It's a beautiful day for hockey, as tonight's NHL slate is riddled with an abundance of intriguing matchups.
Tonight, I'll be focusing on two games, featuring Minnesota Wild vs Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars vs San Jose Sharks.
Let's dive into my NHL predictions and picks for Thursday, December 18.
NHL Best Bets for Thursday, December 18
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:00 p.m. | |
  | 10:00 p.m. | |
Wild vs. Blue Jackets
The Minnesota Wild have been on absolute fire since the acquisition of Quinn Hughes. It's not a stretch by any means to say that Hughes has completely shifted the dynamic of their team. Tonight, the Wild look to extend their winning streak to six games, as they pay a visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Hughes has only played in two games for the Wild, but in those two contests, they have outscored their opponents by a lopsided 11-2 count. In this short sample size, the Wild are generating the fourth-highest shots on goal per game rate (31.5), and their power play is the third-best in the NHL, clicking at a 42.9% clip.
Let's get into the larger sample size. The Blue Jackets have not been playing their best hockey as of late, as they have dropped five of their last six games. In that span, they have allowed 4.17 goals per game, while surrendering 32 shots on goal against per game.
Jet Greaves is expected to get the start in goal tonight for Columbus, and despite 1-4-0 in his last five games, he's actually been the much better goalie of the two.
That said, the Minnesota Wild have a clear edge in the blue paint tonight. Filip Gustavsson has been on fire for Minnesota as of late, boasting a record of 4-0-0 while skating to a .949 SV% and a 1.25 GAA. He also has a +10.5 goals saved above expected over his last 10 games, which is the third best in the NHL in that span.
Columbus will have their hands full tonight with how poorly it's been playing and with how Minnesota has been buzzing. Since December 6th, the Blue Jackets are scoring 2.67 goals per game, while the Wild are only allowing 1.83 goals against per game in that span.
It's going to be difficult for Columbus to finish tonight, while on the flip side, the Wild shouldn't have any issues generating offense.
Columbus struggles to defend against the rush, so I expect the Wild to completely exploit that weakness in their game tonight.
Pick: Wild ML -115
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Stars vs. Sharks
Are the San Jose Sharks a playoff team?
As of today, the Sharks own the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, but tonight the result of tonight's contest could be very convincing. The Sharks have won three straight games, but they have a tough task this evening as they play host to a very strong Dallas Stars team.
There is no denying the fact that the Stars are the better hockey team right now, but you also can't ignore the momentum that the Sharks are building, and a lot of that has to do with the play of Macklin Celebrini, who has emerged as a superstar.
In his last five games, Celebrini has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists), which is an incredible pace. He has driven their offense and immediately become the heartbeat of the organization.
While Celebrini has been cooking, the Stars' top players have slowed down a bit over this recent stretch. Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Roope Hintz have all combined for four goals over the team's last five games. As a team, Dallas has only averaged 2.40 goals per game in that span.
The goaltenders have not been confirmed yet for tonight's game, but signs point toward Alex Nedeljkovic getting the nod for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov has gotten the last two starts, but Nedeljkovic has been the better of the two as of late. In his last three games, Nedeljkovic has skated to a .932 SV% and a 2.00 GAA. He can steal a game on home ice tonight.
Over their last five games, the Stars have a -3 goal differential, while the Sharks have a +5 differential over their last five.
I'm riding with the home dogs tonight.
Pick: Sharks ML +164
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