What a day of sports we have! While the NFL playoffs are in full swing, we have a full slate of NHL games today. We'll focus on the games starting at 6 pm EST. 

 

NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 1/18

The NHL season is long and it's clear that some teams might be hitting a bit of a wall at this point and it opens up the possibility for higher levels of variance. We saw a surging Montreal Canadiens go on the road and beat a Stanley Cup hopeful in the Dallas Stars the other night, along with the Detroit Red Wings also go on the road and beat the Florida Panthers.

Despite this variance, I'm still looking to buy into good/great teams that are due for a bounce back. Water always finds its level. 

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Chicago Blackhawks Prediction: Saturday, January 18th

The Vegas Golden Knights are one of the best teams in the league but they've hit a bit of a road bump in their last few games. They have just one win in their last five games, with some of those losses coming against the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, and the Nashville Predators, who are all inferior teams. 

Vegas lost last night to a solid Carolina Hurricanes' team but I fully expect them to rebound tonight against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. Since the start of January, the Blackhawks have allowed a league-worst, 3.17 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations. On top of that, they have allowed 64.33 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-worst in the league. 

The Blackhawks are simply terrible on defense and if there's any game for the Golden Knights to get back to their winning ways, this is the matchup. 

So, I like the Golden Knights on the 3-way moneyline, meaning they have to win in regulation. I also will turn to their top-line center, Jack Eichel to lead the charge on offense, so I'll look to him for over 3.5 shots on goal. He comes in with 31 shots on goal in his last 10 games, hitting at least 3 shots in seven games. He's active on offense and live to hit this every night. 

 

Anaheim Ducks vs. Florida Panthers Prediction: Saturday, January 18th

The Florida Panthers are a great example of what I described above with the NHL being a long season and teams having some bumps in the road. We all know the strong pedigree the Panthers have over the last few seasons and they're a team I trust more than others. 

Giving up five goals to the Red Wings the other night isn't a “disaster” but it's just not what we've come to expect from an elite team. What I took away from that loss is that the Panthers had a whopping 43 shots on goal and when we look at their Expected Goals, they were up at 4.82, per MoneyPuck. 

Hockey is a weird sport sometimes and even when the Panthers outshot the Red Wings 43-20, they can still lose the game. I will buy into the Panthers continuing that strong offensive push against a bad Anaheim Ducks defense. 

Since the start of January, the Ducks have allowed 69.31 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the second-worst in the league. This brings me to Sam Reinhart, who is an elite goal-scorer and also a high-volume shooter. 

He has a team-high 32 shots on goal over his last 10 games and has also gone two games without a goal. I know, two games doesn't seem like a lot but when you scored 57 goals last year and are well on your way to 40+ this year, two games actually does feel like a lot. 

 

Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 1/18