NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are today’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Utah Mammoth (9-4-0) at Toronto Maple Leafs (7-5-1)
Betting Line: Maple Leafs (-155, 6.5)
7 p.m. ET – Sportsnet, ESPN+
The Mammoth come into Toronto fresh off a 2-1 overtime victory in Buffalo on Tuesday night. Clayton Keller scored the OT winner just 47 seconds into the extra session. With Karel Vejmelka getting the start last night, Utah will likely turn to backup goalie Vitek Vanecek for tonight’s contest. Vanecek is 2-1 this season, giving up two goals or fewer in all three of his starts. The Blackhawks scored a third goal in their defeat of the Mammoth in Vanecek’s only loss, but that was into an empty net with Vanecek on the bench for an extra attacker.
The Leafs last played on Monday in a game that they slept through the first 40 minutes and then erupted for four third-period goals to defeat the Penguins, 4-3. Toronto’s Matthew Knies is riding a five-game point streak (two goals, six assists) and has assists in five consecutive games. Nick Robertson has taken advantage of his elevation into a top-six forward role and has two goals and five points in the last three games. If you are into player/goalie matchups like I am, the Leafs’ Dakota Joshua has two goals in three games against Utah goalie Vitek Vanecek. Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit has had two or more blocked shots in three straight games and four of the last five.
The Maple Leafs are one of the best teams to wager on the full game going over the total, cashing in eight straight and 11 of 13 overall. The Mammoth played to the Under in eight of their 12 games. Logan Cooley is tied for the team lead in goals with eight and has scored the team’s first goal four times, including three of those games on the road. Cooley has two goals in four career games versus Toronto, and you guessed it. Both of those goals were the first goal of the game.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Matthew Knies Over ½ assist (+126) – .20 units
Logan Cooley anytime goal (+210) – .10 units
Logan Cooley first Utah goal (+650) – .05 units
Logan Cooley first goal of the game (+1500) – .05 units
Dylan Guenther/Logan Cooley Point prop parlay (+118) – .20 units
Simon Benoit Over 1.5 blocked shots (-137) – .20 units
St. Louis Blues (4-7-2) at Washington Capitals (6-5-1)
Betting Line: Capitals (-145, 6)
7:30 p.m. ET – TNT
The St. Louis Blues are looking to build momentum after snapping a seven-game skid with a win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. The Blues scored three unanswered goals, including Pius Suter’s game-winner with 83 seconds left in regulation for the 3-2 victory. It’s been a rough start for St. Louis, as only the Calgary Flames have fewer points (eight) than the Blues (10). The Blues are 3-1 this season as the betting Underdog. Rookie, Dalibor Dvorsky, the 10th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, scored his first career goal and power play goal in the Blues’ win on Monday over Edmonton. Head coach Jim Montgomery indicated Dvorsky, who centers the team’s third line, will stay on the top power play unit. Robert Thomas joins Dvorsky on the number one power play unit and anchors the Blues’ top line at even strength. Thomas has assists in four straight games.
After starting the season with six wins in their first eight games, the Caps have hit a bump in the road, dropping four straight and have scored just five goals. Alexander Ovechkin is one of many Washington players who still haven’t found their stride. Ovechkin has just two goals and five assists in 12 games and has been held without a goal in four straight games. This could be his get-right game. The Great 8 has 21 goals in 28 games in his career against the Blues.
Both these teams rank in the bottom third of the league in goals scored (St. Louis 20th, Washington 28th), but the history between the two teams has seen games going Over the total. Seven of the last eight meetings between the two teams have had a combined seven goals or more.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Alexander Ovechkin anytime goal (+160) – .10 units
Dalibor Dvorsky point/Robert Thomas assist (+260) – .20 units
St. Louis Blues/Washington Capitals Over 5.5 (-138) – .50 units
Columbus Blue Jackets (7-5-0) at Calgary Flames (3-9-2)
Betting Lines: Flames (-115, 6)
9:30 p.m. ET
I didn’t expect the Calgary Flames to be a playoff contender this season, but at the same time, I didn’t see them with the worst record in the NHL. That is where they are with just three wins and eight points on the season. Tonight, they host the Columbus Blue Jackets, who the Flames have defeated in four of the last five meetings on home ice. Three of the last four games have had a combined seven goals or more. Though the Flames rank dead last in goals scored (24th in goals against), nine of their 14 games have gone Over the betting total, and 10 of the 14 have had a combined six goals or more. Jonathan Huberdeau is on a five-game point streak (three goals and three assists) and has scored the Flames’ first goal of the game in each of the last two games. Tonight marks game 1,000 for Nazem Kadri, and he is expected to have a large group of friends and family in attendance. Kadri leads the Flames in shots on goal, has had four or more shots on goal in four of the last five games, combined with the Blue Jackets (34), on average, giving up more shots on goal per game than any other team in the NHL. Kadri’s seven assists also lead the team. Forward Joel Farabee has had two shots on goal or more in four of the last five and seven of the last 10 games.
A couple of Blue Jackets props for me include a Kirill Marchenko assist and an Adam Fantilli anytime goal. Marchenko has an assist in five straight, and Adam Fantilli, who has just two goals on the season, has three goals in four games against the Flames in his career, including two goals on Flames goalie Dustin Wolf. Kent Johnson has had two shots on goal or more in back-to-back games, four of five and seven of the last 10.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Nazem Kadri over 3.5 shots on goal (+112) – .20 units
Nazem Kadri Over ½ assist (+124) – .20 units
Jonathan Huberdeau Over ½ point (-150) – .20 units
Kirill Marchenko Over ½ assist (+110) – .20 units
Adam Fantilli anytime goal (+310) – .10 units
Chicago Blackhawks (5-5-3) at Vancouver Canucks (7-7-0)
Betting Line: Canucks (-165, 5.5)
10 p.m. ET
Who’s your daddy? That’s what the Canucks say to the Blackhawks. Vancouver has won 11 straight (including a 3-2 shootout this season), 14 of the last 15, and 17 of the last 20 against the Blackhawks. Chicago comes into tonight’s game losers of three straight, while Vancouver has traded wins and losses over their past six games. Vancouver is coming off a 5-4 overtime win on Monday as Brock Boeser played beat the clock, scoring the winner with just two seconds left.
I can’t get behind Vancouver at this price, but with the Blackhawks going back to Spencer Knight after he was given Monday off against the Seattle Kraken, I will take a shot that both Hawks losing streaks come to an end. Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky lead Chicago’s top line at even strength and on the power play. Burakovsky has goals in three straight and points in four straight games, while Connor Bedard is riding a five-game point streak with four goals and five assists. His six goals this season are tied for the team lead, and his 10 assists and 16 points are also at the top of the team lead. Keep an eye on who starts for Vancouver. If it’s Kevin Lankinen who gets the call tonight, then I will be on a Tyler Bertuzzi goal (+340). He has four goals in six games against the netminder, including one this season.
The Canucks Quinn Hughes returned to the lineup on Monday after missing four games. While Hughes did not record a point, he did have six shots on goal.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Chicago Blackhawks ML (+140) – .45 units
Quinn Hughes Over 2.5 shots on goal (-120) – 2 unit
Quinn Hughes Over 3.5 shots on goal (+200) – .50 units
Andre Burakovsky Over ½ point (+100) – .25 units
Connor Bedard Over ½ point/Quinn Hughes Over 2.5 shots on goal (+156) – 1 unit
Andre Burakovsky anytime goal (+360) – .10 units
