This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
Five games in the NHL tonight, and I've got a bet for every single one of 'em! But I gotta say, this is a tough slate to tackle. There are two contests between well-matched rosters, and the other three games feature teams near the top of the standings versus teams near the bottom. Yet, in the David-Goliath style matchups, the Davids can be a little feistier than meets the eye. If we can get out of this slate alive, that in itself will be a big victory. Let's get frisky y'all!
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NHL Best Bets Tonight
Penguins vs Senators
The Senators are a team that I call "the best-worst team in the NHL." They're towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings overall but are only 9 points out of the final playoff spot. They have tons of young talent and can definitely surprise top teams with their compete level, which is why they've managed to steal wins from the Caps and Bruins in recent memory. Who holds that final playoff spot in the East right now? None other than their opponent for tonight, the Penguins, who have put themselves there after going 3-6-1 in their last 10. 2023 has been ugly for the black-and-gold so far, and this is a chance to bounce back. They needed a late rally and overtime to beat the lowly Ducks in Pittsburgh on Monday and dropped their previous two games to the Hurricanes and Jets before that. They just haven't looked steady, so this is a wonky bet. In the words of Sir Richard Branson, screw it, let's do it (and bet with our hearts and not our minds).
- Senators ML -110
Bruins vs Islanders
How do you bet against a team that's only lost 9 games all season? The Bruins are having an unprecedented year. It's almost a certainty that they go into most matchups as the favorite, so many times, it's a matter of how much juice does the underdog get? Well, the Islanders seem to have a little bit of juice tonight coming in at +150 on the moneyline and -170 on the puck line. The Isles are pretty good at home and seem to usually cover there as an underdog as they did against the Caps and Stars last week. They pushed the Bruins to a shootout in Boston on 12/13 too but the B's pulled that one out for a 4-3 win. So… shall we dance?
- Islanders PL -155
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Avalanche vs Flames
Are we about to get a glimpse of who the Avs really are? The defending Stanley Cup champs are 4 points back of the Flames for the final Wild Card spot in the West as of now, but they come into this tilt with 2-straight victories: a 7-0 thrashing of the Senators, and a 6-3 bash against the Wings. They're only 3-6-1 in their last 10 games though and face a Calgary team that's picked up points in 17 of its last 23 games. The Flames return home from a 5-game road trip where they went 2-1-2 but hold the season series with the Avs 1-0 from their 5-3 victory on opening night. The Flames lost 2-1 to the Predators in Nashville on Monday so they'll be looking to avoid dropping their 2nd straight in regulation, something they haven't done since Thanksgiving weekend. It's been hard to trust the Flames this year. They usually dominate the shot column and sometimes the eye test, but still fall short on the scoreboard, even if that is in overtime or a shootout. The Avalanche are looking good right now too, especially considering all-world talent Nathan MacKinnon has notched 11 points in the last 5 games.
- Avalanche ML +115
Lightning vs Canucks
I know we still got a long way to go this regular season, but the Bolts are starting to look like "those guys" again. And by those guys I mean those guys that won two straight Cups and lost in 6 games in their 3rd consecutive trip to the Cup final. They come into tonight riding a 4-game heater, are 8-2 in their last 10 games, and have only lost 6 games since Thanksgiving. Yikes. One of their 4 straight wins came against the Canucks on Jan. 12. The Bolts didn't exactly waltz through that one though, as the Canucks ended up winning the shot battle 40-35 despite being on the wrong end of the 5-4 score. The Bolts broke a 2-2 deadlock about midway through the second period and took a 5-2 lead late into the 3rd before the Canucks made it interesting with 2 goals in the last five minutes. That's a lot of fight for a Canucks team that is 3-7 in its last 10 games. They do have some fight though, as evidenced by a 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Sunday, and 4 of their last 6 losses have come by 1 goal. Just how much fight will they have in them tonight is the big question though…
- Lightning ML -180
Stars vs Sharks
These clubs have played twice already this year with both tilts happening in Dallas. The Sharks rather surprisingly won the first matchup 5-4 on 11/11, and the Stars took the next bout 5-2 on 12/31. That second result is much more along the lines of what I'd expect at this point in the season as these two clubs are on polar opposite sides of the standings in the Western Conference. The Stars come into this tilt 3-3-1 since that 12/31 matchup and are looking to build on an impressive 4-0 shutout of the Golden Knights in Vegas on Monday. The Sharks are 2-3-2 in that same span but have lost all 3 home games to start 2023 and 6 of their last 7 in San Jose overall. Let's not overcomplicate this one.
Stars ML -155
