NHL parlay picks Dec. 27: Bet on Lightning to beat Panthers
The NHL is back with a vengeance as there are 14 games on Wednesday's schedule.
The pregame narrative: The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers are two of the better goaltending teams in the league, making the under a solid pick. The Nashville Predators have been just as good (if not better) than the Carolina Hurricanes, making the former a quality choice as a puck line underdog. Lastly, the Tampa Bay Lightning are heating up and should handle the Florida Panthers.
NHL oddsas of 3:38 p.m. on 12/26/2023.
NHL parlay picks
Parlay: Capitals/Rangers under 6.5 goals + Predators +1.5 + Lightning ML (+365)
Capitals/Rangers under 6.5 goals (-148): The Capitals have long been known as an offensive juggernaut under the guidance of superstar Alex Ovechkin.
With Ovechkin having a down year and the rest of the team's offensive core aging, though, the Caps have altered their identity on the fly. Washington has become a low-event, goaltending-first team and is playing to this style with great success.
The Capitals rank third in team save percentage (.913) and have the best under percentage (69.4%) in the league, per Scores and Odds.
New York is in the middle of the pack at a 50% under percentage, but the team is receiving above-average goaltending. The Rangers rank 10th in team save percentage (.908), according to Natural Stat Trick.
Other parlay picks
Predators +1.5 (-225): Nashville is a small underdog at home but there isn't much that separates it from Carolina.
For starters, the Predators are the better team between the pipes. They rank 14th in team save percentage (.902) this year. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, own a league-worst .876 save percentage.
Both offences are producing at roughly the same rate. The Canes (3.24 goals/game, 14th) place slightly ahead of the Predators (3.12 goals/game, t-15th) in scoring.
The Preds have covered this spread in 10 of their last 12 contests, while Carolina has failed to do so in 10 of its last 13.
Lightning moneyline (-110): There are a couple of reasons to like Tampa Bay at this line.
The first is recent form. Tampa Bay entered the holiday break on a three-game winning streak and has won seven of the team's last 10 outings. That's noticeably better than Florida's 5-5-0 record during the same stretch.
The second is home-ice advantage. Playing at Amalie Arena has been a huge boost for the Bolts, who are 10-3-3 at home versus 7-10-2 on the road. The Panthers, meanwhile, have won as many home games (nine) as they've lost (nine).
