Thursday night's slate gives us twelve games to choose from, so I have picked four matchups that I feel hold the best value for NHL bettors. Check out my NHL picks for these games, as we try to maxamize out our NHL betting payouts.
Lets check out some of tonight's biggest games and cover the NHL picks I find to have the best chance of in cashing for us as the sportsbooks.
Tampa Bay
Lightning @ Washington Capitals
NHL Odds: Over/Under 5.5
We won’t delve too much into this sports pick as the long
version can be read in the full preview. The bottom line in this game is that
with Mathieu Garon out for the Lightning, goaltending is once again a problem
and Dwayne Roloson is simply not the answer.
If he’s in net, this is a solid over play.
Roloson hasn’t allowed less than three goals in a start
since November 17th and he’s been just terrible recently. He’s 2-8-1
in his last 16 appearances with a 4.38 GAA. If Washington puts 30 shots on net,
they might hit the over themselves.
Tampa Bay scores their share of goals too, so look for
both sides to contribute to this over NHL betting play.
Read my full game preview here.
NHL Picks: Over
San Jose Sharks @
Dallas Stars
NHL Odds: Stars -110
The price seems about right for the Dallas Starts on
Thursday as they take on the slumping San Jose Sharks.
The Stars have won seven of their last eight games and
their only loss came in a shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are playing
at another level these days. Meanwhile, the Sharks simply can’t stop their
slide as they have now dropped nine of their last 11 games
While the Stars are coming off an encouraging 5-2 road
win over the league-leading Vancouver Canucks, the Sharks are fresh off an
embarrassing 3-2 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
The Sharks have scored just four goals in their last four
games and notched two or fewer in eight of their last 10. Dallas is actually
the better team according to recent performances and the standings, so take
them at home in this spot.
NHL Picks: Stars
Montreal Canadiens
@ Edmonton Oilers
NHL Odds: Oilers -130
We’re going to continue betting against the Montreal
Canadiens as their season is in severe decline. They’ve lost seven of their
last eight games and their effort in those contests has come into question. Not
much is likely to change in Edmonton, where the Habs have struggled mightily
over the years.
Montreal has lost eight of their last nine visits to
Rexall Place and have allowed 19 goals in the last four meetings. That’s not a
good sign as the Habs have been the better team over the last four matchups but
this time, the Oilers and Habs are fairly even in the standings.
The Oilers are getting decent goaltending from Devan
Dubnyk, who is 4-2-0 with a 2.18 GAA in his last six starts. When that’s the
case, the Oilers can be competitive. As for the Habs, they don’t have much
fight left in them. Take the Oilers here.
NHL Picks: Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
@ Columbus Blue Jackets
NHL Odds: Kings -140
We’ll ride with the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday as they
appear to have some momentum on their side.
The Kings have won three straight and they’re scoring
goals aplenty, which is a good sign. They’ve scored at least four goals in each
of their last three games, so one would think that doing the same against
Columbus is attainable.
The Blue Jackets have been using Steve Mason in net
fairly consistently and hopefully he’s between the pipes on Thursday. He’s lost
four of five against the Kings while posting a 4.96 GAA.
This is also Jeff Carter’s return to Columbus, where he
really struggled this year. Don’t be surprised if he’s fired up to stick it to
his former team and help his new one get the one. Bet the Kings.
NHL Picks: Kings