KHL Odds and Picks (Oct. 21): Dynamo Moscow and Dinamo Minsk Clash at VTB Arena

• Dynamo Moscow and Dinamo Minsk clash as part of an eight-game KHL slate on Wednesday, Oct. 21
• Metallurg Magnitogorsk is listed as a -177 favorite over Kunlun Red Star
• Find odds and best bets for the KHL’s massive eight-game slate in the article below

There are eight games scheduled in the KHL on Wednesday, October 21st, including a clash between Dinamo Minsk and Dynamo Moscow.

Elsewhere, Metallurg is listed as a -177 favorite over Kunlun, while Eastern-conference leading Ak Bars faces Amur.

The table, below, contains the odds for all eight games followed by the three best bets for Wednesday’s action.

KHL Odds: Wednesday, October 21st

Odds as of Oct. 20th at DraftKings.

Dinamo Minsk Keeps It Close Vs Dynamo Moscow

There’s a good chance Dynamo Moscow wins this game at home, but there’s value betting on Dinamo Minsk to keep it close. Minsk is listed as a massive +650 underdog because they are coming off back-to-back shutout losses.

If you actually dig into Minsk’s performances over the last few games, you’ll see they haven’t played terribly. They actually outshot Spartak and controlled the play in their last outing (a 3-0 loss). In the prior game, a 1-0 shutout loss vs Lokomotiv, they hurt themselves with 35 PIM and were facing hot goaltender Edward Pasquale.

Dinamo actually won its lone meeting with Dynamo in 2020 and kept it close (3-2 loss) in their last meeting at VTB Arena. They’ve been without several of their top scorers recently, including Rob Klinkhammer and Ryan Spooner, but they still have captain Yegor Sharangovich and a solid defense group.

Dinamo goalie Nikita Tolopilo looked really good in the loss against Yaroslavl and is reason to think this one would will be close.

Pick: Dinamo Minsk +1.5 (+245)

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Will Defeat Kunlun 

Metallurg Magnitogorsk is only being listed as a -177 favorite over Kunlun Red Star despite the two teams sitting at opposite ends of the standings. Metallurg is sitting fourth in the East Conference with 24 points, while Kunlun ranks last in the conference with a mere five points.

Голевая комбинация, которую придумал Харри Песонен, а завершил Юхо Ламмикко, вошла в топ-10 лучших шайб шестой недели чемпионата! Красота случилась в Нижнекамске, если вы вдруг забыли.

Это пятое место🇫🇮👏 pic.twitter.com/1XdFXVesQ6

— HCMETALLURG (@MetallurgMgn) October 13, 2020

Kunlun will have home-ice advantage in this one, which is the primary reason Magnitogorsk isn’t a heavier favorite. That shouldn’t be much of a concern when you consider that Metallurg went on the road earlier in the month and beat two very good teams in SKA and Avtomobilist. They just finished a three-game homestand, so there shouldn’t be much fatigue for their first game of this road trip.

Not only has Metallurg won five of its last six games, but the squad has also dominated Kunlun, historically. Metallurg is 12-2 all-time versus the Red Star and has had no problems winning on the road. Kunlun is allowing 3.73 goals-per-game and won’t be able to contain the dynamic Magnitogorsk offense led by Sergei Plotnikov.

Pick: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (-177)

Ak Bars and Amur Can Hit the Over 

DraftKings has set a low goal total (4.5) for the clash between Ak Bars and Amur at Platinum Arena in Khabarovsk. One of the reasons for that is due to these two teams playing some fairly low-scoring games in the past. Ak Bars won 4-0 in the first meeting this season and won by 3-2 and 3-1 scores in two games last year.

There’s no doubting Ak Bars is going to score in this game considering they are facing a weak Amur defense that is allowing 3.36 goals-per-game. Kazan sits stop the East Conference standings and has a stacked forward group led by Stephane Da Costa, Justin Azevedo, and Stanislav Galiev. They’ll have their way against either Marek Langhamer or Evgeny Alikin, who have both had rough outings in goal recently.

Amur is going to be in tough to pull out off the upset, but the recent play of their offense is reason to bet the over. Khabarovsk has scored seven goals in its last two games and forwards Vladimir Butuzov and Alexander Polunin are heating up. Take advantage of the low goal total in this one.

Pick: Ak Bars vs Amur Over 4.5 goals (-147)