The Sharks have been up and down all season. Can San Jose right the ship at home against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blues?
Happy holidays, everyone! There are 13 NHL contests to pick from on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. Nashville at Boston, Chicago at Colorado and St. Louis at San Jose are the featured games in our NHL match previews and best bets below.
Nashville Predators at Boston Bruins
Puck Line: Boston -1.5 (+150) | Nashville +1.5 (-170)
Moneyline: Bruins -160 | Predators +140
Goal Total 6: OVER -100 | UNDER -120
Game Details: 7:00 p.m. ET - TD Garden, Boston, MA
Records To Date: Boston 21-7-8 | Nashville 16-12-6
Nashville and Boston are meeting for the first time this season. The Predators are closing out a four-game road trip, hoping to improve on their 7-6-2 overall record as visitors. Nashville posted wins over the Rangers (5-2) and Islanders (8-3) before losing 5-4 in OT to the Senators on Thursday. Getting back on track after a 0-5-1 slide, the Predators are on a 7-3-2 recent run.
Boston opened the season with a red-hot 20-3-5 start. Cooling some, the Bruins have struggled during a 1-4-3 recent slide. Boston is playing the third match of a four-game homestand that began with losses to the Kings (4-3 OT) and Islanders (3-2 SO). Owning an NHL-best 12-1-7 record at home, the Bruins have been tough to beat in Beantown.
Meeting four times over the last two seasons, the Bruins won 5-2 and 4-3 in Boston while the Predators posted 1-0 and 5-3 victories in Nashville. Nashville is 1-6-2 in the last nine games at TD Garden, losing the last three by a 13-6 margin. The Predators sit fourth in the NHL with 3.45 goals per game while the Bruins are sixth with 3.27 GPG.
Pick: Bruins -160 ML
Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche
Puck Line: Colorado -1.5 (+120) | Chicago +1.5 (-140)
Moneyline: Avalanche -220 | Blackhawks +190
Goal Total 6: OVER -125 | UNDER +105
Game Details: 9:00 p.m. ET - Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
Records To Date: Colorado 22-10-3 | Chicago 14-16-6
Chicago plays the second match of a brief two-game road trip following a 4-1 win in Winnipeg on Thursday. Wins have been fairly rare for them recently, as the Blackhawks are 4-7-1 over their last 12 games. Six of the seven losses were by two goals or more and Chicago was outscored by a 34-12 margin in those contests. Overall, the Hawks are 6-8-3 on the road this season.
Second overall in the Western Conference standings, Colorado is only three points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. The Avalanche lost 3-1 at home on Thursday against a surging Carolina Hurricanes squad. Solid across the board, Colorado ranks first on offense with 3.54 goals per game and eighth on defense allowing just 2.71 GPG.
Quickly closing out their 2019-20 season series, Colorado and Chicago are meeting for the fourth and final time this year. Chicago ranks in the bottom half of the NHL on offense and defense. The Avalanche dominated the Hawks during the first three games, winning two in Chicago (5-2 and 4-1) and one at home (7-3). That’s a trend to follow.
Pick: Avalanche -1.5 (+120)
St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks
Puck Line: St. Louis -1.5 (+185) | San Jose +1.5 (-215)
Moneyline: Blues -130 | Sharks +110
Goal Total 6: OVER -105 | UNDER -115
Details: 10:30 p.m. ET - SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Records To Date: St. Louis 22-8-6 | San Jose 16-18-2
The defending champs have picked up right where they left off last season. Three points clear of Colorado, the Blues sit first overall in the Western Conference. This game marks the beginning of a three-game road trip for St. Louis following a 4-0-0 run at home capped off by a 2-1 win over Edmonton on Wednesday. The Blues are 10-4-3 as visitors this season.
The Sharks have been up and down all season. It started with a 4-10-1 season opening slide, followed by an 11-2-0 run. Now the wheels have fallen off again, as the Sharks are 1-6-1 over their last eight games. In the middle of a seven-game homestand, San Jose lost 3-2 to the Coyotes on Tuesday. The Sharks have a 10-9-0 record at home.
This is the first meeting between Blues and Sharks since they battled in the 2018-19 Western Conference Final. San Jose had a 2-1 series lead before St. Louis won three straight to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Defense is dragging San Jose down right now. They rank in the NHL’s bottom three in goals allowed at 3.44 per game. Bet on the Blues to win straight up here.
Pick: Blues -130 ML
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