NHL Tuesday best bets: Kings to bounce back vs. Islanders
Monday night was a good one for our best bets, as we won both our side and our player prop.
We'll look to keep the train on the track Tuesday night with another couple of bets.
Red Wings (+130) @ Predators (-150)
The Predators are 7-2-1 over their last 10 games and are ever so slightly hanging around in the wild-card race as a result. I'm not buying what they're selling, though.
They are lacking high-end talent offensively, and their team defense isn't nearly as potent without Mattias Ekholm. I think a lot of their recent success stems from who they've played.
Over the last five games, for example, the Predators have faced the Blackhawks, Canucks, Coyotes, Ducks, and Kings (minus Kevin Fiala). Getting results during that stretch is hardly impressive.
While the Red Wings don't exactly offer a big step up in competition, that doesn't need to be the case to see value at this price point.
Nashville isn't a good team. The Preds weren't when healthy to begin with and certainly aren't now, having sold off several key pieces while playing without a couple of others.
This Red Wings team undoubtedly has more depth and firepower up front. Ville Husso is no slouch in goal, either, ranking 11th among 42 eligible netminders in save percentage since Jan. 18.
Opportunistic finishing and Husso helped lead the Red Wings to an upset win over a historically good Bruins team just a couple of days ago. It's well within the realm of possibility that they follow it up with another victory against this thin Predators lineup that has overachieved of late.
Bet: Red Wings (+130)
Islanders (+110) @ Kings (-130)
The Kings are playing lights-out defense right now. They have conceded only 79 high-danger chances at five-on-five over the past 10 games, which slots them second in the league.
With Jonathan Quick - who struggled all year long with the Kings - gone and Joonas Korpisalo in the mix, the Kings have two reliable netminders who can give them competent goaltending on a nightly basis.
Factor in their defensive prowess, and it's no coincidence the Kings have conceded two or fewer goals in five straight games. They are a very difficult team to generate offense against.
I expect the Islanders will struggle in that regard on Tuesday night. They're not a great offensive side at the best of times, and their numbers really tail off on the road.
Their expected goal share sits at 48% over the last 10 road dates, and they've net just 2.02 goals per 60 at five-on-five. That ranks them 27th in the league.
With the way the Kings are suppressing chances, this hardly seems like the spot where New York will be able to jumpstart its attack - especially without Mathew Barzal.
Having Fiala in the lineup would certainly be preferable. He's had a very productive year, and the Islanders are most vulnerable conceding shots and chances to wingers.
That being said, the Kings still have plenty of talent there in Adrian Kempe, Viktor Arvidsson, and Gabriel Vilardi, among others.
Look for the Kings to come through in what should be a slower-paced, grind-it-out affair.
Bet: Kings (-130)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.