Best Sports Bets Today: Monday Night Football, NHL Top Bet Picks for November 25

Three decades after Emilio Estevez’s Gordon Bombay boldly pitched the Air Bombay loafer in “D2: The Mighty Ducks,” the world still goes wanting for a coaches’ shoe line.

No matter. The guys and gals in charge of our favorite teams often hold sway with their fashion choices, even when being more bland than bold. Mention Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, for example, and it’s likely at least part of the free association would steer one to reference his trusty khakis.

Harbaugh also will wear a little-brother complex into today’s “Monday Night Football” matchup against the visiting Baltimore Ravens. It’s the third time he’ll face his older brother, John, who, like Jim, has his team positioned for an AFC playoff spot. John has bested Jim in both previous meetings, including a 34-31 Ravens victory against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII.

The Chargers are off to a 7-3 start in Jim’s first season at the helm, with the Ravens (7-4) among the teams on their heels for a wild card. Let’s look more closely at Harbaugh Bowl III and an NHL contest with coaching intrigue of its own.

BALTIMORE RAVENS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Baltimore stands just one game behind Pittsburgh for the AFC North lead after the Steelers’ snowy loss in Cleveland on Thursday night.

Elements won’t be an issue at SoFi Stadium, which doesn’t bode well for Baltimore. The Ravens have allowed 3,351 passing yards, most in the NFL, and only five teams yield more than Baltimore’s 7.7 yards per attempt against.

Enter Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, whose 7.9 yards per attempt are tied for ninth among the league’s regular passers. After a slow start to the season, Herbert has passed for at least 279 yards in three of four games since going for a season-high 349 in Week 7 at Arizona. That includes 297 in last week’s 34-27 home thriller over Cincinnati.

Another AFC North foe in town, another Chargers air show.

Justin Herbert over 255.5 passing yards, -115 (BetMGM)

Now a pride point for the Baltimore ‘D’: The unit allows just 3.4 yards per carry, the stingiest in the NFL.

The Ravens complement that with a rushing attack that leads the league with 5.8 yards per carry and is facing a Los Angeles defense that’s in the bottom third of the league in defensive yards per carry against.

Considering that the Chargers have defended the second fewest running attempts in the league, they could be in for a frustrating night against an attack that features Derrick Henry and mobile quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Derrick Henry over 85.5 rushing yards and Lamar Jackson over 42.5 rushing yards as two-leg parlay, +200 (BetMGM)

ST. LOUIS BLUES AT NEW YORK RANGERS

New St. Louis Blues bench boss Jim Montgomery brings ties to the club both as a player and coach.

He skated for 67 games for St. Louis as a rookie in 1993-94 and spent 2020-22 as an assistant under Craig Berube.

On Monday, St. Louis will be more interested in its new coach’s familiarity with a foe. Just one day after swooping in to hire Montgomery following last week’s dismissal from the Boston Bruins, St. Louis visits Boston’s Eastern Conference counterpart, the New York Rangers.

Out of the playoff field the past two seasons, St. Louis entered this campaign eager to snap that drought. Instead, the Blues have been stagnant. At 9-12-1, they’re tied for fifth in the Central Division with 19 points and are 2-6-1 over their past nine games.

The Montgomery Era in St. Louis won’t begin with pushovers; after visiting the Rangers (25 points), the Blues head to Eastern Conference-leading New Jersey (30 points) next. With New York coming off consecutive losses in western Canada, though, look for the Blues to capitalize on the famed new coach kickstart and edge the Blueshirts. Montgomery’s sudden availability changed everything, St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong said, so why not the on-ice results, too?

Blues moneyline to defeat Rangers, +200 (BetMGM)