NHL Best Bets
It should be a pretty chaotic Tuesday evening, considering that there are 12 different games around the league tonight. Things start to ramp up a bit as we get closer and closer to the NHL Trade Deadline, which is 10 days away on Friday, March 8th. There are a couple of matchups tonight that feature teams to keep an eye on over the next 10 days, like the Philadelphia Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s the first game I’ll have my eyes on for my NHL best bets.
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia (+114, 6)
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a team that knows how to flip a switch this time of year as they look to create more separation in the Eastern Conference standings. The Lightning own the second wild card spot and are only one point behind the Detroit Red Wings. On the other hand, the Philadelphia Flyers have started to skid a bit as they enter this game as losers of back-to-back games over the weekend and have lost four out of their last five contests. The Flyers have had a relatively comfortable position in the Metropolitan division all season long, arguably the biggest surprise around the league.
The Flyers only sit five points ahead of the New Jersey Devils, so these points are extremely important.
These teams have had the complete opposite over the past few days. While the Flyers lost two straight, the Lightning won two straight, so they’re coming into Philadelphia feeling pretty good. Nikita Kucherov, who, in my opinion, has become the clear favorite to win the Hart Trophy, is currently riding a three-game point streak with a combined total of eight points. This season, Kucherov has more games with 3+ points (12) than he does games without a single point (11). That stat is wild.
The Flyers have been allowing 4.00 goals against over their last five games, and the last time Tampa came to town, the Lightning won by the score of 6-3.
Top to bottom, this Lightning team is just better than the Flyers. I love what I see from Kucherov, and I feel that the Flyers are slipping quite a bit.
NHL Best Bet(s): Nikita Kucherov Over 0.5 Assists -166 (play to -175) | Tampa Bay Lightning ML -135 (play to -145)
Pittsburgh at Vancouver (-155, 6)
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the most confusing teams in the NHL all season. They have a ton of strong players on their roster, but for whatever reason, they haven’t seemed to gel much this year. The Penguins have not been defending all that well as of late, as they have allowed a total of 12 goals in their last three games. Tonight they face a very strong offensive team in the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks have three of the top 15 scorers in the NHL on their team, with guys like JT Miller, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, not to mention Brock Boeser, who is currently 22nd. They are loaded with talent up front, but they haven’t had an easy time putting it together as of late. That said, there shouldn’t be any concern about their ability to produce offensively.
These two teams met a little over a month ago in Pittsburgh in what was a fun game that needed overtime. Pettersson ended up scoring the overtime-winning goal, helping the Canucks skate to a 4-3 victory.
The Penguins and Canucks are both top 10 teams in the league when it comes to creating high-danger offensive chances. Pittsburgh ranks fourth, generating 13.32 per 60, while the Canucks rank ninth, averaging 12.52 each night.
This is the type of game that should be very back and forth, but the goaltending for Pittsburgh cannot be trusted. In his last three games, Tristan Jarry is skating to a 3.03 goals against average and a .894 save percentage; that’s not good enough, especially with an opponent like the Canucks. On the flip side, the Penguins have scored 15 goals in their last three games, so it won’t be an easy night for Thatcher Demko by any means.
I think we’ll see a very exciting, high-scoring game.
NHL Best Bet: Over 6 -115 (play to -130)
February Record: 15-17 (-3.13 units)
2023-24 record: 95–110 (-38.91 units)
