NHL weekly betting guide: Who most deserves their market valuation change?

Last week, we discussed the market movers - up and down - over the first quarter of the NHL season. The Oilers weren't on that list because there was a nightly expectation that a turnaround was imminent, and oddsmakers weren't about to give you a deal betting on Connor McDavid. Their overarching hypothesis was due to Edmonton's even-strength expected goal share (XG%), which is among the best in the NHL and was still among the best even when the Oilers weren't winning. Knowing that metric was in Edmonton's favor didn't make it any easier to lay the high moneyline prices during its current seven-game win streak.

Are there other under-the-radar teams - from both our "movin' up" and "fallin' down" lists - ripe for a turnaround?

With their market valuation change in parentheses, let's examine those clubs and explore their even-strength expected goal share and high-danger chance conversion rate to see if the market's love is warranted.

TEAM (Valuation change) XG% HDC CONV.%
Rangers (+13.4%) 49.6 12.9
Bruins (+8.6%) 51.6 11.7
Canucks (+7.6%) 50.2 13.3
Flyers (+7.4%) 53.1 11.6
Panthers (+7.2%) 55.9 14.1
Hurricanes (+6%) 54.1 12.9
Red Wings (+5.5%) 47.8 12.5
Coyotes (+5.3%) 49.5 12.5
-
Stars (-4.4%) 53.2 11.7
Canadiens (-4.8%) 45.7 13.6
Ducks (-4.9%) 46.5 11.3
Maple Leafs (-5.5%) 49.8 13.6
Blues (-5.5%) 47.6 11.4
Penguins (-6.7%) 51.5 12.0
Lightning (-7.5%) 47.9 14.3
Kraken (-7.8%) 49.4 14.5
Wild (-8.6%) 51.2 14.1
Sabres (-9.2%) 48.0 11.9
Blackhawks (-12.7%) 42.5 11.9
Sharks (-14.8%) 41.0 14.3

The Rangers, Bruins, and Canucks have seen the biggest valuation increase, but all have around a 50-50 expected goal share at even strength. The difference between New York and Boston versus Vancouver is that the Canucks weren't expected to be above average. The Rangers and Bruins could be ripe for a consistent fade as favorites.

The expectations for the Flyers were even lower than the Canucks. But with a 53% expected goal share, Philadelphia's rating bump is as warranted as the Panthers, who are third in the NHL in XG%. Those two and Arizona should be considered bet-on teams based on quality even-strength numbers. Florida's high-danger chance conversion rate is well above the league average of 12.7%. However, teams with more talent should be expected to convert at an above-average rate.

Other than their 4-7 moneyline record over a tough stretch of their schedule, souring on the Stars makes little sense. Of the other clubs that have seen their valuation drop, only the Penguins and Wild have played above average at even strength, with Minnesota seeing better results since a coaching change.

Be careful of the Lightning, Kraken, and Canadiens, as they're surviving on high-conversion rates to offset getting outplayed. At least Tampa can boast the scoring talent to keep its conversion rate up and have a future Hall of Famer returning in goal.

The cheat sheet

The dirty little secret in the betting world is that, while there are no bad bets at the right price, the discovery process of what a good price looks like is hidden.

Each week, we balance market information from regular-season point totals and in-season advanced metrics - with an even-strength focus - to determine the win probability for each team and the moneyline needed to bet on either side. The idea is to remove the cognitive bias of win-loss records, which can be skewed by outliers like special-team results, poor goaltending performances, and other unreliable events.

You can use whatever parameters you like to decide how much of an edge you need to trigger a bet, but here are mine:

  • True line favorite of -111 or longer: 1%
  • True line between -110 and +110: 2.5%
  • True line underdog of +111 or longer: 4%

I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a team playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and a 3% consideration for the second leg of a home back-to-back. When it comes to injured players, an estimation is made on the player's impact on their team's win probability.

