Hand up. It's been a rough five days with my NHL picks.

After getting close to being up double-digit units on the season, a disastrous week has caused my record to come crashing down.

The good news is, there is still plenty of hockey to bet on this season, and still a couple of weeks left of the 2022 calendar year, so let's start a new hot streak starting today.

There are five games to wager on tonight, so let's dive into my top three bets.

You can find the best odds for each game here.

NHL Best Bets Record-to-Date

• 90-84-1 (-0.34 units)

NHL Best Bets Today (Sunday, December 18)

• Hurricanes -120 vs. Penguins
• Jets +135 vs. Kraken
• Flames -175 vs. Sharks

Hurricanes -120 vs. Penguins

The Hurricanes have statistically been the best team in the NHL this season when you look at things like CORSI% and expected goals, but their inability to find the back of the net has hurt them. You can do everything else right, but if you can't score, it's going to be tough to win games.

Thankfully for them they've begun to figure that part out, increasing their shooting percentage to 9.57% over their last 10 games. Still not great, but improvement is obvious.

The Penguins, meanwhile, have seen a small dip in their offensive production, averaging only 3.33 expected goals per game over their last 10. I think this is a matchup between two teams trending in opposite directions.

I'll bet on the Hurricanes as slight home favorites.

Jets +135 vs. Kraken

The Seattle Kraken have been overcome a lot of their shortcomings this season with sharp shooting. They're second in the NHL in season-long shooting percentage, finding the back of the net on 11.81% of shots. That number has started to dip in recent weeks, which has caused them to go 5-5 on their last 10 games.

Now, they take on a Winnipeg Jets team that not only has shot better over their last 10 games, but they will also have a massive advantage in between the pipes if Connor Hellebuyck ends up getting the start.

You'll struggle to find a better underdog to bet on today than the Winnipeg Jets.

Flames -175 vs. Sharks

I'm fully aware that the Calgary Flames have lost five straight games, but I don't think it's time to push the panic button. Analytically, they are still playing like a top tier team, ranking third in CORSI% over their last 10 games. An inability to score on offense and make saves on defense has killed them, but I expect positive regression in those areas.

There are few teams that would give the Flames a better matchup for them to bounce back against than the Sharks, so I'll back Calgary to finally snap its losing streak.

You can track Iain's bets on Betstamp here.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.