In this article, I’ll outline the most noteworthy odds, news, and betting notes Monday’s monster five-game NHL slate will kick off a jam-packed month of December, and I’ll also offer up my best bet of the night.
Best bet—Blue Jackets Moneyline: +120
Blue Jackets moneyline vs. Devils
The Columbus Blue Jackets enter an important divisional showdown versus the New Jersey Devils desperate to snap a four-game losing skid.
After finishing just two points out of a playoff berth last season, the Blue Jackets are in the mix once again this year, having gotten off to a respectable 11-9-5 start while offering a fairly sound overall process. They enter Monday’s important divisional matchup versus the Devils in the midst of a four-game losing skid, which truly has not looked as bad as it sounds.
Over the last four games, the Blue Jackets have lost three times in overtime, as well as a 5-1 defeat versus the red-hot Washington Capitals. In those matchups, they hold a 52.05% expected goal share and offered a fairly impressive level of play, which has been masked by the fact that they have struggled in 3-on-3 play.
The Blue Jackets rank 13th in expected goal differential this season, and that number is not overly surprising, as though the team doesn’t get much coverage, they have mainly looked quite scrappy.
The Devils have been able to tread water so far without top forward Jack Hughes, playing to a record of 4-4-0 to keep themselves safely in a playoff spot. Though I’ve personally been a believer that the Devils roster has enough talent to handle such a loss, their recent play suggests this team may not be overly well equipped to handle Hughes’ absence, even if they have managed to get by respectably so far.
In eight games without Hughes, the Devils hold an expected goal share of 47.18% and have only looked overly formidable in a 5-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres, though they still allowed 42 shots. With Brett Pesce sidelined, their defensive core does not have many defenders that are overly strong defensively, a flaw that I thought might be masked by their possession-based style of play.
That’s not really been the case though, as over the last eight games the Devils have allowed 3.68 xGA/60, but they have been able to get by somewhat respectably because their goaltenders have finally offered above average results.
Relative to their +120 price tag, the Blue Jackets should be able to carry a respectable share of the overall play in this matchup, and give themselves a good chance to snap their four-game losing skid.
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Philadelphia Flyers
| Penguins moneyline odds | +120 |
| Flyers moneyline odds | –140 |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (-105), Under 6 (-115) |
| Time | 7:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- The second meeting of the season between these Metropolitan Division rivals. The Flyers won the first meeting 3-2 in a shootout on home ice, after outshooting the Penguins 34-26. These teams currently occupy the two Eastern Conference Wild Card spots, but it’s hard to believe both can scrape out a playoff berth, and this game does offer what already appears to be a fairly noteworthy four-point swing.
- Despite averaging just 13:42 of time-on-ice over the last three games, Matvei Michkov has recorded three goals and an assist. Though I’m not taking a stance on whether he deserves more minutes or not, I’m not sure it’s an ideal way for a young skater to develop. He is priced at +115 to record a point in this matchup, a number which is certainly a little longer based on the expectation that continuing to produce while playing less than 15 minutes will be difficult.
- Head coach Rick Tocchet deserves some credit for the Flyers’ 14-7-3 start, but as we have touched on several times in these breakdowns, the Flyers actually controlled play quite effectively last season but received the worst goaltending in the NHL. As newcomer Dan Vladar holds a +11.3 GSAx (eighth-best in the NHL), the biggest part of the turnaround is clearly going from league-worst goaltending to drastically better than average goaltending. Vladar has been confirmed as the Flyers’ starter in this matchup.
- High-profile prospect Rutger McGroarty skated on the third line at Monday’s morning skate and is expected to make his season debut. Kevin Hayes remained alongside Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust on the Penguins’ top line.
Columbus Blue Jackets @ New Jersey Devils
| Blue Jackets moneyline odds | +120 |
| Devils moneyline odds | -140 |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (-110), Under 6 (-110) |
| Time | 7:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- Top forward Kirill Marchenko is expected to remain out of the Blue Jackets lineup in this matchup. Sean Monahan and Zach Werenski both missed Sunday’s practice, but head coach Dean Evason stated that their absence was for maintenance purposes and that they will play in this game.
