If you only like to bet favourites, you better be thirsty tonight because there’s a ton of juice on Thursday’s NHL betting board.
Six of the 10 games on tonight’s slate feature home favourites of -150 or higher, including the Lightning laying as much as -270 at home to the Senators.
On the plus side, there’s lot of opportunity to find some value with underdogs that nobody wants to bet on tonight. We personally came close to pulling the trigger on first period moneyline plays on the Senators (+173) and Avalanche (+134), partly because both are going up against teams that just returned from road trips, but ended up passing.
Instead, we’re going with first-period plays in two other games as we look to build on a 2-1 Tuesday (6-2 including leans). You can find those picks below, along with the usual breakdowns and opinions on the rest of the action.
Good luck!
Odds below are at the time we made the pick. Be sure to check out our live odds page for updated odds on today’s games.
Reasons to bet New York: The Rangers have won 16 of their last 22 games overall. New Jersey has lost 4 of its last 5 games following a victory.
Reasons to bet New Jersey: The home team is 7-1-1 in the last 9 meetings between these division rivals. New York has been outshot in 8 of its last 9 games and is 5-7 on the road.
Other things to know:
- New York beat New Jersey 5-2 Dec. 9 in New York
- New Jersey beat New York 3-2 Oct. 14 in New York
- New Jersey is 9-5-2 at home
- New York has earned points in 7 of its last 9 games
- New York has allowed 2 goals or less in 5 of its last 6 games
- New Jersey has scored 5 goals in 3 of its last 4 games and 3+ in 5 of 7
- Bratt and Johansson are questionable for New Jersey
- New Jersey has won 5 of its last 6 games when playing on 2 days rest
Probable goalies: Lundqvist (confirmed), Schneider (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Vancouver: The Canucks are 9-7-1 on the road this season. San Jose has lost 3 of its last 4 games and allowed 4+ goals in 6 of its last 8.
Reasons to bet San Jose: The Sharks are 6-0-1 in their last 7 meetings with the Canucks. Vancouver has allowed 36 goals in its last 7 games.
Other things to know:
- Vancouver beat San Jose 4-3 in OT Dec. 15 in Vancouver
- San Jose beat Vancouver 5-0 Nov. 11 in San Jose
- Vancouver has scored 2 goals or less in 5 of its last 7 games
- San Jose has scored 3+ goals in 6 straight games
- The Over is 6-0 in Vancouver’s last 6 games
- The Under is 18-7 in San Jose’s last 25 games
- The road team has won 16 of the last 21 meetings
Probable goalies: Markstrom (confirmed), Dell (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Anaheim: The Ducks have won 20 of their last 27 games following a loss by 3 or more goals, such as Tuesday’s 4-1 loss at the Rangers. The Islanders have given up at least 3 goals in 9 of their last 10 games.
Reasons to bet New York: The Islanders are 10-3-2 at home this year and outshot Detroit 37-22 in a 6-3 loss to the Red Wings Tuesday. Anaheim has lost 11 of its last 15 games overall and has lost 7 straight when playing for the 3rd time in 4 days.
Other things to know:
- Anaheim beat New York 3-2 Oct. 11 in Anaheim
- The Under is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings
- Anaheim has allowed 9 goals in its last 2 games after allowing 7 regulation time goals in its previous 5 games
- Anaheim is playing its 5th straight road game
- New York has scored 3+ goals in 8 of its last 10 games
- The Over is 23-10 in New York’s games this year
- The Under is 22-12 in Anaheim’s games this year
Probable goalies: Miller, Halak (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Columbus: The Blue Jackets get their first chance to avenge a 5-game loss to Pittsburgh in last year’s playoffs. The Penguins have lost 4 of 5 overall and have 1 regulation time win in their last 6 home games.
Reasons to bet Pittsburgh: The Penguins have been off for the past 2 days while Columbus is playing for the second straight night, 3rd in 4, 4th in 6 and 8th in 14. The Blue Jackets have been outshot 86-45 in their last 2 games.
Other things to know:
- Columbus has allowed 2+ goals in 9 of its last 10 games and 4+ in 5 of its last 9
- Columbus has scored 2 goals or less in 4 of its last 6 games
- The home team has won 8 of the last 9 meetings
- Pittsburgh has won 16 of its last 21 home games against Columbus
- The Under is 8-1-2 in Columbus’ last 11 games when playing for the 3rd time in 4 days
- Hornqvist is questionable for Pittsburgh
Probable goalies: Bobrovsky, Murray (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Winnipeg: The Jets come into this game with plenty of momentum after Tuesday’s 6-4 victory in Nashville, when Winnipeg scored the winner late in regulation. Marchand, Spooner and Nash are all questionable for Boston (flu) while Krejci and McQuaid are out.
