A pair of American stars headline Wednesday's NHL anytime goal picks.
The pregame narrative: Jack Hughes is on a Hart Trophy trajectory and has a great opportunity to keep producing as the New Jersey Devils battle the Chicago Blackhawks. Elsewhere, Tage Thompson is a value play to score against a struggling netminder.
Check out my NHL goal picks for Nov. 12.
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NHL goal picks Nov. 12
Best Bet: Hughes to score (+110)
Back-to-back injury-shortened seasons have kept Hughes from really elevating his game. But New Jersey's winger is healthy right now, and he's flying (14 games played):
- 10 goals
- 18 points
- 66 shots
Hughes has only scored once this month, but it's not for lack of effort.
He had 11 shots on goal his last time out and generated 17 chances, per Natural Stat Trick. And in the two games before that, he logged five and six SOG, respectively.
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The American might be a tad snakebitten, but going up against the Blackhawks should fix that.
Chicago is allowing the third-most shots per game (31.5) and ranks ninth in xG against (59.15), per MoneyPuck. The Blackhawks have gotten spectacular goaltending from Spencer Knight, who is expected to start tonight, but it's fair to wonder how long that will last.
I'm betting on both Hughes and Knight to regress to the mean this evening.
Key stat: Hughes has five goals and 11 points in his last seven games vs. Chicago.
NHL predictions
Thompson to score (+130): Thompson would probably scoff at me calling Hughes snakebitten.
The Buffalo Sabres centre has four goals on 61 shots this year, netting out to a 9.8 shooting percentage. That's hardly better than half of his 18.2% mark last year and well below his 13.4% career average.
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He can't buy a goal, but he's steadily putting pucks on net and leads Buffalo in several offensive categories, including shots, scoring chances (47) and total chances (129).
The Sabres battle the Utah Mammoth, who are expected to start Karel Vejmelka tonight.
Vejmelka has allowed 15 goals in his last four games and has an .881 SV% (42nd in the NHL).
Thompson scored 44 goals last year, and I expect him to break out of this funk sooner rather than later.
NHL goal picks made at 10 a.m. ET on 11/12/2025.
