Today’s NHL schedule is loaded with 12 games and I got three picks for you.
The pregame narrative: The Florida Panthers host the Nashville Predators on a back-to-back and I like the home team to win comfortably. Elsewhere, I’m fading offence in the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings game while backing Nino Niederreiter to score a point.
Find my NHL best bets for Nov. 7 below.
NHL best bets
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Best Bet: Canucks/Kings under 6 goals (-121)
These teams are two of the more defensively sound teams in the NHL.
The Canucks allow the fifth-fewest shots (26.8) per game while the Kings allow the third-fewest (25.5). A low amount of shots tonight would limit the scoring chances for both sides.
Additionally, Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen has been a plus in goal for his team in the absence of Thatcher Demko.
The Finnish goalie ranks 22nd among 71 eligible goalies with 1.5 goals saved above expected, per Money Puck.
Both the Canucks (16.7%) and the Kings (17.0%) have a bottom-12 powerplay which makes it easy to fade offence here.
Key stat: Nine of the last 10 games played between the Canucks and Kings have finished with six or fewer total goals.
Quick picks
Panthers -1.5 (+132): The Predators are on a road back-to-back and things don’t get any easier against Florida.
The Panthers have won five straight games, covering this puck line in each win. They have a victory over the New York Rangers and two against the Dallas Stars in the span.
Florida hasn’t played since Saturday which may be a concern to some but I’d rather back the well-rested Panthers over the struggling Predators on the second half of a road back-to-back.
Nashville had high aspirations coming into this season after having a productive summer but things have yet to click and I can’t picture a turnaround against the reigning Cup champs.
The Preds score the fourth-fewest goals per game (2.38) and allow the seventh-most (3.38). They’ve struggled in the early part of the season with a 4-8-1 record.
Juuse Saros will get the night off after playing in last night’s loss to the Washington Capitals. That leaves Scott Wedgewood and he’s struggled in his two starts, allowing seven goals on 48 shots (.854 SV%).
Florida comes in the better-rested and more talented team which has my giddy to back them on the puck line.
Niederreiter to record a point (+128): I’m going to keep this one short and simple.
The Jets are 12-1-0 and their offence leads the NHL in goals scored per game (4.77).
Niederreiter has contributed 12 points in 13 games and plays on the second power play. That includes scoring at least a point in seven of the last nine games and the Colorado Avalanche provides a juicy matchup.
The Avs concede the most goals per game (4.15) and starting goalie Alexander Georgiev has been awful. He’s allowed a whopping 10.2 goals above expected which unsurprisingly is the worst in the league.
For context, the next closest is Connor Ingram who’s allowed 6.7 goals above expected. Yeah, Georgiev has been that bad.
And considering the other top-six forwards on Colorado all carry -129 odds or wider, I like the value on Niederreiter as plus money.
NHL best bets made at 11:39 a.m. ET 11/07/2024.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.