These hockey props have us all revved up

For much of the winter, our focus here is going to shift between the NBA and NHL. With eight games on the ice compared to just four on the hardwood, it's hockey that gets the nod today.

Trust goals to come in Seattle-Edmonton

The over in Kraken-Oilers games has yet to fail us. They've met twice this season, tallying nine and seven goals, both of which have been played in the past 19 days. These two have now met five times since Seattle was formed before last year and the over has hit all five times.

The numbers suggest to us that this trend will continue tonight. Seattle has been a goal-scoring force when on the road, averaging 4.4 goals per game, tops in the NHL. Given that Edmonton is allowing 3.4 goals per game at home, we're confident the Kraken can continue their road-scoring ways. 

Meanwhile, the Oilers should have no issues chipping in some goals, they average 3.5 goals per game at home and their power-play looks to be at an extreme advantage against the Kraken's 69.2% penalty kill rate over the last 10 games, which is sixth-worst in the league. Edmonton has found a power-play goal in all five games against Seattle, only furthering the love for the over tonight.

Betting: Seattle-Edmonton over 6.5 goals (-120 FanDuel)

Past meetings piqued our interest in these prop picks

When we look to find some goal-scorer props, there are two foundational stops in our research process. The first is goal-scoring averages, and the second is how a player has performed against the opponent in question over a sustained period of time.

Two spots, in particular, look good for a team's scoring tonight: Toronto and Buffalo. The Maple Leafs average 3.4 goals per game at home while Florida allows 3.6 on the road. Couple that with a power-play edge for Toronto and the Panthers on a back-to-back, and we expect the Maple Leafs to score.

John Tavares caught our eye for a few reasons. For starters, his shot attempts have been way up lately and he's quite involved in Toronto's power play, and given how many penalties Florida tends to commit, he should see chances there. He has four goals in his last three at home, but the kicker is that Tavares has tallied 12 goals in his last 10 games against the Panthers. That's a history we want to follow.

Betting: John Tavares goal (+175 Caesars)

We did mention Buffalo as well. They'll see a Chicago team allowing 3.9 goals per game at home, which works out well for us seeing as the Sabres are averaging 3.8 goals per game on the road. Look no further than Tage Thompson in this game. Thompson is one of Buffalo's highest-volume shooters but has been quiet on the goal-scoring front for some time now.

We expect that to change tonight, as Thompson has poured on four goals in his past three meetings with the Blackhawks, including two goals in their first game earlier this season.

Betting: Tage Thompson goal (+115 Caesars)

In the news ...

Dallas takes down Tampa Bay, NFL divisional round set — It wasn't much of a contest on Monday, as the Cowboys easily handed the Buccaneers, winning 31-14. We now know the full schedule for the divisional round. Jaguars at Chiefs (-8.5) is the Saturday afternoon game, followed by Giants at Eagles (-7.5) Saturday night. Sunday's action begins in the mid-afternoon, with the Bengals at Bills (-5) and wrapped up by the Cowboys at 49ers (-3.5). Buckle up, next weekend is going to be fun.

After some doubt, C.J. Stroud declares for NFL draft — There were some murmurs over the weekend that Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was going to return to school for his senior year in an effort to win a national championship. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes faithful, Stroud ultimately has declared for the NFL Draft in an announcement Monday. Stroud is expected to be one of the first quarterbacks off the board, his odds to go first are currently +175, behind Alabama QB Bryce Young (-130). There are plenty of quarterback-needy teams at the top of the draft, led by Houston and Indianapolis.

Australian Open underway — The first major of the year in tennis is underway in Melbourne, with the men's and women's Australian Opens headed to the second round. Rafael Nadal is looking to repeat as Australian Open champion, though his odds at +1400 suggest it's an unlikely occurrence. Novak Djokovic is the current favorite to win at -110, followed by Daniil Medvedev (+500). On the women's side, all eyes will turn to Wednesday's second-round matchup between two of WTA's youngest stars in Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu. Gauff has the fourth-best odds to win at +1200. Iga Swiatek is the favorite at +210 followed by Jessica Pegula at +800.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll