NHL Picks Tuesday Dec. 23rd: Red Wings vs. Stars, Flyers vs. Blackhawks

Christmas is upon us and that’s bad news for NHL fans as the league shuts down until Saturday. 

The good news? We get a full 13 game card tonight and most everyone is starting their top goalie given the imminent break. 

Lets try to a find a couple NHL Picks on December 23rd.

NHL Season Stats
Record: 10–20
Units: –9.18

Stars at Red Wings

Red Wings ML (+110 Caesars)

We get a fun matchup here between two of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve each gone 8-2-1 in December, with a 77.3% Points% that trails just the Avalanche for best in the league. Dallas has outscored opponents 39-26 this month, while Detroit is a shade behind at 39-29.

The Stars are generally rated as the second best team in the league right now, though the “Quinnesota” Wild can make a bit of a case. But look under the hood a bit and Detroit has actually outplayed the Stars lately. They have a 52.74% xGF% over their hot month, while Dallas sits at just 43.42%, fifth worst in the league actually. 

Further, Wings goalie John Gibson has rebounded from a super slow start and in seven December games has a 93.4% Save% and 6.68 GSAA that ranks second in the NHL. That’s basically on par with the Stars’ Jake Oettinger who’s at 93.4% Save% and 5.92 GSAA. The diff is that Dallas has basically thrived in December almost entirely on the backs of their goalies (Casey DeSmith is playing well too) whereas Detroit’s skaters are playing much better. 

Give me the Wings at home and at plus money here.

Flyers at Black Hawks

Flyers ML (-120 DraftKings)

Noted Chicago sports fan Pope Leo XIV had quite the weekend between a dramatic Bears win and a big White Sox signing. 

I am not sure if he’s a hockey fan, but if yes he may need to say a special prayer for the Black Hawks as their once promising season has gone off the rails. First they lost Connor Bedard until at least January and now they’re down their second best young forward with Frank Nazar gone for a month. They were perhaps playing a bit over their heads to begin with early on, but since the calendar turned to December they’ve gone just 2-7-1 with a hideous 18-37 goal deficit. Goalie Spencer Knight was one of the best netminders in the league early on, but in December he’s reverted to just league average at 90.2% Save% and .18 GSAA.

Speaking of league average (or slightly above) , that describes the Flyers in December as they’ve gone 4-3-4 while outsourcing opponents by a slim 34-30 margin. Average looks like more than enough to handle the Hawks right now, even with Philly playing on a back to back. Plus the price is good.