NHL Best Bets
There are plenty of NHL games to pick from tonight, with 12 matchups. Some of these games are more attractive than others, but a few angles stick out right away for NHL best bets.
Los Angeles at New Jersey (-115, 6.5)
The New Jersey Devils have won back-to-back games and are just two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Los Angeles Kings have been a complete mess this season, and they got off to about as bad of a start as they could have on their four-game road trip. Tonight will be their second of four straight on the road. Their first game was a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres.
Nico Daws has put together strong back-to-back games in the Devils’ crease. In his last two starts, he is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .950 save percentage. The Devils have had goaltending issues all season long, but perhaps Daws is their answer until they attempt to make moves at the trade deadline.
The Kings have lost five out of their last seven contests and can’t seem to find any consistency, while the Devils are looking to continue to build off of their last two wins thanks to great performances from Daws, Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.
This is a huge game for New Jersey on their home ice against a team that has lost a bit of their identity.
I think the Devils come out and take care of business.
NHL Best Bet: New Jersey Devils ML -115 (play to -125)
Anaheim at Ottawa (-225, 6.5)
The Ottawa Senators have quietly been playing some strong hockey as of late. I’m aware that they’re in an ugly spot in the standings, but this team has gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, which has them tied for the best record in the NHL in that span (tied with Vancouver Canucks). In that same window, the Anaheim Ducks have played two fewer games than the Senators, but they have skated to a 3-4-1 record.
Anaheim has struggled to keep pucks out of their net during this time frame as they’re allowing 3.75 goals against per game, while at the same time, the Senators are scoring 3.80 goals per game.
Ottawa has started to find some consistency up front thanks to the help of Shane Pinto and the big guns like Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle. Tkachuk is coming off a hat trick and has tallied four goals with six assists in the last 10 games. Stutzle has been on the money as well as he has scored four goals of his own with five helpers in those 10 games.
The Senators aren’t far from getting themselves back into the playoff mix. They have three games in hand of most teams in the conference.
Joonas Korpisalo is expected to get the start tonight. He has gone 5-1-2 in his last eight games with a 2.30 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.
The Ducks don’t pose much of a threat on the road, as they’re 10-14-1 as the away team this season.
I like the Senators to come out firing on home ice and cover the puckline.
NHL Best Bet: Ottawa Senators -1.5 +105 (play to -110)
February Record: 6-7 (-2.04 units)
2023-24 record: 86–100 (-36.82 units)
