Started 2026 on the NHL with a spectacular New Year’s Day, going 12-5 to win 4.71 units. Huge! Let’s keep rolling on today’s four game slate, including the Winter Classic as hockey goes outdoors (but indoors) in Florida!
Blues vs. Golden Knights (3:00)
Terrible game here in the Western Conference to get the day started with the way these teams are playing. The Blues blow, with just a 15-18-8 record, coming off getting blown out 6-1 in Colorado on New Year’s Eve. This team’s struggling big time on both ends of the ice. The Golden Knights are a good team, but they’re struggling big time right now without Jack Eichel in the lineup, falling to 17-10-11 on the season, on a three game losing streak with just one win (against the Sharks) in his seven game absence, coming off a 4-2 loss at home to the Predators on Wednesday. Eichel might be back in the lineup today, as he’s traveling with the team on this road trip, but it hasn’t been confirmed if he’s playing or not. Vegas won the first game between these teams 4-1 on the road in November. Even without Jack, I like the Knights to win here on the road and the price is cheap enough that I’ll take them for a unit. I like the over as well, which I’ll take for half a unit. I’ll also parlay Mark Stone and Mitch Marner to each get a point for half a unit, and take Stone to have over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Winter Classic: Panthers vs. Rangers (8:00)
I absolutely love the Winter Classic, but this one’s kind of lost the plot a bit as the league takes the game outdoors once again, but this time it’s indoors in Miami at lonaDepot park, the home of the Miami Marlins. I think it’s great how much the game has grown in southern states like Florida, but the whole idea of the Winter Classic doesn’t fit this. Call it a Stadium Series game, but not having any remote chance of cold or snow for this one I fully disagree with. Make it up North where it feels like a snow globe like that classic in Buffalo that started this thing 18 years ago. This isn’t the best matchup either. The Panthers have been solid despite all their injuries, with a 9-3-1 record in their last 13 games to improve to 21-15-3 on the season, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at home to the Habs on Tuesday. They’re not playing all that great defensively, but have been solid offensively. The Rangers have been horrible, on a three game losing streak coming off a 6-3 loss in DC on New Year’s Eve, falling to 19-18-5 on the season. They have been much better on the road than they are at home though, with a great defense but a pathetic offense. I like Florida to win here at “home”, “outdoors”, and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Brad Marchand, Artemi Panarin, and Sam Reinhart to each get a point for a unit.
Canucks vs. Kraken (10:30)
Horrible game here in the Pacific Division. The Canucks are the worst team in the league with a 16-20-3 record, coming off a 6-3 loss at home to the Flyers on Tuesday. They’ve been brutal on both ends of the ice. The Kraken aren’t much better at 17-14-7, but are quite good defensively despite their lousy offense. After going on a stretch of just one win in eleven games, they’ve since gone 5-0-1 in their last six games, in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 4-1 win at home against the Preds yesterday. That one loss in that stretch came the first time these teams played on Monday, where Vancouver won 3-2 in a shootout on the road in Seattle. I like the Kraken to win here with the far better defense on the road, even in the second half of a back to back. I’ll take a half unit shot on them as a dog against the worst team in the league. I’d very slightly lean the under, but I’m not touching it.
Ducks vs. Wild (10:30)
This Western Conference game should be fun, but it isn’t a great matchup. The Ducks have been struggling big time lately after their great start to the year, on a four game losing streak with just two wins in their last ten games, coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Lightning on Wednesday night. The Wild are coming off a pretty surprising 4-3 shootout loss in San Jose on New Year’s Eve, but they’re a spectacular team, right there with Dallas behind only the Avalanche. They’re 24-10-7 and playing very well on both ends of the ice. Minnesota won the first game between these teams with a 2-0 shutout at home in November. I love the Wild to bounce back here on the road and I’ll take them for 1.5 units. I like the over as well, which I’ll take for half a unit. I considered a handful of player props in this game, but I’m going to keep it simple and just parlay Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy to each get a point for a unit (other guys I considered were Quinn Hughes and Leo Carlsson, but neither are worth betting).
Bets
1u Golden Knights ML (-148)
.5u Golden Knights/Blues over 5.5 (-130)
.5u parlay: Mark Stone/Mitch Marner 1+ point each (-123)
.5u Mark Stone over 1.5 points (+210)
1u Panthers ML (-142)
1u parlay: Brad Marchand/Artemi Panarin/Sam Reinhart 1+ point each (+185)
.5u Kraken ML (+124)
1.5u Wild ML (-130)
.5u Wild/Ducks over 6.5 (-105)
1u parlay: Kirill Kaprizov/Matt Boldy 1+ point each (-141)
Record: 357-380-1 (-41.29 units)
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A Town's Zone 