Tuesday’s NHL schedule is loaded with 10 games featuring some of the league's best teams and I have two moneyline bets. Read on for today's odds, picks and best bets for today's NHL games and check out the VSiN Hockey Betting Podcast. A new episode just dropped.
Today’s NHL Odds
- Columbus Blue Jackets (+320) at New York Rangers (-390)
- Nashville Predators (+250) at Boston Bruins (-300)
- Pittsburgh Penguins (-180) at Detroit Red Wings (+155)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (+120) at Carolina Hurricanes (-140)
- Montreal Canadiens (+145) at Philadelphia Flyers (-170)
- Vancouver Canucks (-105) at St. Louis Blues (-115)
- Dallas Stars (-280) at Chicago Blackhawks (+235)
- Los Angeles Kings (+115) at Calgary Flames (-135)
- Edmonton Oilers (-120) at Vegas Golden Knights (EVEN)
- Winnipeg Jets (-180) at San Jose Sharks (+155)
Visit VSiN NHL Odds to see the full board.
NHL Schedule Breakdown
The following table highlights tired spots and/or days’ rest.
|
Rest
|
Visitor
|
Home
|
Rest
|
|
3/4
|
NSH
|
BOS
|
3/4
|
|
3/4
|
VAN
|
STL
|
3/4
|
|
2
|
TBL
|
CAR
|
3/4
|
|
2
|
DAL
|
CHI
|
3/4
|
|
3/4
|
LAK
|
CGY
|
2
|
|
2
|
CBJ
|
NYR
|
2
|
|
2
|
PIT
|
DET
|
2
|
|
2
|
WPG
|
SJS
|
2
|
|
0
|
MTL
|
PHI
|
2
|
|
0
|
EDM
|
VGK
|
2
|
Today’s NHL Picks and Best Bets
Los Angeles Kings (+115) at Calgary Flames (-135)
Since February 1st, the Kings rank third in expected goals percentage (all situations) and have scored 62 percent of the goals. That’s a 20-game stretch where Los Angeles has been one of the best teams in the league, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as the team has a chance to capture the Pacific Division crown and head into the playoffs on a hot streak. The Kings recently received two of their more impactful players, Kevin Fiala and Sean Durzi, back from injury, too.
As far as Calgary is concerned, it’s the same old story. They drive play, but often don’t have anything to show for it and it seems as if that’s starting to catch up. The Flames underlying numbers are not as strong over the last month as they were prior, and Los Angeles is just a better team.
The Kings are scoring a goal more than the Flames per 60 minutes right now, and they’re allowing a goal less (per 60) and they’ve won their last two meetings, including an 8-2 victory last week at home. The Flames are 6-10 at home since January 1st.
Bet: Los Angeles Kings (Moneyline) +115 for 1 unit
Vancouver Canucks at St. Louis Blues
I don’t know if Vancouver Canucks fans are ever going to forgive Rick Tocchet for absolutely ruining their chances at drafting Connor Bedard No. 1 overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The Canucks are 16-9-2 since firing Bruce Boudreau and they’re 10-3-0 over the last month. The Blues have a winning record over the last month as well, but unlike Vancouver, it’s not because they have been playing exceptionally well. St. Louis has had an easy schedule.
Vancouver ranks seventh in expected goals percentage since Feb. 28th and they’ve scored almost 62 percent of the goals in those games, but the biggest reason they’ve been able to go on this run is goaltender Thatcher Demko, who has saved the team more than six goals above average since returning. He’s posted a .922 save percentage.
By my estimation, Vancouver should be a slight favorite in this one, as the Blues don’t have a strong home ice advantage.
Bet: Vancouver Canucks (Moneyline) -105 to win 0.5 units
Nashville Predators at Boston Bruins
There’s a lot of uncertainty here. The Predator’s lineup has been decimated by injuries. First Ryan Johansen, then Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi, now Matt Duchene. There’s a chance that Josi could be back in on Tuesday, but there’s also a chance that the Predators hit the ice without any of those players, which would likely lead to an easy win for the Bruins.
The Bruins will likely win the game, but we have no idea what their lineup will look like on Tuesday and while it’s easy to say: Boston beat Carolina on Sunday even though they rested three (Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Hampus Lindholm) of their best players so they will beat Nashville because they probably will, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good bet.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina hasn’t been the same team since losing Andrei Svechnikov to a season-ending injury. The Hurricanes rank 22nd in expected goals in the eight games since the injury and they’ve scored just 45 percent of the goals. In fact, only five teams have scored fewer goals than Carolina during this recent two-week stretch.
Tampa Bay has been worse, though, and they’ve been playing lacklustre hockey for a longer period, and their offense has been top heavy. Almost all of their scoring is coming from their top players, and they aren’t getting many contributions from the bottom of their lineup. This game feels like a bit of a coinflip, but the Hurricanes are the better team, and they have home ice advantage i.e., +120 is not enough to warrant a bet on the Lightning.
Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights
Revenge should be on the Oilers’ mind on Tuesday after losing 4-3 to Vegas in overtime at home on Saturday. Edmonton defeated Arizona on Monday, so they’ll be playing tired, but at least they’ll have Stuart Skinner between the pipes against the Golden Knights, who have been off for two days since their win over the Oilers.
Edmonton controlled the first half of the game, but they let the Golden Knights hang around and it cost them. I’m still surprised that Vegas played as well as they did considering that they rank 25th in shot attempt percentage and 26th in expected goals percentage over the last month, but thanks to some unsustainable play from their goaltenders, they’ve managed to score approximately 58 percent of the goals.
My gut, and my model, says the Oilers will win on Tuesday, but the current odds aren’t very enticing.
All bets tracked via third part app Betstamp.