Tuesday's Best NHL Betting Picks

Puck Luck – Dec. 17 2013

 Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders (-110, 5.5)

The Lightning have managed to stay above water with sniper Steven Stamkos on the sidelines thanks to some great work from Martin St. Louis and goaltender Ben Bishop. St. Louis leads the team with 14 goals and 31 points, while Bishop is standing on his head with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. The Islanders weren’t so lucky when a big part of their club, goalie Evgeni Nabokov, hit the shelf. He returned to the crease Saturday and played well, but this squad has a big hole to dig out of after going 1-9-3 in its last 13. The Lightning should be able to put a few behind him tonight.

Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning.

Anaheim Ducks at Detroit Red Wings (100, 5.5)

The Red Wings just can’t catch a break right now. Already without Henrik Zetterberg and Jimmy Howard, Detroit will also be without Johan Franzen, Stephen Weiss and Darren Helm for a while. That’s bad news tonight because Anaheim isn’t going to let up. The Ducks also got a boost with veteran Teemu Selanne finally finding the net on Sunday after going 19 games without a goal. The Red Wings just don’t have enough depth to deal with a team of Anaheim’s caliber when they’re banged up like this.

Pick: Anaheim Ducks

Vancouver Canucks at Minnesota Wild (-110, 5)

Two of the best under bets in the league get together tonight in Minnesota tonight. The Canucks have played over in 10 of their games this season, while the Wild have topped just nine totals all year. Minnesota has checked in under the total in five straight while Vancouver has played under in five of the last six. Stick with the number.

Pick: Under 5 goals