Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

NHL Totals Betting Advice: Hot and Cold Over and Under Teams 12/12/2024

by Ryan Cobbett - 12/18/2024

NHL totals betting advice hot and cold over and under teams David Pastrnak Boston Bruins

After another week of games, let’s see what the trends are around the league relative to the game total. The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames have seen an uptick in their offense, which has resulted in more overs than normal, while the San Jose Sharks have shipped off their best goalie to give themselves the worst goaltending tandem in the league. The Nashville Predators have no idea how to generate offense, while Jacob Markstrom and Jake Oettinger have been two of the best goalies in the league over the last 10 games. Let’s take a look at these trends.

Doc’s Sports offers NHL expert picks for every game on our hockey predictions page.

Over

Boston Bruins 8-2

As the inconsistencies continue for this Bruins squad, the one shining point for bettors has been their recent stretch of overs. Boston has hit the over in eight of its last 10 games, and they have gone 7-3 in that span. In their three losses, they recorded just 1.0 GF/G, but an 8-1 loss to the Jets and a 5-1 loss to the Kraken both resulted in overs. In their seven wins, the Bruins have averaged 4.57 GF/G, and they hit the over in six of those seven wins. Depth has been a big issue offensively for the Bruins considering David Pastrnak (33 points) and Brad Marchand (25 points) account for over 25% of the team’s offensive production and nearly 30% of their goals. Despite the lack of depth, the Bruins have been seeing an improvement in their scoring as of late and have been money makers if you have been playing the over. Boston has also hit the over in their last six road games, with an average game total of 7.17 combined goals per game. Overall, the Bruins have hit the over in just 17 of their 33 games this season.

Calgary Flames 7-3

While the Flames have seen a lot of high scoring games of late, that usually has been bad news for Flames fans. Calgary has hit the over in seven of their last 10 games, but they have managed to go just 3-4-3 overall. Two of the Flames wins have resulted in the south side of the game total, meaning they went just 1-6 in the games that resulted in an over. Despite his early season success, Dustin Wolf has run into some issues over his last four starts, as the netminder has just a 1-3 record and has allowed 3.75 GA/G. In games where Wolf has been the goalie over this stretch, the over is 3-1. Like the Bruins, the Flames do not seem like a team capable of stringing together this many overs, as they are in the lower fourth of the league in scoring, but the December winds have brought in some unexpected goalie troubles that have resulted in some high scoring games. The Flames have allowed 3.8 GA/G over the last 10 games, which is much higher than their 3.06 GA/G season average. Overall, the Flames have seen the over in just 14 of their 32 games this season.

San Jose Sharks 7-3

The Sharks, like the Flames, have had some high scoring games which has not been a good sign for them. The Sharks have seen the over hit in seven of their last 10 games but have gone just 4-6 overall and they have lost five of their last six. After shipping off Mackenzie Blackwood, the Sharks netminder tandem of Vitek Vanecek and the newly acquired Alexandar Georgiev is one of, if not the, worst in the league. Vanecek has four starts over the Sharks last 10 games and has allowed 20 goals and the over has hit in three of those four starts. Meanwhile, Georgiev has two starts since being acquired from the Avalanche, and the over has hit in both starts as he has allowed seven goals in those two games. The Sharks offense is slightly improved from last season, but they still rank near the bottom of the league. However, their goaltending is that bad which has resulted in a lot of overs. Overall, the Sharks have seen the over hit in 17 of their 34 games this season which is tied for the sixth most overs in the league.

Season Leaders:

  1. Columbus Blue Jackets 21-10-1
  2. Colorado Avalanche 19-13
  3. Florida Panthers 19-13

Under

Nashville Predators 2-8

The Predators woes have extended into the middle part of the season, as they have lost nine of their last 11 games and their offense has been nonexistent this season. They have scored four or more goals in just seven of their 32 games this season, and they have averaged just 2.0 GF/G over the last 10 games. The two overs came in a 4-3 loss to Calgary and a 5-2 loss to Colorado. Juuse Saros has been the only good thing in Nashville this season, as he is allowing just 2.63 GA/G this season and has allowed just 2.13 GA/G over his last eight starts. The Predators have seen the south side of the game total in 20 of his 26 appearances this season. Overall, the Predators have seen the under hit in 21 of their 32 games this season, the most in the NHL.

New Jersey Devils 2-8

The Devils are currently riding a three-game winning streak, and their goaltending has been much improved since the start of December. In December, the Devils have played seven games and have gone 5-1-1 and have allowed just 11 goals. The under has hit in each of their last seven games, and Markstrom has been killing it and has allowed just 1.88 GA/G over his eight starts during this stretch. Markstrom ranks fifth in the league in GA/G, as he is allowing just 2.29 GA/G on the year. Over Markstrom’s last 12 starts, the under has hit 10 times, and the Devils are 9-3 overall during that span. Despite the Devils having the seventh best offense in the league, they have been one of the best teams at hitting the under, as the under has hit in 18 of their 32 games this season.

Dallas Stars 3-7

Dallas is another team that typically sees better results in low scoring games. The Stars have hit the under in seven of their last 10 games, with Oettinger seeing the under in seven of his eight starts during this stretch. Like Markstrom, Oettinger is an under machine, and he has hit the under in seven of his last 10 starts. His backup, Casey DeSmith, has seen the under hit in three of his last four starts, as he is getting virtually no goal support from his offense as the Stars have mustered just eight goals over his last four starts. Dallas leads the league in GA/G, as they are allowing just 2.5 GA/G on the season, and they have allowed just 2.3 GA/G over their last 10 games. Overall, the Stars have seen the under hit in 17 of their 30 games this season.

Get NHL picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

Season Leaders:

  1. Nashville Predators 10-21-1
  2. New Jersey Devils 12-18-2
  3. Chicago Blackhawks 11-18-3


     

Most Recent Hockey Handicapping

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers