The NHL is rolling out an eight-game slate for Thursday night, so read on for our top NHL prop picks and best bets for Thursday based on the leading NHL odds from our best sports betting apps.
There are eight games on the docket during a bit of a lighter night for a Thursday in the NHL.
The evening still features a few interesting matchups though, including Capitals vs. Flyers at 7 p.m. ET, Lightning vs. Oilers at 9 p.m. ET, and Panthers vs. Canucks at 10 p.m. ET.
Here are our top NHL prop picks and best bets for Thursday (odds via our best NHL betting sites; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Thursday's NHL schedule and odds
(Odds via DraftKings)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (+220) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-270)
- Washington Capitals (+120) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (-142)
- Carolina Hurricanes (-170) vs. Detroit Red Wings (+142)
- Calgary Flames (+124) vs. Minnesota Wild (-148)
- Ottawa Senators (-118) vs. St. Louis Blues (-102)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (+140) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-166)
- Chicago Blackhawks (+190) vs. Seattle Kraken (-230)
- Florida Panthers (-115) vs. Vancouver Canucks (-105)
Thursday's NHL best bets
- Moritz Seider Over 1.5 shots on goal (-145 via DraftKings) ?????
- Evan Bouchard to record a point (-160 via DraftKings) ?????
- Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs Over 6.5 (-130 via DraftKings) ????
- Oilers -1.5 vs. Lightnin g (+150 via FanDuel) ???
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Thursday's NHL prop picks
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider has been consistently shooting the puck, and we're going back to him to get at least two shots on goal Thursday.
Seider is averaging just over two shots per game in 2023 (59 shots in 28 contests), but he endured a bit of a slow start. After registering just 10 shots across his first nine games, he's racked up 49 shots over his last 19 outings, well over two per contest.
He's gone Over 1.5 shots on goal in eight straight appearances, with 25 total shots during that span. That's been a decent mix of home and road games as well, with five away from Detroit and only three on home ice.
Detroit faces the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, one of the league's stingiest clubs in terms of limiting shots on goal. But Seider should continue to be aggressive with forwards Dylan Larkin (injury), J.T. Compher (injury), and David Perron (suspension) out.
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Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard is quietly moving up the Norris Trophy odds chart. He's riding a 12-game point streak with 18 total points throughout that stretch.
Bouchard is now up to 30 points across 26 games in 2023, and he's been fairly consistent while popping up on the scoresheet. He's been held without a point in just five of 26 affairs.
The Oilers are on fire, and Bouchard has been a significant contributor. Edmonton has won eight straig ht games and 11 of its last 14. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been a bit leaky defensively, with 12 goals allowed in their previous three games.
Thursday's NHL game picks
The Blue Jackets and Maple Leafs are two of many teams dealing with goaltending issues. It's expected to be Elvis Merzlikins (3.10 GAA, .910 SV%) against Ilya Samsonov (3.29 GAA, .884 SV%) in Toronto on Thursday.
The Maple Leafs are coming home after a weekend trip to New York when they beat the Rangers 7-3 after falling to the Islanders 4-3 in overtime. Both of those games went Over 6.5, and Toronto's matchups have gone Over 6.5 in five of the team's last six too.
Columbus has also been playing in a lot of high-scoring outings recently, with four straight games going over the total.
The Blue Jackets just aren't that deep defensively, and the Maple Leafs are dow n a few blue-liners due to injury. Additionally, both teams boast the talent up front to put more than a few goals on the scoreboard.
Edmonton has won eight straight games, with six of those victories being of the multi-goal variety. The Oilers are 11-3-0 since Nov. 11, including two-plus-goal wins in eight of those games.
The Lightning have been better overall, but their recent losses have come with a stench. They're coming off a 4-1 defeat to the Vancouver Canucks, just two games after losing 5-1 on the road to the Nashville Predators. The Lightning are 3-6-0 since Nov. 27, and each loss was a multi-goal defeat.
Tampa Bay has been putrid on the road this campaign at 5-9-2, while Edmonton is 9-4-1 at home. The Bolts are just 13-12-5 in 2023, and all 12 regulation losses have been by at least two goals.
NHL best bets made 12/14/2023 at 9:40 a.m. ET
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