The NHL season churns ahead tonight, and the league rolls out an exciting eight-game schedule for us to bet on. Below I've narrowed in on three of the games from a sports betting angle and provided my picks and analysis on those contests.
Tuesday's NHL Best Bets
(Odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook)
Winnipeg Jets (-155) vs. Montreal Canadiens (+130) | O/U 6.0 (-105/-115)
The action opens up on the East Coast, where the Canadiens (24-20-5) host the Jets (34-14-3) in a cross-conference battle. This game gets underway at 7:00 p.m. ET from the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC.
I'm locking in the Over in this Canadian showdown. Starting with Montreal, they've really seen their offense take a step forward over the last couple of months. During their last 10 games, the Habs are averaging 3.3 goals per game. They've climbed to 14th in overall offense (3.0 GPG) and rank fourth in the NHL in shooting percentage (11.55%). The Canadiens have seen at least 6.0 combined goals in 14 out of their last 21 contests.
Montreal's defense is still suspect, where they're ranked 29th in GAA (3.16) and 26th in SV% (.888). They've allowed at least four goals in three out of their last four games. That's not a great formula when you're tasked with trying to slow down a Winnipeg side that's third in scoring (3.5 GPG), second in shooting percentage (12.43%), and first on the power play (33.33%). Both of these offenses have the ability to rack up the goals, so I believe it's worth a wager on the Over.
Pick: Over 6.0 Goals (-105)
Carolina Hurricanes (-135) vs. New York Rangers (+115) | O/U 5.5 (-120/+100)
The schedule continues with a marquee Metropolitan Division tilt, as the Hurricanes (30-16-4) make the trip to the Big Apple to take on the Rangers (24-21-4). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET from Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
These are typically two of the best defensive teams in the league, but that simply hasn't been the case this season. The Hurricanes are still a respectable 10th in GAA (2.60), but they've posted a mediocre .891 SV%, which is 19th overall. As for the Blue Shirts, they're 19th in GAA (2.86) and ninth in SV% (.901). New York has seen at least 6.0 goals in three of their last four games, and they're averaging a combined 7.5 goals per game during the stretch. I'll play the Over in this spot.
Meanwhile, Carolina's offense has excelled this season. They're sixth in scoring (3.3 GPG), second in expected goals per 60 minutes (3.57), 17th in shooting percentage (10.44%), and 19th on the power play (21.05%). Oh, and they just added a bonafide goalscorer in Mikko Rantanen, who is sixth in the league in points (64) and seventh in goals (25). With a total of 5.5 goals, I think it's worth playing the Over. I can see a 4-2, 5-2, or 4-3 final score at MSG tonight.
Pick: Over 5.5 Goals (-120)
Anaheim Ducks (+115) vs. Seattle Kraken (-140) | O/U 6.0 (+100/-120)
The NHL nightcap features a Pacific Division showdown between the Ducks (20-23-6) and the Kraken (22-26-3). Seattle's coming off a 4-2 road defeat against Edmonton last night, meaning they'll be playing on the second night of a back-to-back. This contest is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA.
Including last night's 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Oilers, the Kraken have now seen their last three games finish with 6.0 or fewer goals, as well as six of their last seven contests. Being that we have a couple of subpar offenses going toe-to-toe, I think it's worth playing the under in Seattle tonight.
These are two bottom-tier offenses. Anaheim enters the night ranked dead last in goals per game (2.5) and shooting percentage (8.77%) while sitting 30th on the power play (13.43%). As for Seattle, they're 18th (2.9), ninth (10.93%), and 25th (18.31%) in those respective categories and, while the Kraken are a respectable ninth in shooting percentage, they're just 29th in high-danger shots (143), meaning they're simply not generating very many quality shots to convert on. They'll also be running into Anaheim's top-tier goaltending duo, which is fourth in SV% (.905) this season. Let's play the Under while it's sitting at a flat 6.0 goals.
Pick: Under 6.0 Goals (-120)
