8 Expert Picks
Washington returns home fresh off a quick road trip that didn't go as planned to welcome in the Leafs. ...
Don't look now but one of these teams is surging and responsible for the league's best record since November 1st. ...
Still no Connor Bedard for the Blackhawks. ...
There is much to like at the moment with the Wild...
Good news for the Rangers--they're back on the road! ...
Are the Sharks undervalued yet again? ....
The Stars offense has looked sluggish the past week...
Why is the marketplace staying lukewarm on the Sharks? ...
For -160 this is a pretty reasonable price simply as Nashville really has turned its season around and has the major carrot inching one game of reaching .500 for the first time since before Halloween. Better health has certainly helped, and Juuse Saros 6. Saros 5-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and a .920 save percentage this month. Carolina is certainly the better team but has played three straight past regulation and that's all we care about. The Canes also could be looking ahead a bit to Friday's trip to Florida in the first meeting with the champs since the Panthers beat Carolina in the 2025 East Finals.
There's no doubt it's a different Preds team lately, with more goals flying into the net and the over suddenly in focus. Clearing a number like 5.5 goals tonight looks well within Nashville's boundaries these days considering Pred scorelines have exceeded 5.5 in ten of the last eleven games. It's also overs in five straight, with Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg both having erupted within the past week, suggesting the higher-scoring might be here to stay for awhile. The most-recent meeting between these two ended 6-3 in Carolina's favor on December 6, and can envision a similar goal haul tonight in Music City. The Canes have scored at least three goals (with three shootouts, it must be added) their last four games. Play Canes-Preds Over
The past few weeks, only the powerhouse Avs have really slowed down the Preds, and even so, Nashville won last Tuesday over Colorado in OT at Bridgestone Arena before Nathan MacKinnon & Co reversed the result on Saturday in Denver. For the Preds, it's wins in seven of ten, a turnaround of significant proportions after languishing the first month-and-a-half of the season. The offense has come alive, scoring 18 times in the recent four-game span, with Filip Forsberg back in rhythm after his hat-trick in Monday's win over the Blues. The Canes enter Bridgestone Arena having won four straight but they are flying awfully close to the flame, with the last three of those requiring shootouts. Play Preds on Money Line
The San Jose Sharks return home from a 5-game, eleven-day road trip where they were outshot in four games. San Jose is ranked 32nd in shots allowed and has the worst shot differential in hockey at -240. The Flames are ranked 18th in shots against with a +43 shot differential. In high-danger chances, Calgary is +14 while San Jose sits at zero. Calgary has beaten the Sharks seven straight times, including a 36-17 shot advantage back in October. San Jose is dealing with injuries to Will Smith (29 points in 33 games) and Philip Kurashev after both left the game following their biggest comeback win in franchise history against the Penguins. I like the road team in this spot.
I don't know why, yet again, I can't get +1 on Sharks games on here but that's what I'd recommend simply for OT insurance. But this isn't too bad as I'm not really sure why the Flames are favored even if playing better of late. They are still well below .500 away and the Sharks well above at home. It's San Jose's first home game in nearly two months and it stole wins in Toronto and Pittsburgh to conclude a long road trip. One of Calgary's top forwards in Mikael Baklund (16 points, +1) is iffy. The Flames have won the past seven in the series, but that just means SJ is due.
We're thinking that was a bit of an outlier (and that might be a big understatement) for a Sharks scoreline on Saturday in Pittsburgh, when San Jose made that whirlwind rally from 5-1 down in the third period to win 6-5 in OT. The previous four games had all landed exactly on five goals, and the Sharks could only mange 1 or 2 goals in four of the previous six games as they continue to look for consistent scoring from someone other than Macklin Celebrini. Meanwhile Calgary continued its low-scoring tendencies in Saturday's 2-1 win at LA, and GK Dustin Wolf has a 1.61 GAA in five December starts. Play Flames-Sharks Under
The Sharks probably didn't need a plane to fly home from Pittsburgh after that rousing 6-5 OT win on Saturday over the Penguins, rallying from 5-1 down in the third period. John Klingberg ended up scoring twice (including the winner) as San Jose got some offense from someone other than Macklin Celebrini. They're back at the Tank tonight facing a hot Flames bunch that's won three of four, but hard to trust Calgary's offense that's only scored more than Seattle in the West. Let's see if Sharks GK Yaroslav Askarov rediscovers his November form when posting a 1.88 GAA (December 4.55), and he's 10-4 his last fourteen starts. Play Sharks on Money Line