NHL Best Bets
Last night was a perfect 2-0 evening, and if you follow me on “X” (@jlazzy23), you would have seen that I took the Colorado Avalanche last night live on the ML when they were down 2-0 in the first period at +320. What a thrill of a game that was last night if you were up late enough to watch it. From time to time, I will tweet some plays I like – whether it’s a live bet like that one or perhaps a lineup changes closer to puck drop. So make sure you follow along to stay current with what I’m taking. Now, on to tonight’s NHL best bets.
It’s going to be another incredible night in the NHL with 12 games and a ton of matchups that will affect the standings in both conferences, including a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final.
Florida at Carolina (-125, 6)
The Florida Panthers have become the team to beat in the NHL, with a record of 45-17-4. They have been on a tear since the new year. Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe are leading the way for Florida, but the Carolina Hurricanes are certainly a team that can slow these three down.
Since the new year, the Panthers and Hurricanes have been the best two defensive teams in the NHL. Florida has allowed only 2.10 goals against in that span (30 games), while the Hurricanes have given up 2.11 goals against in each contest (28 games). I think we will see a tightly played game.
That was the exact storyline when these two teams met about a month ago. It was a tightly checked, 1-0 hockey game Carolina won on their home ice. If you count last year’s playoff series, four out of the last six meetings between these two have all gone under.
Sergei Bobrovsky is in the conversation for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best netminder. He has been phenomenal in the Panthers’ blue paint all season. In his last 20 starts, Bobrovsky is 15-3-1 with a .927 save percentage and a 2.04 goals against average. He’s been money.
For the Hurricanes, goaltending is still their biggest question mark, but Pyotr Kochetkov has been owning the cage. In his last 14 starts, he is 8-5-0, which might not be incredibly impressive, but he’s been boasting a .927 save percentage as well and an even better goals against average at 1.99.
This will feel like a playoff game, and I expect another low-scoring affair between these two.
NHL Best Bet(s): Under 1.5 goals in the first period -105 (play to -115) | Under 6 -125 (play to -135)
New Jersey at Dallas (-180, 6.5)
The Dallas Stars are coming off probably their worst loss of the season. They had a commanding 3-0 lead in what would have been a statement win against the Florida Panthers. But they let it slip and couldn’t even get the game to overtime, losing 4-3. A win in that game would have made it six in a row. Instead, they will now try to avoid losing back-to-back games.
I don’t know how to say this without sounding too harsh, but the New Jersey Devils are simply playing uninspired hockey right now. While they’re still very much alive in the playoff race, this group doesn’t seem hungry to get into the postseason. Sticking with the new year theme, the Devils have gone 12-16-2 in 30 games and are allowing 3.40 goals against per contest, while their power play continues to struggle at 12.1%.
The Dallas Stars are in the opposite position. They’re currently in a tight race to win the Central Division. They’re tied with the Colorado Avalanche with 89 points, but the Winnipeg Jets are behind them with 87 points. The Stars have been the third-best offensive team since the new year, scoring 3.63 goals per game while their man-advantage is at a 25.5% conversion rate.
The Devils have lost five of their last six games and haven’t been able to find consistent goal-scoring.
Neither team has announced their starting goaltender at the time of writing this, but I trust the Stars’ goaltending way more than I do with the Devils.
This seems like a perfect bounce-back opportunity for Dallas.
NHL Best Bet: Dallas Stars to win in regulation -120 (play to -130)
March Record: 12-12 (-2.71 units)
2023-24 record: 112–123 (-35.97 units)
