Are the Panthers underpriced in Ottawa tonight? Will the Maple Leafs and Devils combine for enough goals to cash the over for bettors? Will San Jose’s success versus St. Louis carry into this season? Check out our NHL Thursday Best Bets.
NHL Wednesday Best Bets Recap
My best bets for Wednesday were the Rangers (-140) over the Penguins, the Flames-Canucks over 6 and the Avalanche-Golden Knights under 6.5. Much like Tuesday, I finished with a 2-1 record and a profitable night. The Avalanche-Golden Knights under was screwed from the start, as the teams combined for four goals in the first period. Vegas’ 8-4 victory blew past the 6.5-goal total.
Fortunately, our two wins were also laughers. The Rangers led 3-0 after one period and finished with a 6-0 advantage. The Flames and Canucks combined for five goals in the opening period 11 goals overall. It’s nice not having to sweat out wins.
I am now 4-2 ATS on the season. A $100.00 bettor would be up $220.00.
NHL Thursday Best Bets: Florida Panthers -140, 7:00 p.m. ET
I don’t know why the Panthers’ price is so inexpensive but I’ll gladly back Florida in the Tkachuk Bowl tonight. The Panthers are 9-1 against the Senators in the last 10 meetings between these two teams. When these squads met four times last season, Florida swept the series and shut out Ottawa in three of those games. You’d have to go back to March of 2023 to find the last time – and the only time in the last 10 meetings – that the Senators won a game versus the Panthers.
Florida also already has a game under its belt. The Panthers beat the Bruins 6-4 on Tuesday night as a -161 moneyline favorite. I know some like Ottawa to be a sleeper this season, but I don’t know why the Panthers would be expensive on the moneyline versus Boston, but relatively cheap against Ottawa.
NHL Thursday Best Bets: Maple Leafs/Devils over 6.5 (-115), 7:00 p.m. ET
These two teams met three times last season and combined for nine, seven and 11 goals, respectively, in those three contests. It didn’t matter if the game was played in Toronto or Jersey, the games were high-scoring. In fact, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams and has cashed in the last four Toronto-New Jersey tilts.
NHL Thursday Best Bets: San Jose Sharks +140, 10:30 p.m. ET
The Blues have owned the Sharks over the last 10 meetings between these two teams, winning seven times over that span. However, San Jose swept the season series with St. Louis in 2023-24. Outside of the final matchup played in April (a 3-2 overtime win for the Sharks), the games weren’t particularly close, either. The Sharks blew out the Blues 5-1 in San Jose on November 16, 2023 and again in St. Louis on March 30, shutting the Note out, 4-0.
The Blues also didn’t play well for long stretches on Tuesday afternoon in Seattle. They opened the game with a good 10-minute stretch, then played awful hockey for roughly 30 minutes. The Kraken took a 2-0 lead over that span before the Jordan Kyrou caught fire, scoring two goals in the Blues 3-2 victory. Without goaltender Jordan Binnington, the Blues probably lose in a blowout.
I think the Sharks are worth a dice roll tonight as a home dog.
