NHL Monday best bets: Bruins to best banged-up Panthers
We have an abnormally busy eight-game slate to look forward to this Monday night. Let's waste no time in getting to our best bets.
Panthers (+160) @ Bruins (-190)The Boston Bruins are a truly well-oiled machine. Despite all the injuries they dealt with early in the season, the Bruins sit first in the NHL and show no signs of slowing down.
They have picked up at least a point in nine of the last 10 games while their underlying numbers are trending upwards.
The Bruins have controlled better than 60% of the expected goals share and are conceding just over one five-on-five goal per game during said stretch.
With a dangerous power play and stout penalty kill in the Bruins' back pocket, it's almost impossible for opposing teams to make up the ground they're losing at five-on-five.
I don't think the Florida Panthers are going to be the team to buck that trend. They are very banged up right now, especially up front. Anton Lundell and Anthony Duclair were skating in non-contact jerseys this weekend, suggesting they aren't quite ready to return. Meanwhile, captain Aleksander Barkov went down with a knee injury, joining a laundry list of injured personnel.
Facing the Bruins while potentially missing three of the top six or seven Panthers forwards is a recipe for disaster. So is Florida's penalty trouble. Only three teams have spent more time shorthanded per game this season.
Boston's power play boasts firepower and synergy. It's not a unit you want to spoon-feed opportunities.
If all else fails, the Bruins should be able to count on an edge between the pipes. Linus Ullmark has played shockingly well this season, sitting second in the league in goals saved above expectation (plus-15.7). His expected counterpart, Sergei Bobrovsky, owns an .894 save percentage and slots 34th among eligible netminders (10-plus games) in GSAE.
With plenty of edges in this game, not to mention home ice, I expect the Bruins to take care of business inside 60 minutes.
Bet: Bruins in regulation (-120)
Oilers (-130) @ Predators (+110)The Edmonton Oilers are coming off a pair of disappointing losses to the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks.
Luckily, they are now drawing a Nashville Predators team that seems to be spiraling out of control. The Predators have dropped six consecutive games in a dry spell that includes a three-goal defeat to the Oilers.
Losing to Edmonton is nothing new for Nashville. For whatever reason, the Oilers have been their kryptonite for quite some time.
The Oilers have won eight straight games against the Predators dating back to 2020. In that stretch, they've scored 40 goals - good for an average of five per game - and won by multiple tallies on six different occasions. Insane dominance.
While I'm not going to predict another offensive explosion by the Oilers in this game, I do think they're going to prevail once again.
They have quietly played well of late, controlling 56% of the expected goals share over the last six games. That's the fourth highest output in that time.
The Predators, in comparison, have posted a 48% xG share over the same period.
With a clear five-on-five edge, and arguably the league's most terrifying power play taking on a struggling penalty kill, I expect the Oilers to get back on track with a win.
Bet: Oilers (-130)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
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