NHL betting preview: Best bets for Monday and Tuesday night

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The first Monday of the NHL season treats us to a full day of hockey with the slate beginning at noon ET.

The matinee is the first of 18 games scheduled over the next two days, giving us plenty of options in the betting market.

Here's what we'll be playing:

Hurricanes (-115) @ Predators (-105); Jan. 18, 8 p.m. ET

I honestly couldn't bet this fast enough. When I saw the Hurricanes opened at +105, I raced to the window to secure my ticket. Carolina is an elite team being offered at a significant discount because the market has yet to catch up, and Saturday's loss to the Red Wings is only going to prolong that process.

The Hurricanes owned an absurd 64.62% of the expected goal share at five-on-five in their two opening games against Detroit. Now granted, it's the Red Wings, but that's still an outrageous number from a team that's picking up where it left off last season in that regard.

Meanwhile, despite twice beating the Blue Jackets to open the season, the Predators owned just 43.10% of the expected goal share at five-on-five. Only three teams have managed a worse mark to start the campaign: the Red Wings, Ducks, and Kings. I'd bet Carolina all the way up to -125 here.

Pick: Hurricanes (-115)

Canadiens (-110) @ Oilers (-110); Jan. 18, 9 p.m.

We were on the Canadiens on Saturday night and nothing we saw in that game has scared us off from backing them again here at a short price. There was great value in betting Montreal a day early in Saturday's game at +105, with the line climbing as short as -125 by puck drop. This game should follow a similar pattern, so get your Habs bets in early.

The Canadiens came out flying Saturday night, leading 4-0 after a dominant opening 30 minutes. They put it into cruise control after that with the Oilers piling it on in garbage time, and the advanced stats made the game look much closer than it ever was.

The reality is Montreal poured it on with all four lines, keeping Edmonton hemmed in its own end for much of the first 30 minutes. The Oilers are a very flawed team and have no business being evenly priced against a much deeper, and significantly undervalued, Canadiens club.

Pick: Canadiens (-110)

Sabres (+135) @ Flyers (-155), Jan. 19, 7 p.m.

Be sure to pay attention to the Flyers' goaltending situation for this back-to-back. We're currently expecting to see Carter Hart start Monday with Brian Elliott to follow Tuesday. Philadelphia is being priced the same on both nights despite a massive disparity between the pipes.

The move from Hart to Elliott comes with a decrease of 0.40 goals saved above average per 60 minutes and 0.015 save percentage, according to last season's numbers. There will also undoubtedly be an adjustment period for Elliott in his first appearance in an NHL game since August.

Through their first two games, the Sabres own 59.71% of the expected goal share at five-on-five - fourth in the NHL - despite losing both contests to the Capitals. The Flyers, meanwhile, have managed just a 43.57% share - the sixth-worst mark in the league - despite twice beating the Penguins. There's excellent value in backing Buffalo in the second game of this back-to-back.

Pick: Sabres (+135)

Alex Moretto is theScore's supervising editor of sports betting. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, loves a juicy puck line, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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