Reasons to bet Boston: The Bruins have held 6 of their last 7 opponents to 2 regulation time goals or less. Winnipeg has lost 6 of its last 7 road games.
Other things to know:
- Boston is 10-5-3 at home
- Winnipeg has outshot its last 3 opponents 130-84
- Winnipeg has scored 3+ goals in 6 of its last 8 games
- Both teams are playing their 4th game in 6 days
- Boston is playing its 6th game in 9 days
- The Under is 6-0 in Boston’s last 6 games playing for the 3rd time in 4 days, and 20-7-7 in Boston’s last 34 playing for the 4th time in 6
- Boston has scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 4 of its last 6 games, excluding empty netters
Probable goalies: Hellebuyck (confirmed), Rask (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Ottawa: The Senators have scored 3+ goals in 3 straight games after scoring just 5 goals in their previous 5 games combined. Tampa is playing its first home game following a 4-game western road trip.
Reasons to bet Tampa: The Lightning is 13-2-1 at home. Ottawa has lost 9 of its last 10 road games and 13 of 16 overall.
Other things to know:
- Tampa has won 4 of the last 5 meetings and 6 of 8
- Tampa has allowed 9 goals in its last 2 games after allowing 10 goals in its previous 6 games combined
- Tampa has scored 3+ goals in 8 straight games
- Phaneuf is out for Ottawa
Probable goalies: Anderson (confirmed), Vasilevskiy (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Carolina: The Hurricanes look to rebound from an embarrassing 8-1 loss Tuesday in Toronto. Nashville has lost its last 3 meetings with the Hurricanes and 7 of the last 10.
Reasons to bet Nashville: The Predators are 11-3-2 at home while Carolina has just 7 wins in 19 road games this season. The Hurricanes have scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 8 of their last 10 games.
Other things to know:
- Carolina beat Nashville 4-3 in a shootout Nov. 26 in Carolina
- The home team has won 9 of the last 12 meetings
- The Under is 5-2-1 in the last 8 meetings
- Carolina has lost 13 of its last 16 games following a loss by 3+ goals
Probable goalies: Darling, Rinne
Reasons to bet Chicago: The Blackhawks are on a 5-game winning streak and are 5-0-2 in their last 7 games against Dallas. The Stars have lost 6 of their last 8 games.
Reasons to bet Dallas: The Stars are 10-4-1 at home. Chicago has lost 7 of its last 9 games against teams with winning records.
Other things to know:
- Dallas beat Chicago 3-2 in a shootout Dec. 2 in Dallas and 4-3 in OT Nov. 30 in Chicago
- Chicago has allowed 7 goals in its last 5 games and 2 regulation time goals or less in 6 of its last 8
- The Under is 5-1-1 in Chicago’s last 7 road games
Probable goalies: Crawford, Bishop (confirmed)
Reasons to bet St. Louis: The Blues have won 21 of their last 26 games when playing for the second straight day. Edmonton has lost 13 of its last 16 games following a victory.
Reasons to bet Edmonton: The Oilers seek revenge for an 8-3 loss Nov. 21 in St. Louis. The Blues have scored 4 goals in their last 5 games.
Other things to know:
- St. Louis beat Edmonton 4-1 Nov. 16 in Edmonton
- St. Louis has scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 6 straight games
- Edmonton has allowed 2 goals or less in 4 of its last 6 games
- St. Louis is playing its 4th game in 6 days
- The Under is 6-0 in St. Louis’ last 6 games
- Sekera is expected to make his season debut for Edmonton
Probable goalies: Allen, Talbot
Reasons to bet Colorado: The Avalanche has won 4 of its last 6 games, including a 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Monday. LA is playing its first home game following a 4-game eastern road trip.
Reasons to bet Los Angeles: The Kings have won 9 of their last 12. Colorado has scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 10 of its last 13 games.
Other things to know:
- Colorado is 6-9-1 on the road
- LA is 10-5-2 at home
- The Over is 20-11 in Colorado’s games this year
- LA has won 8 of the last 11 meetings
- Colorado has scored 9 goals in its last 2 games and 4+ goals in 3 of its last 6
- Colorado has allowed 1 power play goal in its last 9 games
- The Under is 6-1-4 in the last 11 meetings in LA
- The Over is 9-2 in Colorado’s last 11 road games
- The Under is 7-2 in LA’s last 9 home games
Probable goalies: Varlamov (confirmed), Quick
Good luck!
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