When the betting markets open up the night before, you can compare those prices with our "price to bet" column to see if you're getting any value with either side's moneyline. There's a possibility that a moneyline moves into a bet-friendly range at some point between the market opening and puck drop.

DATE GAME WIN PROB. (%) PRICE TO BET
Dec. 12 ARI@PIT 33.2/66.8 ARI +243/PIT -192
CAR@OTT 52.3/47.7 CAR +101/OTT +121
TOR@NYR 45.4/54.6 TOR +141/NYR -115
PHI@NSH 43.5/56.5 PHI +153/NSH -125
DET@STL 44.0/56.0 DET +150/STL -122
CHI@EDM 32.4/67.6 CHI +252/EDM -199
TBL@VAN 49.4/50.6 TBL +113/VAN +108
FLA@SEA 48.1/51.9 FLA +119/SEA +102
WPG@SJS 54.7/45.3 WPG -116/SJS +142
Dec. 13 PIT@MTL 50.5/49.5 PIT +109/MTL +113
BOS@NJD 49.1/50.9 BOS +114/NJD +107
ANA@NYI 34.8/65.2 ANA +225/NYI -180
BUF@COL 41.5/58.5 BUF +167/COL -135
WPG@LAK 39.0/61.0 WPG +186/LAK -150
Dec. 14 CBJ@TOR 34.3/65.7 CBJ +230/TOR -183
WSH@PHI 48.8/51.2 WSH +116/PHI +105
CAR@DET 53.6/46.4 CAR -111/DET +136
CGY@MIN 45.5/54.5 CGY +141/MIN -115
OTT@STL 48.3/51.7 OTT +119/STL +103
TBL@EDM 41.9/58.1 TBL +164/EDM -133
FLA@VAN 50.0/50.0 FLA +111/VAN +111
CHI@SEA 38.0/62.0 CHI +194/SEA -157
Dec. 15 ANA@NYR 32.5/67.5 ANA +251/NYR -199
NSH@CAR 42.4/57.6 NSH +160/CAR -130
BOS@NYI 48.6/51.4 BOS +117/NYI +105
OTT@DAL 36.0/64.0 OTT +212/DAL -170
SJS@ARI 43.3/56.7 SJS +154/ARI -126
BUF@VGK 60.3/39.7 BUF -146/VGK +180
Dec. 16 VAN@MIN 42.7/57.3 VAN +159/MIN -129
NYI@MTL 53.5/46.5 NYI -111/MTL +136
COL@WPG 50.5/49.5 COL +108/WPG +113
DET@PHI 49.5/50.5 DET +113/PHI +108
PIT@TOR 43.2/56.8 PIT +155/TOR -126
NJD@CBJ 52.4/47.6 NJD -106/CBJ +130
NYR@BOS 40.7/59.3 NYR +173/BOS -140
WSH@NSH 51.3/48.7 WSH +105/NSH +116
DAL@STL 48.3/51.7 DAL +119/STL +103
BUF@ARI 50.0/50.0 BUF +111/ARI +110
LAK@SEA 48.5/51.5 LAK +118/SEA +104
TBL@CGY 46.5/53.5 TBL +135/CGY -110
FLA@EDM 42.5/57.5 FLA +160/EDM -130
Dec. 17 VAN@CHI 47.1/52.9 VAN +132/CHI -108
WSH@CAR 32.7/67.3 WSH +248/CAR -197
ANA@NJD 40.3/59.7 ANA +175/NJD -142
OTT@VGK 43.5/56.5 OTT +153/VGK -125
SJS@COL 37.9/62.1 SJS +195/COL -157
Dec. 18 ANA@DET 32.4/67.6 ANA +252/DET -199
MIN@PIT 45.1/54.9 MIN +143/PIT -117
MTL@WPG 38.4/61.6 MTL +191/WPG -154
SEA@DAL 41.9/58.1 SEA +164/DAL -133
FLA@CGY 47.1/52.9 FLA +132/CGY -108

Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.

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