Top 3 NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (10/14)
We have a small four-game slate of hockey on Friday with some intriguing matchups as the season continues to get underway. Below, I give out my three best bets for Friday’s NHL slate.
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Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Top 3 NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (10/14)
Tampa Bay Lightning (-175) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (+150) | O/U 6.5 (-105/-115)
To kick off Friday’s slate, we have a battle between two 0-1 teams as the Metropolitan Division’s Columbus Blue Jackets host the Atlantic Division’s Tampa Bay Lightning. Columbus’ biggest problem from last season carried over into this year as they surrendered a ton of shots to the Carolina Hurricanes in their 4-1 loss.
In that game, Carolina fired 43 shots on goal (SOG) and controlled the game from beginning to end. Defense was a major issue at 5v5 for the Blue Jackets last season as they ranked just 31st in the league in goals against (GA) and 32nd in xGA.
They did nothing to address this issue over the off-season as the only defenseman they added was Erik Gudbranson, who is offensive-minded and does not change the game much at the back end. Over the three games that these two teams played against each other last season, Tampa Bay averaged 31.7 SOG.
Across those three outings, Steven Stamkos posted two goals, five assists, and 14 SOG. In the Lightning’s opening game against the Rangers on Tuesday, Stamkos registered five SOG and led the team with 10 shot attempts.
Best Bet: Steven Stamkos SOG Over (Play at 4.5 or lower)
Montreal Canadiens (+140) @ Detroit Red Wings (-165) | O/U 6 (-125/+105)
At the same time as the Bolts/Jackets game, we have an Atlantic Division tilt between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens. The Habs started the season with a big 4-3 upset win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Continuing their trend from last season, Montreal opened up the year with a high-scoring affair. Last year, the O/U went 46-33 for this young team, which was slightly a product of the change behind the bench.
After Martin St. Louis took over the head coaching duties, the young forwards on Montreal regained a ton of confidence, specifically the Caufield-Suzuki-Anderson line. This line was dynamite against Toronto on Wednesday as they accounted for three of the four goals scored.
However, the Canadiens’ defense should continue to be a massive concern going forward. To start the year, they are throwing out four rookie defensemen to play alongside Chris Wideman and David Savard following the off-season departures of Alexander Romanov and Jeff Petry.
A thin and inexperienced blue line will likely be problematic against a Red Wings team that is loaded on offense after the additions of Andrew Copp, David Perron, and Dominik Kubalik over the off-season.
Best Bet: Over 6 (-125)
Carolina Hurricanes (-200) @ San Jose Sharks (+170) | O/U 6 (-110/-110)
In Friday’s nightcap, the Pacific Division’s San Jose Sharks host the Metropolitan Division’s Carolina Hurricanes. This game is the home opener for San Jose following their unsuccessful trip abroad as they dropped two games to the Nashville Predators in Prague.
Failing to score more than two goals in each of those games, we should expect another poor outing from this Sharks offense. Last season, San Jose finished dead-last in goals for (GF) at 5v5 and 23rd in finishing.
We should not expect much positive regression from this group as they also ranked 27th in xGF at 5v5 while doing nothing over the off-season to address the lack of scoring. To make matters worse, they are projected to go against one of the best goaltenders in the league in this contest, Frederik Andersen.
Andersen was brilliant in Carolina’s season opener against Columbus, stopping 31 of the 32 shots he faced against a much stronger offense than the one he will face on Friday. Against the Canes, San Jose has now scored two or fewer goals in each of their last three meetings.
Best Bet: San Jose Sharks 60-Minute TT Under 2.5 (-135)
Best of luck!
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Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.