NHL Picks Today: Best NHL Bets and Player Props for January 31, 2024

NHL Picks Today: Best NHL Bets and Player Props for January 31, 2024

This article is part of our NHL Picks series.

Last day of NHL action before the All-Star break, and man, this break can't come soon enough. I was on a heater through January, feeling so good about myself, telling my wife about my wins, rolling profits over and hitting. But then it all fell apart… last night… when the Blues and Kraken combined for ZERO (0) combined goals against the Blue Jackets and Sharks respectively in what could go down as two of the most boring games of hockey ever played. The boys were clearly already on vacay in those games, so how does that shake up for tonight's tilts? I really don't want to, but, we're getting in on the action for the 3-game NHL slate this evening and we'll just hope and pray that some of the guys decide to show up. Here are the best NHL bets and player props tonight. 

Best NHL Bets Tonight

Red Wings ML (-115 on DraftKings)

If there's a team in the league that won't phone it in early, it's Steve Yzerman's Red Wings. They have a home game against the Senators tonight. They've won seven of their last 10 games overall, but they've lost eight of their last 10 against the Sens. I think the books are weighing that head-to-head track record and keeping the odds pretty close, but that's why I like the line. The Senators have lost seven of their last 10 road games, and I think they're due to drop another one after winning their last two away from Ottawa. 

Sharks, Ducks under 5.5 (+114 on FanDuel)

If you wanted to run an interesting experiment, just take the under in all three games tonight. That would effectively test the theory of the boys mailing it in the day before All-Star break because they're already mentally in Cabo, Greece, or wherever it is they'll be vacationing this week. But, for the sake of a confident pick, I like the under here. The Sharks and Ducks suck. I don't know how the Sharks stole two goals from the Kraken last night, but somehow they did. They're surprisingly hot right now too, winning four of their last five. They've had a tough stretch against the Ducks though, losing seven of their last 10 matchups. Most of those games went over 5.5, but I am running the experiment in this one. 

Top NHL Player Props Tonight

Roman Josi over 0.5 points (-135 on DraftKings)

The Kings-Predators matchup sort of scares me because anything really could happen. The Kings are better than their recent record of losing 14 of their last 16 games. The Predators are also better than their inconsistency of late, as they've lost four of five. They beat the Kings 2-1 back on January 18 too. In a matchup of inconsistent teams, I'm riding a consistent hand. Josi's got 13 points in his last 10 games and has points in eight of those 10. 

Filip Forsberg over 3.5 shots on goal (-120 on DraftKings)

I don't love this bet but I should. Forsberg's hit over 3.5 shots in six of his last 10 games, and he had an eye-popping NINE on the road at Edmonton two games ago. He registered six in the January 18 contest with the Kings, and I think he comes out firing tonight too. 

 Happy hunting y'all!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grant Leonard
Former Junior B ice hockey player, and current believer that the Washington Capitals' aging core still has another Cup run left in the tank. Writing about hockey and sports betting for RotoWire since 2022.
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