NHL Predictions – Expert Picks on Wednesday, December 18:

Here are the NHL predictions for tonight:

10 p.m. ET

This is the third time this season that Utah has gone from underdog to betting favorite. In the previous two, Utah failed, losing at home to Washinton and Minnesota. Utah started as a (-105) home underdog and has now become the (-120) home favorite as they receive 48% of the bets and 72% of the money.

After beating Colorado 4-1 on Monday, Vancouver is looking for consecutive wins for the first time in 17 days. The Canucks responded to criticism of head coach Rick Tocchet’s comments that there were too many “passengers” and too few players trying to win a hockey game. The road was the Canucks’ happy place. Vancouver is 10-2-1 away from home at Rogers Arena, compared to six wins in 17 home games.

Utah HC has picked up consecutive road wins against San Jose and Colorado, scoring four goals in each of those wins and has won four of the last five overall, with all four wins coming on the road at the Delta Center. Like Vancouver, Home Ice hasn’t treated Utah HC kindly. They have lost five straight games and nine of 13 games on home ice, giving up three or more goals in four of their last five losses at the Delta Center.

Look for Karel Vejmelka to start for the home team tonight. Vejmelka is looking for his first win against the Canucks (0-2-2, 5.08 GAA, .822 SV) and had his hands full with Vancouver’s Conor Garland. Garland scored five goals in four games against “Veggie.”

NHL Predictions: Vancouver Canucks TT over 2.5 (-150) – 1.5 units
Conor Garland Anytime Goal (+235) – ¼ unit

10 p.m. ET

Adam Lowry’s goal with 73 seconds left in regulation capped the Jets’ comeback from a 3-2 deficit midway through the third period, giving Winnipeg a 4-3 victory over the Sharks in San Jose. The Jets travel to Southern California tonight against an Anaheim team they have dominated, winning nine of the last 10 meetings. I would expect Eric Comrie to be in goal for Winnipeg tonight. Comrie is 3-4 this season and has given up three or more goals in six of his seven starts. The Jets have trailed 2-0 in the second half in back-to-back games this season and lost to Nashville and Columbus by identical 4-1 scores. What does this all mean when it comes to Anaheim? Three is the magic number for the Ducks. Anaheim is 10-1 when scoring three or more goals this season.

NHL Predictions: Anaheim Ducks TT over 2.5 (-135) – 1.5 units
Anaheim Ducks ML (+145) – ¼ unit The best of the rest
Florida Panthers/Minnesota Wild 1^st Period Over 1.5 (-105) – ½ unit