NHL Betting Picks and DFS Plays to Target for Wednesday 12/13/23

Wednesday gives us five games, and in this piece, we're going to look at some bets and FanDuel DFS plays to attack on this slate.

Whether it's moneylines, total goals, or player props, there are plenty of ways to bet on the NHL action all season long. It's a long 82-game season, meaning that the best selections of each night can be very different based on backup goalies coming into play, injuries that add up, and if teams are due for positive or negative swings.

Let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals come from FanDuel Sportsbook.

NHL Best Bets for 12/13/23

Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils

Bruins Moneyline (+108)

The Boston Bruins continue to be one of the best teams in the NHL. They are tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference and have the second most goals in the NHL.

They'll face the New Jersey Devils on the road tonight. The Devils have been slightly disappointing, sitting outside the playoffs by two points. They also have a -2 goal differential on the season.

There's no question who has the edge in net today. It's unclear who will start for the Bruins, but it will either be last season's Vezina trophy winner, Linus Ullmark, or Jeremy Swayman -- who has a better save percentage than Ullmark this season.

Meanwhile, it appears that Vitek Vanecek will start for the Devils. Vanecek has allowed the most goals above expected in the league at 9.76.

These teams are fairly close in possession metrics such as five-on-five expected goals percentage. They both appear to be missing their top defenseman, as Dougie Hamilton is on injured reserve and Charlie McAvoy missed practice yesterday. The difference could be in goal, so I'd back the Bruins' goalies over the Devils -- especially when getting +108 odds on Boston to win

The model at numberFire rates Boston at +108 as a two-star bet tonight.

Winnipeg Jets at Los Angeles Kings

Kings -1.5 (+130)

The Winnipeg Jets were expected to take a bit of a step back this season, but that hasn't happened. They are third in the Central Division and comfortably in a playoff spot.

Things have taken a bit of a turn of late. They lost leading goal scorer Kyle Connor to a knee injury on Sunday. In their first game without him, they were defeated and scored just one goal against the league's worst defense.

It won't be easy for them on the second night of a back-to-back, and things are even more difficult because they'll face one of the best teams in the NHL -- the Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings have the fourth-highest points percentage in the NHL. They have the best five-on-five expected goal rate in the league, according to Natural Stat Trick. In the past, turning those expected goals into actual goals was a problem for LA, but this season, they are third in the league in goals per game.

Many expected the Kings' weakness to be their goaltending, but Cam Talbot has stepped up in his first season with the team. Talbot is fifth in the league with 12.46 goals saved above expected.

The Kings being the rested team and the better team makes me believe they can win this game by multiple goals, and I'll take the +130 odds on them doing just that.

NHL DFS Plays

Goalie to Target

Semyon Varlamov, Islanders ($8,400)

Semyon Varlamov may be a backup goalie, but his numbers are better than the numbers for most starters. He has a .925 save percentage and has saved 7.68 goals above expected.

The New York Islanders get a favorable home matchup with the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks started well this year but have now lost nine of their last 10 games. They also average the fourth-fewest expected goals and sixth-fewest actual goals per 60 minutes.

The Ducks have the second-lowest implied team total on tonight's slate. Varlamov is arguably the safest option at goalie of the night and can be made a priority in lineups.

Stack

Los Angeles Kings

If we like the Kings to win by multiple goals, it also makes sense that we'd want to stack their first line. They are one of the few teams with a top line that's fully correlated on the power play and that doesn't come with really high salaries.

The partnership between Adrian Kempe ($7,500) and Anze Kopitar ($7,600) has been one of the best in the league over the last two seasons. They are the top two in points for the Kings with 26 and 25, respectively. This has also led to a breakout season for Quinton Byfield ($6,100), who already has 21 points -- one fewer than his career high from last season.

The Jets haven't been too bad defensively this campaign, but they just allowed 3.63 expected goals to the San Jose Sharks last night. That was well above San Jose's 2.54 expected goals per game average, which is the lowest in the league.

The Kings should find success in this spot with their rest advantage, and this line will make up three elements of their top power play.

New York Islanders

If you want an under-the-radar team to stack, look no further than the Islanders.

The Isles were a low-scoring team to start the season but have started to put the puck in the net of late. In five December games, they've scored 22 goals. They have two lines that we can stack tonight.

The first line has the two leading scorers among forwards in Bo Horvat ($7,300) and Mathew Barzal ($7,600). Barzal is quietly on a heater, with 13 points in his six games. Horvat is at nearly a point-per-game pace and will play with Barzal on the power play. The other member of this line is captain Anders Lee.

The second line has two pieces of the first power play, as well. Brock Nelson ($7,200) leads the team in goals with 12. Kyle Palmieri ($5,700) is also on the first power play and has been playing well, totaling seven points in his last 10 games. Pierre Engvall ($4,100) is a nice value to add to this stack, too.

The Ducks haven't only been inept offensively, they've been leaky defensively. They've allowed the fourth-most expected goals per 60 minutes in the league.

These Islanders lines have nice salaries for their upside in this matchup and could go overlooked on this slate.

Looking for more NHL betting opportunities? Check out all of the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.