NHL parlay picks Dec. 31: Bet the Ducks as underdogs against the Oilers
The NHL sends us off with a nine-game slate on New Year's Eve.
The pregame narrative: The New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins are both low-event teams, putting the under in play for Sunday. The Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars meet and with neither boasting stellar goaltending this year, the over seems like the right wager. Thirdly, the Anaheim Ducks are in a great spot to cover as puck-line underdogs against the Edmonton Oilers.
NHL oddsas of 9:49 a.m. on 12/31/2023.
NHL parlay picks
Parlay: Islanders vs. Penguins under 6.5 goals + Blackhawks vs. Stars over 5.5 goals + Ducks +1.5 (+400)
Islanders vs. Penguins under 6.5 goals (-124): These teams are getting by on solid goaltending and that should be the story on Sunday.
Pittsburgh owns the fourth-best team save percentage (.913) in the league, according to Natural Stat Trick. Both Tristan Jarry (.916 save percentage) and Alex Nedeljkovic (.917) have contributed to the team's success between the pipes.
New York ranks ninth at .909 and that's also because of the play of both goalies. Ilya Sorokin (.911) and Semyon Varlamov (.918) are supplying the squad with solid puck-stopping on a nightly basis.
Both offences are in the bottom half of the league as the Isles rank 19th in goals per game (3.09) while the Pens place 21st (3.00).
Other parlay picks
Blackhawks vs. Stars over 5.5 goals (-180): Dallas has the second-highest overs percentage (61.8%) in the NHL, per ScoresandOdds, and it's not hard to see why.
Jake Oettinger hasn't been quite as good as expected. The netminder owns a .901 save percentage which is a tick below backup puck-stopper Scott Wedgewood (.902).
The Stars rank sixth in goals per game (3.47), however, which has been more than enough to outscore their mediocre goaltending.
Chicago ranks 30th in goals per contest (2.46) but is 25th in save percentage (.889). The expectation in this game is that Dallas will fill the net while the Blackhawks chip in a couple to cash this over.
Ducks +1.5 (-130): If there was ever going to be a let-down spot for Edmonton, this is it.
The Oilers fell behind 0-2 before storming back and beating the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2, in a shootout. Edmonton and Los Angeles have become rivals thanks to some heated playoff series in recent years, making Saturday's win an emotional one.
Anaheim, meanwhile, has the rest advantage as it was off on Saturday. The Ducks also carry a goaltending edge as they have a better team save percentage (.898) than the Oilers (.884).
In a potential matchup of Calvin Pickard vs. John Gibson, I'll side with the latter while banking a goal.
