NHL Best Bets Tonight: October 21st Top MLB Betting Picks, Predictions

No baseball until Friday? No worries. 

We have a pretty busy night of NHL on tap. It's still early in the season, but everyone has played between 5 and 8 games, so trends are forming. 

Let’s try to find a couple winners!

Anaheim Ducks vs. Nashville Predators

Over 6 (-104 BetRivers)

Our new service that identifies best betting picks, Deadspin Picks+, likes the Over here, and I agree! Anaheim has come out firing this season, scoring 3.60 goals per game, and when I adjust for their opponents, I peg them at 4.04 expected goals (xGF) per 60 minutes.

They’re getting excellent play so far from their top line of Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, and 19-year-old rookie sensation Beckett Sennecke, as they’re getting 60% of the actual goals while they’re on the ice and 60.86% of the expected share at 5x5, as per Natural Stat Trick.

They’re expected to start Lukas Dostal in net, and he’s been a pretty average goalie with a 4.7 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA) in just under 51 games last season, which comes out to about .08 of a goal in per 60 minutes. That’s actually better than his opposite number, Juuse Saros of Nashville.

The former top netminder had a down season with a -7.7 GSAA in 59+ games. Very early on this year, Saros has a positive GSAA, while Dostal is a slight negative.

Anaheim’s D has let them down a bit so far, as they’re yielding 4.2 goals per game, though I have them at 3.39 xGA when I adjust expected stats for their opponents. I think we get some action here tonight and I’ll go with the Over.

Colorado vs. Utah

Under 6.5 (-135 DraftKings)

Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood has stepped in for the injured Mackenzie Blackwood and played great out of the gate this season with a 93.8% Save Percentage and 5.67 GSAA in 6+ games.

He’s got an excellent defensive team in front of him, as they have an xGA of 2.28. Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka has been good as well, with a 91.2% Save% and slight positive GSAA.

Throw in a Mammoth D with an excellent 2.63 xGA per game, and there’s a lot of goal prevention on both sides.

Yes, the Avalanche have superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, but neither team is really exploding on offense just yet. So I’ll stick with the trends here and roll with the Under.