Welcome back to our NHL Best Bets here on our blog at Sports Tree. We took a hiatus over the Christmas holidays, but we're back fully recharged and ready to return to the win column. So far this season on official picks posted to the website, we sit 23-9. Let's get to it!

This matchup features teams on the opposite ends of the spectrum, especially recently, as the Avs have won seven of their last eight games while the Blackhawks have lost six of their last seven. Colorado has a potent offence, ranking fifth in goals per game and 10th in shots per game, having scored at least four goals in seven of their last 10 games. On the other hand, the Blackhawks have been poor offensively this season. Chicago ranks 31st in goals per game and 29th in shots per game; they have scored three or fewer goals in seven of their last nine games. On the other end of the ice, it doesn't get any better as they rank 28th in goals against per game and 28th in shots against per game. This one feels like a blowout. PICK: Avs -1.5 (+105) - 1 unit

These teams are a little confusing as neither has been able to find consistency this season. Both clubs have struggled to find the twine recently. Utah has scored 2 or less goals in six out of their last eight, while Flordia is averaging only two goals scored per game over their last eight. When that is the case my focus immediately goes to the netminders. For Utah, Karel Vejmelka is having a good season but historically has struggled against the Panthers going 1-4-0 in 5 games with a goals-against average of 3.91 and a save percentage of .904. On the other end, Sergei Bobrovsky has thrived against the former Arizona Coyotes team with a 9-2-0 record with a goals-against average of 1.96 and a save percentage of .935 over his career. While Utah may be a new team in a new city, they still have many of the same players and I expect similar results. Florida is coming off a 3-1 loss to the Avs, so look for a bounce-back outing at a good price relative to how good they are overall. PICK: Florida ML (-130) - 1 unit

The first thing that jumped at me about this matchup is that the home team has won the last eight games. On top of this, the home team Kings have excelled in their own building going 14-2-1 while the Flames are below .500 on the road with a 5-8-4 record. There's no way I can take a team who struggles to score to beat one of the best defences in the NHL right now on the road no less. As mentioned, the Kings’ defense is one of the best in the NHL. Their goaltending has been excellent, too, and Darcy Kuemper is 4-0-1 in his last five starts. Kuemper has only allowed one goal over his previous two outings against Tampa Bay and New Jersey. Lastly, the Kings are riding a four-game winning streak, haven't played since Saturday, while the Flames will be playing the second night of a back-to-back after a tough win against the Ducks. The problem here is there isn’t good value on the ML. While I strongly considered a puck line play, I feel more comfortable with the 3-way line despite a little less value. Pick: Kings 3-way ML (-140) -1.5 units.

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