NHL bets: Take your best shot with these defensemen

It's a cold December day where this writer is, which has us leaning toward the ice and finding some hockey winners. It's a big slate, which has made it all the easier to find some of our favorite looks. Here's to building some bankroll as we progress through this week.

Shoot, we like these defensemen

One simple way to begin a day's search through some NHL props is by looking at how often teams are allowing shots on goal from various positions. While forwards can be interchangeable, defensemen data is a bit more cut and dry, and we've got a few ideal targets to consider.

Rasmus Dahlin is facing a Columbus Blue Jackets team allowing the third-most shots per game to defensemen, and the fourth-most shots overall. Dahlin has 3+ shots in nine straight games and four straight at home, and that should continue here tonight.

Drew Doughty draws a San Jose Sharks team that has been the best target for shots all season, both overall and for defensemen. The Los Angeles Kings defenseman has 2+ shots in six straight games, five straight on the road, and he's tallied five, two and six shots on goal against the Sharks over the past two seasons.

And that's that, simple as can be. Just these two gentlemen come in at a very solid price on DraftKings, so enjoy tonight and good luck!

Betting: Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo) over 2.5 SOG & Drew Doughty (Los Angeles) over 1.5 SOG (+178 DK)

In the news ...

Eagles continue their slide, Seahawks regain footing in Wild Card race — It has been a rough December for the Philadelphia Eagles, who have dropped three straight games and look nothing like a Super Bowl contender. The latest defeat was a heartbreaker, with Drew Lock driving 92 yards with less than two minutes, culminating in a touchdown to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a 20-17 win. Seattle sits at 7-7, the same record as the Bucs, Rams, Vikings and Saints. The Seahawks are currently -170 to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, somehow, the Eagles' Super Bowl odds are still second-best in the NFC. It's growing extremely hard to see any team that isn't the 49ers representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. San Francisco is currently -110 to get there.

Georgia QB Carson Beck returning for another season — Carson Beck has announced he will be back with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2024 for his senior season, likely a two-pronged goal: improve his draft stock and get Georgia back to the CFP. Beck threw for 3,738 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, and the Bulldogs will be facing the Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30. Georgia is a 14-point favorite, with an over/under set at 44.5 points.

Detroit Pistons lose 24th straight game — It's hard to get much worse than what is going on in Detroit right now with the Pistons, losers of 24 straight games. Perhaps there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon, as 2021 top pick Cade Cunningham dropped a career-high 43 points in Monday's loss to Atlanta. The Pistons are three losses away from setting the unfortunate NBA record for longest winning streak ever. The Pistons will next get a chance to snap the skid on Thursday night when they host the Utah Jazz.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll, the guy who won $8K on a $20 NFL parlay. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.