NHL

NHL Betting Guide: Wednesday 12/28/22

The Flames are turning to backup goalie Dan Vladar on the second leg of their back-to-back. How does that impact their chance to win tonight in Seattle?

Last night's two totals hit, wiping out the Jets' clunker at home. That led to a positive night.

With just five games on Wednesday, which wagers can we look toward and keep it rolling?

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All ratings are out of five stars. All NHL betting odds and totals come from FanDuel Sportsbook.

Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh Penguins

Red Wings +1.5 (-140) - 2 Stars
Under 6.5 (-128) - 2 Stars

Detroit is my favorite type of team because they play well in these exact scenarios.

As a solid defensive club, we can expect them to play a tighter, low-scoring contest. While many might think Pittsburgh, who has posted the seventh-most expected goals (xGF) per 60 minutes, rolls over the Red Wings, I'm not so sure.

The Wings have allowed the 12th-fewest expected goals (xGA) per 60 in the NHL (2.93), and for the under, the Penguins aren't far behind (3.00). Plus, you've got two sensational seasons from the netminders here between Detroit's Ville Husso (7.69 goals saved above expectation) and Pittsburgh's Casey DeSmith (3.37).

Husso, as noted, is a step ahead, though. While our model's not leaping to the moneyline, it does believe the visiting Red Wings hang close, projecting they cover a one-goal spread 62.6% of the time. It also sees six or fewer total tallies in this game 61.8% of the time.

Both are two-star wagers that correlate well to the same result.

Calgary Flames at Seattle Kraken

Flames ML (-110) - 3 Stars

Even unrested, we're taking the better team in Seattle tonight.

The main concern -- always for me -- is not tired legs with hockey clubs. It's usually turning to a backup goalkeeper, but the Flames should be okay with Dan Vladar (-0.28 GSAx). After all, in terms of GSAx, he's outperformed Martin Jones of the Kraken (-4.15 GSAx) by quite a bit.

Between the creases, Calgary is a good bit ahead. Their expected-goals-for rate (xGF) of 52.3% is 11th in the NHL, and while the Kraken are at a modest 17th (50.5%), they're still technically below the league average at that mark.

Moreover, that's more in line with what we thought entering the season given Calgary's preseason projected point total (103.5) dwarfed that of the expansion Seattle franchise (82.5) in its second year.

Our model, with Vladar baked in, sees the Flames winning this one 62.2% of the time against these 52.5% implied odds. It's the model's best bet of the day.