Skip to main content

NHL Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Wednesday

Scott Cullen

Last Updated: January 25, 2023 8:08 AM EST • 3 min 41 sec read.

NHL best bets
NHL best bets

Wednesday offers up five games on the NHL schedule, including a couple involving two playoff teams and a rivalry matchup on the West Coast. Read on for today’s NHL Best Bets based on the latest odds.

The Carolina Hurricanes visit the Dallas Stars in Wednesday’s marquee matchup. The Hurricanes have a 4-0-1 record in their past five games and sit tied for second in the league with 66 points in 46 games.

With a 5-4-2 record since the calendar turned to 2023, the Stars are just two points behind the Hurricanes in fifth place, with 64 points in 49 games.

Here are our NHL Best Bets for Wednesday (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!

Wednesday’s NHL Schedule and Odds

(odds via FanDuel)

  • New York Rangers (+136) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-164)
  • New York Islanders (+112) vs. Ottawa Senators (-134)
  • Carolina Hurricanes (-111) vs. Dallas Stars (-110)
  • Columbus Blue Jackets (+310) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-400)
  • Vancouver Canucks (+146) vs. Seattle Kraken (-176)

Wednesday’s NHL Best Bets

  • Upset: Canucks ML (+146 via FanDuel Sportsbook) vs. Kraken ⭐⭐⭐
  • Spread: Oilers -1.5 (-155 via Caesars Sportsbook) vs. Blue Jackets ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Total: Hurricanes-Stars Under 6 (-110 via DraftKings Sportsbook) ⭐⭐⭐
  • Prop: Tim Stützle Anytime Goal (+205 via FanDuel Sportsbook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wednesday's NHL Top Picks

Upset: Canucks ML (+146 via FanDuel) vs. Kraken ⭐⭐⭐

Vancouver is hoping for a new coach bounce. The Canucks did win 5-2 against Chicago on Tuesday in Rick Tocchet’s debut behind the Vancouver bench, though a home game against the 31st place team is hardly a serious test.

One of the major culprits for the Canucks’ struggles this season has been goaltending. Collin Delia, Spencer Martin and the injured Thatcher Demko have combined for a league-worst .877 save percentage.

Martin is expected to start in Seattle and while he has struggled, the Kraken do not gain much in net because their goaltending has been shaky as well, ranking 27th with a save percentage of .890.  

For a team that is in a playoff spot, the Kraken have not defended home ice effectively. Seattle is 11-9-3 at Climate Pledge Arena and that record includes four overtime wins.

Most of the top-rated sportsbooks have the Canucks at +140, but there is more value to be found at FanDuel (+146) and PointsBet (+145).

Spread: Oilers -1.5 (-155 via Caesars) vs. Blue Jackets ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sitting last place in the league standings, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been good enough to lose most nights. Sometimes the games are close, but Columbus has managed just four wins in the past 20 games.

The reason to like the Oilers to cover the puck line, at least at -1.5, is because Edmonton’s power play remains a dominant force. The Oilers comfortably rank first with 12.01 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play while Columbus ranks 27th with 6.01 goals per 60.

Columbus is allowing 3.79 goals against per 60 minutes on the road this season, the fourth highest rate in the league. Putting that up against an Oilers team that ranks sixth with 3.58 goals per 60 is the recipe for a big Oilers win.

Most of the top-rated sportsbooks that have the Oilers -2.5 goals on the puck line and, as I have noted recently, I am hesitant to take any NHL team to win by three goals. So find the value in this lopsided matchup with the Oilers at -1.5 priced at -155 at Caesars.

Check out our latest Hart Trophy odds!

Total: Hurricanes-Stars Under 6 (-110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

It is no surprise that the Hurricanes have amassed such a strong record because the underlying numbers support their results.

Carolina can grind teams down and they are allowing a league-low 26.5 shots on goal per 60 minutes away from PNC Arena. The Hurricanes rank fifth in goals against and first in expected goals against on the road.

Dallas does not have quite the same defensive track record, but they are better than average when it comes to shots, goals, and expected goals allowed.

Dallas’ defensive advantage is really tied to goaltender Jake Oettinger who has a .925 save percentage and 22.76 Goals Saved Above Expected, both of which rank fourth in the league.

While most of the top-rated sportsbooks have landed on a range of -120 to -122 for the Under, DraftKings remains with -110 on both sides of the total, so that is excellent relative value for the Under in this game.

Check out our latest Norris Trophy odds.

Prop: Tim Stützle Anytime Goal (+205 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stützle is busting out in his third NHL season and has scored 20 goals in just 42 games. That includes finding the net at least once in 10 of 23 home games.

Since returning from an injury in late December, he has also played more than 20 minutes in 13 of 14 games. With Josh Norris returning to the injured list, Stützle is the unquestioned first option at center for the Sens.

Stützle faces a New York Islanders squad that ranks 25th with 3.39 expected goals against per 60 minutes on the road and the Isles are going with backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov on Wednesday. Varlamov is a strong second option in net, but the matchup is more favorable than if Ilya Sorokin was getting the start.

While DraftKings, BetMGM, and PointsBet are all offering a Stützle anytime goal at +180, FanDuel and Caesars are hanging +205 on the board. That is a significant incentive to make the wager at FanDuel or Caesars which, in my experience, tend to offer the best anytime goal scorer prices among the top-rated sportsbooks.

NHL Best Bet picks made 1/25/2023 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Here are our best NHL betting sites:

(21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER)
* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.

Related Pages

Written By:
Scott Cullen
Scott Cullen is SportsbookReview.com's Sports Betting Analyst and is one of the most well-known sports betting writers on the web. He wrote about fantasy sports for TSN for many years, and he has also written for The Athletic, NHL.com, The Hockey News, Monkey Knife Fight, and McKeen's Hockey. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Cullen was an Economics major at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and played for the Laurier Golden Hawks hockey team.