NHL Hockey Betting Money Losers Through December 1, 2018

No matter the sport it’s important to understand team valuation. More specifically, it’s essential to know which teams are ‘profitable’ and which teams are ‘money losers’. This information has some intrinsic value but is most useful in isolating teams that are overvalued and undervalued relative to the moneyline or pointspread. Yesterday, we took a look at the most profitable teams for NHL bettors through December 1, 2018. In this article we’ll look at the least profitable NHL betting teams at the start of the month.

NHL HOCKEY MONEY LOSERS THROUGH DECEMBER 1, 2018

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (-14 UNITS)

All you need to know about Pittsburgh’s performance as NHL betting interest can be seen in microcosm in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh was a consensus -180 favorite against the Flyers and could be found priced as high as -205 at some books. This despite the fact that the two teams had roughly the same record year to date (Pittsburgh entered the game with 25 points, Philly with 22). Pittsburgh entered with a home record identical to Philadelphia’s road record. They’ve now got 10 wins, 10 losses and 5 OT losses but that translates to a -14 unit deficit. Starting goalie Matt Murray is on injured reserved and the Penguins are being forced to rely on Casey DeSmith. DeSmith hasn’t done a bad job but he’s not long term solution in net. Penguins are a bottom ten team in shots allowed (32.4 per game) and goals allowed (3.25 goals against per game). From a betting standpoint, the Penguins are unplayable because they’re so overpriced. Simply put, Penguins backers pay a premium for the name on the sweater night after night.

LOS ANGELES KINGS (-10.8 UNITS)

The betting marketplace has a good read on the Los Angeles Kings at this juncture so they’ve lost money for their financial backers the old fashioned way—by being a lousy hockey team. Not just lousy—they’re dead last in the NHL points standings with 19 points from 9 wins 16 losses and 1 OT loss. The Kings are hoping that the return of goaltender Jonathan Quick from injury will help stem the bleeding. Quick missed 12 games and was reactivated on November 27 though he’s yet to see any action. Los Angeles has the #20 goals against average (3.15) but their bigger problem is that they can’t score. The Kings are dead last in goals scored per game at 2.12 and #30 in shots per game at 27.6. Their 26 differential is tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for worst in the league. Quick will need to regain his form from last year and then some for the Kings to have a chance of improving (he had a 2.40 goals against average last season).

SAN JOSE SHARKS (-10.8 UNITS)

The Sharks haven’t played that bad to date and are tied for third in the Pacific Division with 29 points. Their problem is similar to Pittsburgh’s—their performance on the ice just doesn’t match up with the expectations that fans and media had entering the season. This translates to them being overvalued on the betting line which means that even with a winning record they’re a huge money loser. San Jose’s biggest liability has been the substandard play of goalie Martin Jones who has a 3.00 GAA which is #30 in the NHL among ‘qualified’ netminders. Making the poor play of Jones all the more glaring is the fact that only three teams in the league allow fewer shots on goal per game than the Sharks.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (-10.8 UNITS)

It’s almost unfathomable that there are only two teams in the NHL with fewer points than the Chicago Blackhawks but here we are. They’ve fired head coach Joel Quenneville which seems to signal that the team recognizes that they need to focus on rebuilding. The problem is that while they might recognize this need they’ve not done much to address it. A lack of financial mobility just makes things that much worse. The only ‘mitigating factor’ for the Blackhawks from a betting standpoint is that the public has quickly realized what a mess things are in Chi-town.

FLORIDA PANTHERS (-9.3 UNITS)

The Panthers’ story is very similar to San Jose’s. They’re a team that had generated considerable enthusiasm heading into the season but they’ve also been undone by poor goaltending. Florida is tied for #27 in goals against (3.50) and since they’re #10 in shots against per game (30.7) that points the finger right at James Reimer, Michael Hutchinson and Roberto Luongo. Luongo has struggled with knee issues this season and has started only 9 games.