the Sharks winning 6-1 on the road and the Kraken answering back with a 4-1 win at home. I’d lean San Jose wins here at home, but don’t trust them enough to back them as a favorite. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet on at 6.5, with two offenses that both aren’t great. I do like Celebrini to keep rolling though, so I’ll take him to have over 1.5 points to cap off my night.

Bets

.5u Rangers/Flyers under 5.5 (-120)

.5u Capitals ML (-156)

.5u parlay: Alex DeBrincat/Lucas Raymond 1+ point each (+118)

.5u Senators in regulation (-150)

.5u Wild ML (-130)

.5u parlay: Kaprizov/Boldy/McDavid/Draisaitl 1+ point each (+161)

.5u parlay: Panthers ML/Brad Marchand over 0.5 point (-102)

1u Bruins ML (-162)

.5u parlay: David Pastrnak/Morgan Geekie 1+ point each (-135)

.5u parlay: Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield/Sidney Crosby 1+ point each (+147)

.5u Maple Leafs/Predators over 5.5 (-135)

1u Golden Knights ML (-130)

.5u Mark Stone over 1.5 points (+196)

1u Ducks/Blue Jackets over 6.5 (-124)

.5u parlay: Zach Werenski/Leo Carlsson 1+ point each (+106)

.5u Kirill Marchenko over 0.5 point (-154)

.5u Troy Terry over 0.5 point (-148)

.5u Cutter Gauthier over 0.5 point (-148)

.5u parlay: Werenski/Carlsson/Marchenko/Gauthier/Terry 1+ point each (+493)

.5u Macklin Celebrini over 1.5 points (+126)

Record: 283-301-1 (-39.91 units)


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