NHL Best Bets & Picks: Predators vs Blues and Kings vs Stars – Expert Game Previews
The National Hockey League (NHL) has five games on the slate for Monday night. The Sunshine State battle between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning goes off at 7:00 p.m. EST on NHL Network. However, we're going to focus on a pair of 8:00 p.m. puck drops.
We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Monday Night Football action from the NFL, NBA action and/or NCAA basketball. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.
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For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.
Nashville Predators 
at St. Louis Blues 
The Predators (12-15-4) and Blues (12-14-7) meet at Enterprise Center in St. Louis at 8:00 p.m. EST, and that game is available on ESPN+.
The Blues swept the four-game series last season, but the Predators got off to a hot start in the first meeting this season, posting a 7-2 win as moderate favorites (-135) at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday as the Over (5.5) comfortably cashed.
The Predators started well in the first period. Well, Steven Stamkos started well. He had a pair of even-strength goals to make it Stamkos 2, Blues 0 after 20 minutes.
Early in the second, Hugh McGing scored his first NHL goal with helpers to Robby Fabbri and Philip Broberg, slicing the lead in half. However, the Preds scored three unanswered goals to make it 5-1, including the fifth goal which made hats fly. Stamkos had his third, while Nick Blankenburg and Fedor Svechkov had apples. Stamkos wasn't done, though, as he had a fourth goal at 15:33 of the second period, while Michael Bunting added a power-play goal in the third.
Luke Evangelista was good for three helpers in the game, while Blankenburg, Svechkov, Roman Josi and Matthew Wood had two assists a piece. Now, if you're a prop player, all of that sounds great, but we're unlikely to have nearly as much scoring.
The offense was more than welcome for Juuse Saros, who kicked aside 24 of the 26 shots he faced. Jordan Binnington had a rough go of it, allowing six goals on 25 shots before calling it a night after two periods. Joel Hofer finished up in the third, allowing the Bunting PPG on seven shots. The backup Hofer will start, while Saros is confirmed to go for the visitors.
Nashville is an impressive 6-3-0 in the past nine matchups, while cashing the Over in three of the past four games, and eight of the past 10.
St. Louis is just 3-4-0 in the past seven contests, while the Over is 3-1 in the past four games. As such, let's take the Predators on the moneyline, and we'll go high on the total.
- Predators ML (-105 at Bet365, Caesars and DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Over 5.5 (-125 at Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel Sportsbooks)
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Los Angeles Kings 
at Dallas Stars 
The Kings (14-8-9) and Stars (21-7-5) meet at American Airlines Center in Dallas at 8:00 p.m. EST. This is the second meeting of the season. Los Angeles won a thrilling 3-2 October game in overtime as the Under (5.5) cashed, and the Kings won as underdogs (+120).
The Kings had Corey Perry open the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period, while Jason Robertson answered with a PPG early in the second. Cody Ceci answered back with an even-strength goal, with helpers to the red-hot Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere. Wyatt Johnston helped force overtime with another PPG in the third, but Kempe ended it with an overtime winner. Quinton Byfield ended up with a pair of helpers, including on the overtime score.
Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced, while Jake Oettinger was good for 22 saves on 25 shots.
Oettinger will take a seat Monday, with Casey DeSmith getting the nod. He is 7-1-3 with a 2.23 GAA and .920 SV% with a shutout, and the Stars look to take advantage of his red-hot play lately. Kuemper is 10-6-6 with a 2.21 GAA and .916 SV% with two shutouts. With these two netminders each very stingy, let's go low on the total yet again.
For the moneyline, I'd much rather trust Kuemper and the Kings rather than DeSmith. It's just a personal preference in this coin-flip game.
- Kings ML (+115 at Fanatics Sportsbook)
- Under 5.5 Goals (-130 at Bet365, Caesars, DraftKings and Fanatics Sportsbooks)
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
Parlay Strategy and Super Parlay Picks for NHL Betting Slates
4-Leg NHL Super Parlay (+1083 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Predators ML at Blues and Over 5.5 - SGP (+246)
- Kings ML at Stars and Under 5.5 - SGP (+242)
2-Leg NHL Totals Parlay (+218 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Over 5.5 (-125) - Predators at Blues
- Under 5.5 (-130) - Kings at Stars
2-Leg NHL Sides Parlay (+239 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Predators ML (-105) at Blues
- Kings ML (+114) at Stars
