Free NHL Picks Today for Monday, December 18th, 2023

Our free NHL picks are out for Monday, December 18th 2023! Make sure you check our NHL picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NHL picks for the best games on today’s schedule!

Anaheim Ducks @ Detroit Red Wings – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a less than impressive start to the regular season for the Anaheim Ducks, and they will look to get things on track on the road in Detroit here on Monday night. This is an Anaheim team that has been stuck in a rebuilding process for the last several seasons, but they have shown plenty of progress throughout the early part of this season, despite still coming into this game with a losing record. They will have to turn their fortunes around with a much needed victory here on Monday night in the Motor City as they look to pick up the win over the Detroit Red Wings and get things going in the right direction heading into the rest of December. Anaheim comes into this game eight games below the .500 mark through the 30 game mark on the season and they will look for their 12th victory of the year here and this one on Monday night in Detroit. With the halfway point of the season quickly approaching, they will look to start stringing some victories together, and it starts with grabbing a win here in this game. 

It has been a slow start to the year for Detroit as well, and they will be looking to turn things around with a quality performance against Anaheim on Monday night at home. The Red Wings are sitting in the middle of the pack through their first 30 games of the regular season as they come into this game sitting right at the .500 mark and they will look to go one game above the mark with a victory here on Monday night at home against the Ducks. If Detroit can string some victories together throughout the rest of December, and into early 2024, they could potentially establish themselves as a playoff contender this season. They will need to figure out a way to remain healthy and consistent throughout the remainder of the year if they want to accomplish that goal. However, I do look for them to pick up the victory here on Monday night at home over Anaheim, as I look for Detroit to get a comfortable win here in this one.

Minnesota Wild @  Pittsburgh Penguins – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a slow start to the regular season for Minnesota and they will look to pick up a much-needed victory here on Monday night in Pittsburgh. Minnesota has long been a contending team in the Western Conference, but this year has been different for them throughout the early part of the season. They will look to get things going in the right direction with a win here in this game as they look to build up as much momentum as possible throughout the rest of December. They come into this game four games below the .500 mark as they have lost 16 out of their first 28 games of the regular season and they will look for their 13th victory of the year here in Pittsburgh. They have been struggling on the defensive end of the ice as they are giving up three goals per game, and that is not sustainable for long-term success for Minnesota this season. However, they do come into this game with a little bit of momentum after winning three consecutive games, and they will look for a fourth consecutive win here on Monday.

It has been a rough start of the season for Pittsburgh, and they look to get things moving in the right direction with a quality victory here on Monday night at home against Minnesota. For years, Pittsburgh was a dynasty within the league, but over the last several seasons, they have slowed down, and they are barely sniffing the postseason at this point in time. If things do not improve for them throughout the regular season, they could be staring down the barrel of a potential rebuild starting over the offseason. Pittsburgh comes into this game three games below the .500 mark through their first 29 games of the regular season and they will look to grab their 14th victory of the year here on Monday night at home against Minnesota. However, they come into this game after allowing seven goals to Toronto and their previous game and I don’t look for things to get much better for them in this one either. As I look for Minnesota to pick up the victory on the road over Pittsburgh.

Montreal Canadiens @ Winnipeg Jets – 7:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a rough start of the year for Montreal, and they will look for a huge momentum boost with a victory here in this game on the road in Winnipeg on Monday night. This is the only Canadian versus Canadian matchup that you will see here on Monday night, and they have been few and far between throughout the early part of the regular season so far. Montreal comes into this game four games below the .500 mark through their first 30 games of the regular season and they will look for their 14th victory of the year here on Monday night in Winnipeg against the Jets. This would provide Montreal with a solid momentum boost heading into the back half of December if they could get the job done here in this one against Winnipeg on Monday night on the road. Montreal has been awful on the defensive end of the ice as they are giving up nearly 4 goals per game and that is not sustainable for any type of success this season.

The Winnipeg Jets are off to a quality start of the year and they will look to keep the moment I’m rolling throughout this game on Monday night at home against Montreal. Winnipeg comes into this game seven games above the .500 mark through their first 29 games of the regular season, and they will look to pick up their 19th victory of the year here on Monday night at home. They have an opportunity to be taken seriously as a contender as long as they remain healthy and consistent throughout the regular season, and that has not been a problem for them so far throughout the early part of the year. Winnipeg comes into this game leading the Central division, and they will look to further extend their lead over the lakes of Colorado with another quality performance here in this game on Monday night at home against Montreal. That is exactly what I expect, as I look for them to pick up the victory in this game on Monday night and cover the spread in the process against the Montréal Canadiens.

Seattle Kraken @ Dallas Stars – 8PM ET

Tony Battalio

It’s been a rough start to the regular season for the Seattle Kraken, and they will look to get things turned around throughout this game against Dallas on Monday night. After making their first playoff appearance in franchise history they’ve been unable to maintain that momentum throughout the early part of the regular season and they look like one of the worst teams in the league right now. They will look for a huge momentum boost with a quality performance here in this game on Monday night on the road against Dallas as they look to get things going in the right direction throughout the rest of December. Seattle comes into this game 12 game below .500 through their first 32 games of the regular season and they will look to get things turned around throughout this game on Monday night. They’ve been dreadful on the defensive end of the ice as they are giving up nearly 4 goals per game and that is not sustainable for long-term success. 

The Dallas Stars have put together a quality campaign throughout the early part of the regular season, and they will look to maintain that momentum throughout this game on Monday night against Seattle. Dallas comes into this game with 17 victories through their first 29 games of the regular season and they will look for their 18th win of the year here on Monday night at home against the Seattle Kraken. They have been one of the most consistent teams in the league throughout the early part of the season, and they have been a legitimate contender of the last several years as well, but they have been unable to reach their ultimate goal of winning a title. If they can remain healthy and consistent they should be favored heading into the playoffs. I expect them to pick up a solid victory here in this game on Monday at home and cover the spread in the process. 

Florida Panthers @ Calgary Flames – 9:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

Florida is off to a quality start to the regular season and they will look ahead north of the border to Calgary and pick up a victory here on Monday night to keep the momentum rolling. They have been one of the most legitimate contenders in the league over the last several seasons they have been unable to break through the glass ceiling and win the Stanley Cup. They will be hoping that this season is the year they finally break through that glass ceiling and bring home a title, but they will need to remain healthy and consistent throughout the regular season if they want to accomplish that goal. Florida comes into this game six games above 500 through their first 30 games of the season and they will look to grab yet another win here on the road in Calgary on Monday. Florida is coming off of a solid victory on the road in Edmonton in their previous game and they will look to grab a second consecutive win against Calgary here on Monday.

It has been a rough start of the year for the Calgary Flames, but they have been building up a little bit of momentum throughout the month of December and making their way back towards .500. They will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Monday night against the Florida Panthers available to pick up a quality win at home against Florida here in this one. At the moment they come into this game seven games below the .500 mark their first 31 games of the season and they will look to inch closer back to .500 with a win here on Monday night at home. They have a little bit of momentum coming into this game after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in their previous game and they will look for a second consecutive win here in this one as well. However, I don’t see that happening as I look for Florida to come into Calgary and pick up the victory on the road here on Monday night.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.