- Elvis Merzļikins has been confirmed as the Blue Jackets’ starting goaltender. Though Merzlikins has been outperformed by Jet Greaves this season, he’s still been a breakeven option with a +0.5 GSAx in nine appearances.
- Devils captain Nico Hischier has put up 11 points in eight games since the beginning of Hughes’s current absence. He is expected to remain alongside Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier on a stacked top line in Monday’s matchup.
Winnipeg Jets @ Buffalo Sabres
| Jets moneyline odds | -105 |
| Sabres moneyline odds | -115 |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (-115), Under 6 (-105) |
| Time | 7:37 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- The Jets took advantage of what looked to be a tailor-made get-right spot Saturday versus the Nashville Predators, earning a 5-2 victory with a spirited effort, their first win since goaltender Connor Hellebuyck went down with injury. They still have a lot to prove right now, but this is obviously another very winnable matchup.
- Depth scoring has been an issue for the Jets recently, but their top offensive trio of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi have all been excellent, while Josh Morrissey will have a chance of earning a Norris Trophy nomination based on his strong start.
- Both teams will be playing for the third time in four nights in this matchup. The Jets are 7-6-0 on the road, while the Sabres are 8-5-2 on home ice.
- The Sabres suffered an embarrassing 5-0 loss to the Devils in their last matchup at home on Friday but responded with a shootout win over the Minnesota Wild on the road Saturday evening.
- At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether the Jets will start Eric Comrie or Thomas Milic in this matchup. As with everything, it’s price dependent, but depending on how the market views Milic, he could be an interesting goaltender to target with bets on the under or the Jets to win in the near future.
- Milic has had an incredible start at the AHL level this season, and his final stat line from his NHL debut in Carolina on Friday was not overly indicative of his performance. The Hurricanes dominated the Jets quite badly and created plenty of high-quality shots on target.
- Neal Pionk took the morning skate in a regular sweater but is listed as day-to-day and did not skate in his regular role on the second pairing.
Anaheim Ducks @ St. Louis Blues
| Ducks moneyline odds | +130 |
| Blues moneyline odds | -155 |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (-120), Under 6 (+100) |
| Time | 8:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- It looks fairly surprising to see that Anaheim is a fairly heavy underdog in this matchup, but the dropoff between injured number-one goaltender Lukas Dostal, and second-and third-stringers Petr Mrazek and Ville Husso is quite significant.
- The other key factor in this price tag is that the Blues generally appear to be better than their 9-10-7 record suggests and are 5-2-5 over their last 12 games. If they had achieved better results in the 3-on-3 overtime and shootout novelty settlements recently, which are highly volatile, we’d probably be hearing some talk about a potential turnaround in St. Louis.
- The Blues will be without two useful forwards, Jimmy Snuggerud and Pius Suter in this matchup.
- Leo Carlsson ranks sixth in the NHL with 34 points in 25 games played. He enters this matchup in the midst of a seven-game point streak, in which he’s racked up nine points.
Utah Mammoth @ San Jose Sharks
| Mammoth moneyline odds | -165 |
| Sharks moneyline odds | +140 |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (+100), Under 6 (-120) |
| Time | 10:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- You can’t use the phrase “must-win” in Game 27, but this is a matchup the Mammoth really need to win, and offers a huge get-right spot. Utah is just 3-4-3 over the last 10 and has lost three straight and is suddenly outside of a playoff spot.
- These teams met on November 18th in San Jose, and the Sharks snuck off with a 3-2 overtime victory, powered by a hat trick from Macklin Celebrini. The Mammoth closed at -135 in that matchup, which is interesting to consider given that since that point Utah has not been in overly strong form.
- Logan Cooley was injured in an ugly collision in Saturday’s matchup versus the Blues but has reportedly avoided a significant injury. His status for this matchup is currently unclear.
- Red-hot goaltender Yaraslav Askarov served as the backup in Saturday’s matchup versus the Golden Knights and will presumably be the starter in this matchup as a result. Askarov holds +8.5 GSAx and a .908 save percentage in 16 appearances this season.