NHL Wednesday best bets: Golden Knights to extinguish Flames

Tuesday was a rough one on the ice. An empty-netter spoiled our under in the Boston game, while the Minnesota Wild saw their 10-game point streak come to an end against the struggling Winnipeg Jets. Go figure!

The great thing about sports is you can get right back on the horse the very next day. We'll look to do just that with our best bets for Wednesday's slate.

The Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars both possess firepower at the top half of their rosters. However, they're still defense-first teams. That's been evident in their meetings over the last couple of seasons.

The Predators and Stars have gone head-to-head eight times since the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign. Five of those games featured fewer than 20 high-danger chances, while 23 was the high. Unsurprisingly, a lack of Grade A chances led to low expected goal outputs. They combined to go over five expected goals just once.

I don't see either team forcing the other out of its comfort zone and turning this into a track meet. This game should go under the number, barring poor goaltending. Luckily, that's not a big cause for concern.

Juuse Saros has been amazing this season. He owns a .927 save percentage and has saved 19.8 goals above expectation, which is the third-highest output in the NHL.

Jake Oettinger's play hasn't been as consistent, but, in the aggregate, he's performed fairly well. He's sporting a respectable .912 save percentage and is above ground in terms of goals saved above expectation.

Dallas is fighting for a playoff spot, while Nashville is within striking distance for the top spot in the Central. This game is big for both sides. We should see a close, tight-checking affair.

Bet: Under 5.5 (+100)

The Calgary Flames have won three in a row, and their underlying numbers are as good as anyone's over the last 10 games. At home, against a Vegas Golden Knights team playing in a back-to-back situation, we have to go back to the Flames, right? Not so fast.

As much as I like the Flames, I think the odds are a little out of line here. Vegas is playing very good defensive hockey right now. At five-on-five, the Golden Knights sit inside the top five in attempts against per 60 over their last 10 games.

They also have a higher offensive ceiling than the Flames. Chances are great, of course, but they're not as important if you don't have dangerous weapons taking them. The top of Calgary's roster is very gifted, but the team is shallow in the way of natural finishing.

Even without Jack Eichel, scoring is not a problem for the Golden Knights. They've dealt with an overwhelming amount of injuries and COVID-19 cases this season, and yet they still sit second in the NHL in five-on-five goals. Calgary's top dogs can match Vegas', but the Golden Knights have more scoring punch from their second line down.

I think that'll be a factor in this game. While playing in a back-to-back isn't ideal for Vegas, the whole league is coming off an extended break. So, I'm not sure it's as big of a deal as it normally would be. The Golden Knights should be ready to roll.

Bet: Golden Knights (+115)

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

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