Tuesday is Valentine's Day, and you can feel the love with nine games in the National Hockey League, including some premier matchups. Here are NHL best bets for Tuesday based on the best NHL odds.
After burying the Avalanche 5-0 on Feb. 9, the Tampa Bay Lightning will head to Colorado to take on the Avalanche. It will be the second rematch of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.
The Boston Bruins sit atop the NHL's standings and will visit the Dallas Stars. The Stars are in first place in the Central Division and in seventh place overall.
In addition to those two top-tier matchups, there are two more games that involve a pair of playoff teams. The Winnipeg Jets host the Seattle Kraken, and the Washington Capitals welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to the nation's capital.
Here are our best NHL pick s for Tuesday (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, and PointsBet; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our NHL picks.
Tuesday's NHL schedule and odds
(odds via Caesars)
- Carolina Hurricanes (-170) vs. Washington Capitals (+143)
- Chicago Blackhawks (+118) vs. Montreal Canadiens (-140)
- Ottawa Senators (+178) vs. New York Islanders (-215)
- New Jersey Devils (-210) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (+175)
- Florida Panthers (-130) vs. St. Louis Blues (+110)
- Seattle Kraken (+122) vs. Winnipeg Jets (-145)
- Boston Bruins (-120) vs. Dallas Stars (+100)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (-125) vs. Colorado Avalanche (+105)
- Pittsburgh Penguins (-160) vs. San Jose Sharks (+135)
Tuesday's NHL best bets
- Moneyline: Canadiens ML vs. Blackhawks (-140 via DraftKings Sportsbook) ????
- Spread: Islanders -1.5 vs. Senators (+135 via Caesars Spo rtsbook) ?????
- First to five Shots: Hurricanes ML vs. Capitals (-132 via FanDuel Sportsbook) ????
- Prop: Timo Meier Over 4.5 shots on goal (+110 via DraftKings Sportsbook) ????
Tuesday's NHL top picks
While I do not love backing teams with no real incentive to win, the approach is more acceptable when a squad in that situation is facing a team fully committed to its tanking effort. The Canadiens also boast a 6-5-1 record over their past dozen games at the Bell Centre.
Center Kirby Dach, who was acquired in a trade with Chicago last summer, has emerged as a significant threat for the Habs, leading the team with seven goals and 12 points over 16 games in 2023.
Chicago surged early in the new year while winning six of seven games. But the team has since reverted to its standard Blackhawks behavior . The Hawks are 2-4-1 in their past seven contests, with just one regulation win.
The Blackhawks are one of two teams earning fewer than 40% of score-and-venue-adjusted expected goals during five-on-five play in 2023.
Montreal holds a slight possession advantage, and a likely goaltending edge with Jake Allen expected to be going against rookie Jaxson Stauber. Toss in home-ice advantage, and there's enough to like Montreal.
DraftKings, Caesars, and PointsBet are all offering Montreal at -140, which is preferable over FanDuel at -146 and BetMGM at -149. A 9% difference is enough to make this wager at another sportsbook.
I hold no great affection for the New York Islanders, and they seem to have stumbled a bit following their acquisition of Bo Horvat.
The Islanders won their first two games with Horvat in the lineup coming out of the All-Star break. They then lost to Vancouver on home ice before dropping an overtime decision in Montreal.
They're also now rested at home against an Ottawa Senators club that rallied late for an overtime win Monday.
Even if they're holding onto hopes for a playoff spot, the Islanders have been a mediocre possession team that depends on great goaltending. Ilya Sorokin has provided that while posting a .933 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average on home ice.
The difference in goal could determine the outcome of this game. Ottawa is missing its NHL goaltenders Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg due to injuries.
Mads Sogaard stopped 34 of 37 shots to earn the win against Calgary on Monday, but his .898 save percentage in the AHL this season makes him a questionable NHL option. Still, Sogaard being in the crease for back-to-back sta rts is more likely than Kevin Mandolese making his NHL debut for Ottawa. In either case, the Sens are facing a significant goaltending disadvantage.
I liked the Calgary Flames on the puck line in Ottawa on Monday, which looked good for 57 minutes. So this might be a case of doubling down on my evaluation.
DraftKings, BetMGM, and PointsBet are all offering the Islanders at -1.5 and +135 odds, which is notably better than FanDuel (+128) and Caesars (+126).
Head coach Rod Brind'Amour ensures that his Carolina Hurricanes play with passion. That manifests itself in a dominant possession team that controls play far better than the rest of the league.
The 'Canes are controlling 61.3% of score-and-venue-adjusted shot attempts during five-on-five play. The Flames, the second-best team in that metric, sit at 56.9%.
The Wa shington Capitals are mediocre in that respect, ranking 16th with 51.1%. That difference between the two teams is enough reason to try the race to five shots at FanDuel. With Alex Ovechkin out of the lineup, Washington will also be missing its highest-volume shooter.
Carolina tends to grind teams down and is the best in the league at shot suppression. The most significant issue for the Hurricanes is whether they can finish off their chances. If there's a team that appears to be a prime candidate for this market, it's the Hurricanes.
If rumors are to be believed, the San Jose Sharks could break hearts and trade winger Timo Meier before the deadline.
He's scored 30 goals over 54 games in 2022-23 and is a shot-generating machine. Meier's 4.48 shots on goal per game ranks fourth in the league behind only Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, and Jack Hughes, putting him in r are company. He's put at least five shots on goal during 14 of 24 home games.
The 26-year-old is matched up against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that hasn't been able to defend, allowing 33.6 shots against per 60 minutes (29th). That's the recipe for another five-plus shots for Meier.
DraftKings is offering the best price on Meier's shot prop at +110. FanDuel isn't far behind at +108. BetMGM has Meier Over 4.5 shots on goal at +105, while PointsBet is charging -106. The PointsBet number is fair, but it's not in line with the rest of the top-rated sportsbooks.
NHL Best Bets picks made 2/14/2023 at 11:15 a.m. ET.
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