Will the Stars pick up their fifth win of the season when they visit the Capitals? Will the struggling Kings find their footing against an opponent they’ve owned in previous years? Can the Islanders hand the Blues their third consecutive defeat? Check out our Thursday NHL Predictions.
Wednesday NHL Best Bet Recap
My three suggestions for yesterday were the Sabres-Penguins under 6 (+100), the Bruins-Avalanche over 6.5 (+100) and the Utah Hockey Club (-130) over the Ducks. The totals evened out, as the Sabres and Penguins combined for a whopping 11 goals to smash the under to bits, but the Bruins and Avalanche combined for eight goals to cash the over. The Utah Hockey Club could have been our savior, but they couldn’t hold onto a one-goal lead in the third period and lost 5-4 in overtime.
The 1-2 night dropped my season record to 14-13. A $100.00 bettor would be down -$110.00 after last night. Let’s see if we can right the ship tonight.
Thursday NHL Best Bet: Dallas Stars (-150), 7:00 p.m. ET
The Stars have been one of – if not the most – impressive teams in the NHL to start the season. They opened the year in Nashville, where they collected a 4-3 win over the Predators. From there, they posted back-to-back shutouts of the Islanders (3-0) and Kraken (2-0), respectively, then defeated the Sharks 3-2 in a shootout.
While tonight will be their first road game since beating the Preds, I don’t think Dallas minds traveling to Washington. The Stars have won eight out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams, which includes a win streak of five in a row. Dallas swept the season series with Washington last year, posting a 4-0 record versus the Capitals in the process. Two of those wins, of course, came in Washington.
While I don’t love paying -150 on the moneyline, the price still isn’t bad for a team that is red-hot to start the season and has dominated in previous meetings between these two teams.
Thursday NHL Best Bet Predictions: Los Angeles Kings (-130), 7:00 p.m. ET
The Kings won their opener at Buffalo and have since dropped three straight contests. Two of those losses came in overtime, while their latest defeat came in Toronto where the Kings fell, 6-2.
That said, tonight should be a great-right spot for Los Angeles. The Habs are 2-2 on the season but they’ve lost six consecutive games to the Kings. You’d have to go back to November 9, 2019 to discover the last time Montreal defeated Los Angeles. The Kings are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings with the Habs.
While the record isn’t pretty for the Kings, keep in mind that all four of their games have been played on the road. Given the opponent tonight, I like L.A. to come through as slight favorites.
Thursday NHL Best Bet Predictions: New York Islanders (-130), 8:00 p.m. ET
Let’s take a look at this 2024 Blues squad, shall we? They started in Seattle where they fell behind 2-0 to the Kraken before rallying for a 3-2 victory. From there, they went to San Jose and again found themselves down, only this time they trailed 4-1 heading into the third period. Again the Blues rallied, winning this time 5-4 in overtime.
That said, since that point, the Blues have lost 4-3 to the Golden Knights and were hammered by the Wild 4-1 in their home opener. In that game, the environment was flat and so was the team. Coach Drew Bannister also continues to mix up his lines trying to find the right combinations with so many new faces.
At some point the Blues might get their footing and turn into a wild card contender. For now, I don’t mind fading them, especially with an Islanders team coming off an impressive 6-2 win over the Avalanche in Denver, CO.