This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Expert Picks: Best NHL Bets and Player Props for Thursday, October 13
RotoWire's AJ Scholz takes a deep dive into his favorite bets ahead of Thursday's 10-game slate, including a look at the Moneyline, Puckline, total and player props with odds courtesy of the DraftKings Sportsbook.
NHL Odds Tonight
- Coyotes (+280) at Penguins (-340); O/U 6.5
- Senators (-125) as Sabres (+105); O/U 6.0
- Devils (-135) at Flyers (+115); O/U 6.0
- Capitals (+160) at Maple Leafs (-190); O/U 6.5
- Panthers (-130) at Islanders (+110); O/U 6.0
- Rangers (+110) at Wild (-130); O/U 6.0
- Stars (+120) at Predators (-140); O/U 6.0
- Avalanche (+100) at Flames (-120); O/U 6.0
- Blackhawks (+290) at Golden Knights (-350) O/U 6.5
- Kraken (+165) at Kings (-195) O/U 6.0
NHL Moneyline Targets
Picking the Favorite: Obviously, if I were going to try and pick some winning teams, I would look at heavy favorites Pittsburgh and Vegas, but those odds are skewed against betting on them on the Moneyline. Instead, to get some more value, I'm going to look at the Senators tonight who made some quality adds during the offseason in Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux which should give them two viable scoring lines. On the flip side, the Sabres are an up-and-coming team with a ton of young talent but it's early in the early and their goaltending is a bit suspect. As such, I'll be targeting the Senators on the Moneyline at -120.
Finding an Underdog: Look, full disclosure I am going to cheat on this one and look to the Avalanche who are +100 which makes them technically underdogs. You will be hard-pressed to find Colorado among the underdogs at any point during the rest of the season. To be fair, this is no easy matchup for Colorado but they are at home and will be raising up their Stanley Cup banner. New netminder Alexandar Georgiev will no doubt be eager to prove himself and the overhauled Flames may take some time to get everybody on the same page. It's Colorado on the Moneyline at +100 for me.
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NHL Puckline Bets
Favorite Team to Cover: In their first game of the season, the Kings suffered a disappointing last-second defeat to the Golden Knights. Their young talents were in full force for Los Angeles getting plenty of production from Gabriel Vilardi (goal and assist), Arthur Kaliyev (goal) and Quinton Byfield (assist). Meanwhile, Seattle will be coming into this matchup on the second night of a back-to-back, which should give the edge to the Kings to win by more than 1.5 goals for +145 value.
Best of the Rest: As mentioned above. the Golden Knights and Penguins are both heavy favorites in their matchups tonight. As such, they are also solid teams to target on the Puckline. You'll have to give up a little juice on both accounts but Vegas and Pittsburgh should cover at -140 and -145 respectively.
NHL Totals To Target
Taking the Over: Buffalo has the aforementioned questions in goal with Craig Anderson set to kick off his 20th NHL season having entered the league during the 2002-03 campaign. Similarly, Ottawa will be forced to roll with Anton Forsberg between the pipes after Cam Talbot (ribs) was injured during the preseason. Add offensive studs Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk and Tage Thompson into the mix and this game has all the makings of a goal-fest. You'll snag over 6.0 at -115 in this one.
Spotting the Under: Two teams that aren't facing any questions between the pipes this year are the Wild and Rangers who both have Vezina Trophy-winning netminders patrolling the crease. Igor Shesterkin was solid in his season debut, stopping 25 of 26 shots in a winning effort over the Lightning. Give me under 6.0 for -110 value in this clash.
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Top NHL Player Props and Shot Props
Anytime Goal Scorer: Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel is coming off his first 40-goal season and there are plenty of preseason rumblings about whether he can reach the 50 mark. A matchup with the woeful Coyotes presents a perfect opportunity for him to get on the board early. As such, I'll grab the favorite in this contest Guentzel as an anytime goalscorer at +100.
Shots on Goal: In his first game of the season Wednesday night, Auston Matthews -- the defending Rocket Trophy winner courtesy of 60 goals last year -- failed to put one into the back of the net despite racking up five shots. He'll face the Capitals tonight on the second of a back-to-back but that shouldn't stop him from peppering the opposing netminder, likely Charlie Lindgren, with rubber. I'll take Matthews over 4.5 shots at +110 here.
NHL Best Bets Tonight Recap
- Jake Guentzel Anytime Goal Scorer (+100)
- Auston Matthews OVER 4.5 Shots (+110)
- Senators Moneyline (-120)
- Avalanche Moneyline (+100)
- Kings Puckline (+145)
- Sabres-Senators OVER 6.0 Goals (-115)
- Rangers-Wild UNDER 6.0 Goals (-110)
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