NHL Picks Today for December 21st: 7.66 Thursday Night Parlay

We’re back with more NHL action as 12 games are scheduled for Thursday night and our resident pucks expert EJ Garr has another bundle of free value bets.

We have a 7.66 NHL Parlay ready and waiting, but if you want more expert opinions & predictions, visit our Expert Insights section.

• Buffalo Sabres vs Toronto Maple Leafs Over 7 OT-Incl
• Philadelphia Flyers vs Nashville Predators – Flyers Moneyline
• Dallas Stars vs Vancouver Canucks Over 6.5 Goals OT-Incl

NHL Thursday Night Parlay Odds: 7.66

Odds via bet365 as of 8:00 am on December 21, 2023. Odds may now differ.

BUFFALO SABRES VS TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: A RIVALRY FULL OF SCORING

An hour and a half jaunt down Queen Elizabeth Wy separates these two teams, and this rivalry has been filled with goal-scoring for years. No, seriously, I mean YEARS!

Let’s take you back to September 21st of 2019, shall we? The Sabres beat the Maple Leafs 5 – 3 at home, and over the last 13 meetings since then the Over has hit 12 times. Outside of one 2 – 1 affair over the last 14 meetings, the minimum goal count has been 6, and 12 of those games had no less than 7 goals scored.

So, the line setters seem to have noticed because they are not giving away the Over 6.5, to say the least. With odds of 1.75 at most major bookmakers including Bet365, that is simply not in my price range because you know by now that 1.83 is the highest line you will get from this guy.

I always have our ROI in mind when it comes to each play individually, and I am still getting used to the parlays and combo stuff because I usually bet my games on their own at level stakes. I love offering the big-payout parlays that we are asked to do here now, but I do play each game if I am being honest. It’s all money to me, so however the action is being put on the board I like our return to be worth the time.

Anyway, at 2.14, I see Pinnacle offering the best line but Bet365 is our main sponsor around here so let’s put their 2.10 odds on the books.

I am just banking on the fact that when these two teams get together fireworks happen, so I can only hope that it continues on Thursday night here in upstate NY,

Toronto’s last 5 games have all seen at least 7 goals, and Buffalo just got lit up by the Blue Jackets for 9 goals their last time on the ice. NINE GOALS!! Let’s just say that using the words defense and either of these two teams in the same sentence probably won’t make you look good around your friends.

Play the Over 7.5 if you are into some real value for this game, and let me tell you that the Over 8 is 3.10 for those with balls to make the bet. This will be a 4 – 4 game and they might get there with 5 minutes to spare, so we could get to 11 after overtime when 5 – 5 happens!

• Selection: Over 7 Goals OT-Included
• Best Odds: 2.10
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 4/10

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS VS NASHVILLE PREDATORS: FLYING HIGH AT HOME

The Flyers got us paid on Tuesday, and I am only seeing a 1.87 offer from the line setters for them to win another home game. As you also know, Nashville let me down on Tuesday night after losing their third meeting with Vancouver this season, I thought the Preds could take out the Nucks but that was quite a beatdown handed to them by Vancouver.

I’ll get more into that game in a second because the Vancouver vs Dallas game is coming up next as part of the NHL Thursday Night parlay.

I was watching the Devils’ game against Philly because I live in NY and I get all of the Islander, Ranger, and Devils games as part of my normal TV package. I don’t need the ticket to watch any of the games for those three teams, and since I had Philly posted I wasn’t going to miss a puck drop.

When New Jersey was up 2 – 1 early in the second period I was a little concerned that the Flyers wouldn’t respond well but they did in fine fashion. The Flyers tied the game at 2 – 2 just 8 minutes into the second period, and a scoreless third period led to overtime. I was again concerned that my play would turn to mush but then it happened!

What a shot by Ryan Poehling to end the game and give Philly the 3 – 2 win, and that 2.40 ticket was a fun one to cash riding that underdog to the window. Now, we have to pay a bit for the Flyers at 1.87, but after seeing Nashville get thumped again by Vancouver I am okay with the marginal juice on the home team. It’s not like we have to pay a steep price to put the Flyers on the board, and as much as it pains me to say being a Rangers fan, I hope the Flyers win tonight?!

I know, someone come and shoot a puck at me, it’s just wrong! HA!

• Selection: Philadelphia Flyers Moneyline
• Best Odds: 1.87
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 4/10

DALLAS STARS VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS: LAMPS WILL BE LIT IN TEXAS

Lamps will be lit in Texas but it won’t be for the holidays to decorate the streets. It will come when Dallas and Vancouver hit the American Airlines Center ice on Thursday night. I will just be honest and say that when I saw a mere 1.95 to expect a 3 – 3 game between these two teams, I knew it would make the cut for the NHL Thursday Night Parlay.

I mentioned the Nashville game above with Vancouver the other night, and I gave the Predators too much credit or maybe I didn’t give the Nucks their due. Either way, I blew that call and the Canucks went on to pound the Predators, 5 – 2.

So, we have another situation where the Canucks are dominating a series because they have the Stars number for quite some time now. These two teams have met seven times since the 2019 season, and all seven of those games have ended with Vancouver taking two points and a win over Dallas.

The line setters seem to think that Dallas should win this game with ease listing them as 1.65 favourites, and that almost made me want to take Vancouver out of principle alone. A 2.25 offer on the Nucks sure seems like a good bet to me, but I will stay with this total because of the price at 1.95.

The Stars offense has been producing goals like clockwork lately, as they have banked 28 goals over their last 7 games. You math majors out there know that it amounts to 4 goals a game, and as strong as the Canucks defense is it will be tough to slow down the Stars at home.

I mentioned the other night that the Canucks defense ranks among the best in plenty of defensive categories, including goals allowed which is why they are battling at the top of their division table for the lead.

This is a 3 – 3 game waiting to happen, and that will finish off the card and put us in good shape to cash the NHL Thursday Night Parlay!

• Selection: Over 6.5 Goals OT-Included
• Best Odds: 1.95
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 4/10

SAFER GAMBLING

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.