Free NHL Betting Picks For Monday, January 16

We split our 2 picks Friday for a small loss and are now 6-2 since we started posting these daily free NHL betting picks for tonight last week.

There’s 7 games in the NHL today, including 5 afternoon starts as it’s Martin Luther King Day in the United States.

Here’s what we like for today:

 

NHL Betting Picks For Tonight

1. Kings -1 +122 (Pinnacle)

We love using the -1 puck line when we don’t want to lay the big juice with the favourite but we also don’t want to risk the -1.5 puck line. With so many games in the NHL decided by 1 goal (including 24% in OT or shootouts), it’s nice to have the protection of a push if our team wins by 1. That said, we like LA’s chances of winning by 2 or more here. Tampa’s lost 10 of its last 11 games on the road and has also dropped its past 4 visits to LA, where the Kings have won 5 of their last 7 games. LA has broken out of a recent scoring slump to score 3 goals or more in 4 straight games, and that should spell trouble for a Tampa team that has given up 3+ in 8 of its last 10. The Kings don’t often blow teams out but 18 of Tampa’s 24 losses have come by 2 goals or more, and we’ll look for that to continue this afternoon.

Bet this game at Pinnacle

2. Capitals First Period Moneyline +111 (5Dimes)

Pittsburgh’s favoured here despite the fact Washington has won 9 straight games and the Pens have lost 3 in a row. We understand the line as many expect the Penguins to be desperate in this game and bring a max effort, but will that be enough to derail the red-hot Capitals? Washington’s outscored its opposition 40-11 in its last 9 games and hasn’t allowed an even strength goal in its last 3 games. The reason we can’t back the Caps on the full game here is because the Pens have proven to be in their heads over the years (mostly the playoffs, but Washington’s still lost 5 in a row in Pittsburgh) and we respect the defending Stanley Cup champs enough to think they can get the job done here. But Washington’s first period splits are phenomenal this year while the Penguins have actually been outscored in the first period this season, so getting the Capitals at plus money in the first 20 minutes looks like a great bargain to us.