It’s been a tough grind this week for our NHL betting picks, going 0-3 this week to drop to 13-8 on the season.
We mentioned in Thursday’s writeup that we had reservations about backing the Blue Jackets against Buffalo, since the Sabres were coming off a bad loss and Columbus hasn’t been scoring many goals lately.
The first period splits of both teams were too extreme for us to ignore, however, and we went ahead with the Blue Jackets First Period Moneyline at -126 odds. Of course, Buffalo emerged from the first 20 minutes with a 1-0 lead.
That’s the way it goes sometimes, and we’ll try to shrug off this cold spell tonight with 3 bets. Two of them involve fading teams coming off their bye week, which was an extremely profitable strategy in 2017.
Don’t forget to check out our live odds page if you’re interested in seeing tonight’s NHL betting lines. Otherwise, here’s what we like for tonight:
NHL Betting Picks For Tonight
Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild
The Jets have been scoring tons of goals lately, but almost all of them have come at home. On the road, they’re struggling to get to 3 most nights, potting 2 or less in 4 of their last 6 outings.
Tonight, Winnipeg plays the second game of a back-to-back at Minnesota, where the Wild has been stingy as usual. Minny is allowing around 2.2 goals per game at home this year, and they’re also seeking revenge for a 7-2 whipping at the hands of the Jets earlier this season.
NHL Betting Prediction: Jets Team Total Under 2.5 +102
Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights
The Oilers took advantage of one team coming off their bye week last night (Arizona) and now get another crack at a team that hasn’t played in nearly a week.
Vegas is 18-2 at home this season, but this will be a very tough spot for them. Meanwhile, Edmonton might salvage some momentum from digging out of an early 2-0 hole and gutting out a 4-2 victory last night in Glendale.
No team off their bye week should be favoured in the -200 range. There’s some magic this season in Vegas, however, so we’ll protect ourselves a bit by just asking the Oilers to get this one into OT. (If Edmonton wins the game outright, we’ll still cash the +0.5 ticket as well.)
NHL betting prediction: Oilers +0.5 (regulation time) +103
Arizona Coyotes at San Jose Sharks
This is another game in which a team that has played recently gets to take on a team that hasn’t played or practiced for nearly a week.
Arizona stinks, but the Coyotes did pull off a couple of major upsets last year in this price range when facing teams coming off their bye week. San Jose is hardly invincible at the best of times this season, but they’ll be even more vulnerable tonight.
Rather than require the Coyotes to pull off the outright upset, let’s just take them on the first period moneyline instead. That’s when San Jose should be at its rustiest, while Arizona figures to only tire out as the game goes on, playing for the second straight night.
NHL betting prediction: Coyotes First Period Moneyline +173