Will the Kings stay hot on the moneyline when they visit the Islanders tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET? Will the Blues and Canucks combine for enough points to cash the over for bettors? Read on for our Tuesday NHL Best Bets.
Monday NHL Best Bets Recap
My four plays on Monday were the Red Wings (+125) over the Sabres, the Blackhawks-Rangers over 6 (-105), the Blackhawks (+168) in the first period and the under 1.5 in the first period of the Ducks-Canadiens matchup. I went 1-2-1 with those best bets. While the Red Wings upset the Sabres and the Blackhawks pushed in the first period against the Rangers, the over fell well short in that same Chicago-New York matchup and the Ducks and Habs combined for two goals in the first period.
The loss puts me at 25-16-3 since I introduced this new format on Friday, November 29. A $100.00 bettor would still be up +$903.00 over that span.
Tuesday NHL Best Moneyline (Game) Bet: Los Angeles Kings -135, 7:30 p.m. ET
Only the Penguins (4-1, 87.25%) and Sharks (3-2, 71.00%) have been more profitable over their last five games than the Kings. Over that span, Los Angeles is 5-0, with a return on investment of 69.93%. They have also been profitable over their last 10 games, winning seven of those 10 contests, with an ROI of 11.95%.
If we look at head-to-head trends, the Kings are 6-4 in their last 10 meetings with the Islanders, although that includes a 5-1 mark versus New York in the last six head-to-head meetings. Over that span, the Kings have outscored the Islanders by a combined 19-10 margin.
Tuesday NHL Best Total (Game) Bet: Blues-Canucks over 5.5, 10:00 p.m. ET
The over is 7-2-1 in the Canucks’ last 10 games. Over that span, no team in hockey has a higher ROI to the over than Vancouver’s 43.75%. Granted, St. Louis has played more to the under of late (its 4-1 in its last five games). That said, the Blues are coming to the end of a long four-game road trip through Canada that started on December 3 in Winnipeg. They had one home game (a 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers) sandwiched in between an Eastern Conference three-game road trip, so this has to be a tired Blues team. They have a break coming up after tonight’s game, so I expect this team to play somewhat lax.
Tuesday NHL Best First Period Puck Line Bet: Penguins +124, 7:00 p.m. ET
The Penguins have played better hockey of late. They’re 6-3-1 over their last 10 games but if we shrink that sample size down to their last six games, they’re 5-1. They have also been a strong first period team, producing a 6-3-1 (30.97%) over their last 10 games. The Penguins own that same exact record and similar ROI (30.16%) in their last 10 home contests.
While they have been better in the first period of late (2-1-2, 10.77% over their last five games), the Avalanche remain a losing bet in the first period overall. For the year, Colorado is just 7-17-5 on the first period moneyline, for an ROI of -39.65%. That’s the worst ROI in all of hockey. The Aves are also just 2-5-3 on the first period moneyline over their last 10 games.
Tuesday NHL Best Team Total Bet: Florida Panthers over 3.5 Goals (+108), 10:00 p.m. ET
The Panthers will face off versus the Kraken tonight in Seattle. Florida’s team total over its last 10 games has gone over seven times. In their last six games, the Panthers scored at least four goals five times. Granted, they mustered only three goals in a 3-1 victory over the Sharks on December 7, which was their last game, but I love getting plus odds on the Panthers’ team total tonight. The Kraken just surrendered five goals in a 7-5 win over the Rangers in their last game.