NHL Thursday best bets: Wild to rebound vs. Golden Knights

We have a juicy seven-game slate on the docket for Thursday night. Let's take a closer look at the best way to attack it.

Goals, goals, goals. That's what I'm expecting to see early in this game.

The Calgary Flames have played consistently high-event first periods all season long, scoring 56 goals in the opening frame this year - only the Tampa Bay Lightning have put up more.

It just so happens that the Flames' opponents tonight, the Detroit Red Wings, rank inside the bottom 10 in first-period goals against on a per-game basis. Slow starts have plagued them the whole season.

With Ville Husso struggling - he owns a .893 save percentage since the calendar flipped - one would think the Flames will continue to find the back of the net early.

However, keeping the puck out figures to be more problematic. Calgary has allowed 52 goals in the first period this season, which is more than all but the Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Ottawa Senators - not the company you want to be in.

That likely has a lot to do with the inconsistent goaltending the Flames have dealt with for the majority of the campaign. Life won't be any easier on the starter in this game - likely Daniel Vladar since Rasmus Andersson will not play. Andersson leads the Flames' blueline in goals above replacement (+6.1), so that absence will be felt.

With a total of 6.5, goals are expected here. Given the tendencies of these teams generally lead to early fireworks, backing over 1.5 first-period goals seems like the best way to attack this game.

Bet: Over 1.5 1st-period goals (-130)

The Vegas Golden Knights are coming off a strong road win over the Nashville Predators. After falling behind early, the Knights responded by scoring five straight en route to a blowout victory.

Perhaps more impressive than the scoreline was Vegas' defensive prowess. The team held the Predators to just six - yes, six - shots on goal through 40 minutes of play and suffocated their attack throughout.

While the Golden Knights deserve full credit for that performance, it's important not to let recency bias take over. Vegas has played largely underwhelming hockey for quite some time, especially without captain Mark Stone.

The Knights have won just twice in nine tries without Stone in their lineup and have really struggled to put the puck in the net, scoring two goals or less on six different occasions.

Even in a back-to-back situation, the Minnesota Wild are hardly an ideal opponent for a team struggling to generate offense: They rank first in high-danger chances against at five-on-five and are top-10 in terms of goals against.

If not for a rocky start to the year from Marc-Andre Fleury, who has played much better since mid-December, they might sit inside the top five.

Although creating offense probably won't exactly be a walk in the park for Minnesota either - the Golden Knights are really leaning into a low-event style of game - the Wild have been much more productive on home ice this season.

I see value in backing Minnesota to grind out a much-needed win in its own building.

Bet: Wild (-125)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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