NHL Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Tuesday
There are 10 games on the NHL schedule on Tuesday, including a matchup between the top two teams in last season’s standings. Read on for today’s NHL Best Bets.
It has been an interesting year for both the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche, teams that finished first and second, respectively, in the 2021-2022 season.
After a massive trade to acquire Matthew Tkachuk in the offseason, the Panthers are still on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They remain a strong puck possession team, but subpar goaltending has made it difficult for the Panthers to generate consistent results.
The defending-champion Avalanche have endured a brutal run of injuries, both in terms of quantity and quality of players injured. Colorado also sits outside the playoffs, but has games in hand against all the teams directly above it in the Western Conference playoff race.
This might have been considered a premier matchup at the start of the season, but it's intriguing for different reasons as both teams look to claw their way back into postseason contention.
Here are our NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, and PointsBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out all of our NHL best bets.
Tuesday’s NHL Schedule and Odds
(odds via FanDuel)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (+350) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (-480)
- Winnipeg Jets (-132) vs. Detroit Red Wings (+110)
- Seattle Kraken (-105) vs. Buffalo Sabres (-114)
- Vancouver Canucks (+164) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (-200)
- Minnesota Wild (+118) vs. New York Rangers (-142)
- New Jersey Devils (+126) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (-152)
- Dallas Stars (-118) vs. New York Islanders (-102)
- Calgary Flames (-176) vs. St. Louis Blues (+142)
- San Jose Sharks (-137) vs. Arizona Coyotes (+114)
- Florida Panthers (+112) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-134)
Tuesday’s NHL Best Bets
- Moneyline: Sabres (-115 via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Spread: Lightning -1.5 (-155 via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Total: Wild-Rangers Under 6 (-115 via FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Prop bet: Sidney Crosby Over 0.5 Goals (+140 via Caesars Sportsbook)
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NHL Top Picks for Tuesday
Money line: Sabres (-115 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐
Tuesday in Buffalo is about evening out Monday’s results.
After getting shut out 4-0 at home against Philadelphia on Monday, the Sabres ought to be playing guilty. The Sabres are the highest scoring team in the league, averaging 3.86 goals per 60 minutes and 3.97 goals per 60 minutes at home.
While the Sabres are a mediocre possession team, pulling 51.8% of five-on-five score-and-venue-adjusted shot attempts and 49.1% of expected goals, their power play ranks fifth with 9.61 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play.
The Kraken are coming off a comfortable 4-0 win at Montreal on Monday, outshooting the Canadiens 40-21 in the process.
Where the Sabres could catch a break is that Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer has continued to struggle. He has a .881 save percentage and 3.53 goals against average in 13 games and was torched for seven goals in his previous start against Edmonton.
A high-scoring Sabres squad against Seattle’s shaky backup goaltender is worth the play as a slight home favorite.
While the rest of the top sportsbooks have a Sabres win priced at -120, DraftKings is still offering -115. That five percent advantage makes it worth shopping around for the best price.
Spread: Lightning -1.5 (-155 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lightning return home following back-to-back road losses – and they'll be happy to be back on familiar ice, where they have a 15-4-1 record. Of those 15 home wins, 11 have been by more than one goal.
On average, the Lightning are +1.38 goals per 60 minutes at home, which ranks second behind only the Boston Bruins.
That impressive home showing runs in stark contrast to a Blue Jackets squad that has a .154 road points percentage (2-13-1) which ranks worst in the league.
The Blue Jackets have an average of -2.00 goals per 60 minutes on the road, and 10 of their 13 losses have been by a margin of more than one goal. Elvis Merzlikins has been confirmed as the Columbus starter in goal and he has been terrible, posting a .865 save percentage and 4.52 goals against average in 16 games.
So to recap: We have a strong roster that crushes teams at home taking on a weak team that gets consistently buried on the road. Ride that Lightning!
DraftKings has the best puck line price for Tampa Bay -1.5, slightly better than Caesars and PointsBet (both at -160).
FanDuel and BetMGM have moved to the Lightning -2.5 on the puck line; even at plus money, that is asking a lot for any team.
Total: Wild-Rangers Under 6 (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Although the Wild have some elite offensive talent, most notably left winger Kirill Kaprizov, they are not afraid to grind out wins. The Wild are allowing 2.51 goals against per 60 minutes on the road, which ranks fifth.
The Wild have reached a total of five goals or fewer nine times in 18 road games, with one game finishing at six goals. In those games, the Wild are average 5.4 combined goals per 60 minutes.
The Rangers have have allowed 28.0 shots per 60 minutes at home, which ranks seventh. While goaltender Igor Shesterkin has had better results on the road, the disparity between home and road performance this season is likely a small sample issue.
Even though his career save percentages are .925 at home and .926 on the road, Shesterkin has a .904 mark at Madison Square Garden and .931 on the road this season. There is likely some regression coming to level out those numbers.
In any case, the Rangers’ ability to suppress shots still makes the Under 6 total a worthwhile play. The top sportsbooks have consistently set the total at U6 (-115), so take your pick.
Check out our Calder Trophy Odds.
Prop bet: Sidney Crosby Over 0.5 Goals (+140) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sid the Kid appears to have stumbled upon the Fountain of Youth.
The 35-year-old has 20 goals in 39 games – and that 0.51 goals-per-game rate would be his best since 2016-2017.
Crosby has been even more dangerous on home ice, scoring 13 goals in 18 games at PPG Paints Arena while recording at least one goal in 11 of those games. While Crosby is not likely to continue scoring on 24% of his shots at home, there is a lot of room between any anticipated shooting percentage regression and the price on a Crosby anytime goal.
The other half of this equation works in his favor, too. The Vancouver Canucks have been woeful defensively, boasting a 3.85 Goals Against Average on the road (which ranks 31st).
It hardly matters whether it’s Spencer Martin or Collin Delia in net, because neither one has proven he can handle the starter’s job for any length of time. Vancouver’s .879 overall save percentage also ranks 31st.
Naturally, there is some variance when it comes to pricing for a Crosby goal. Caesars offers the best return at +140, which is notably better than the other top sportsbooks (which range in price from +125 at most shops to +128 at FanDuel). That’s more than enough incentive to make this play at Caesars.
NHL best bets made 1/10/2023 at 12:15 p.m. ET
Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:
- FanDuel: Bet $5, Get $150 in First Bet Offer | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn a First Bet Offer of Up to $1,250 | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Get a 20% Deposit Match up to $1,000 | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five First Bet Offer of Up to $100 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a First Bet Offer of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.
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