NHL Best Bets for Thursday (1/9)

Thursday’s NHL best bets will cover another 10-game slate that has a first puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

With our FTN betting package, you’ll get picks from everyone at FTN, plus tools, projections and access to Discord, where I’ll discuss every slate.

Today’s Best NHL Bets

Toronto Maple Leafs ML

(+145, Bet365)

The Hurricanes haven’t been the same team this season, and a big reason for that is their subpar goaltending situation. Freddie Andersen’s injury early on really set them back more than his annual trip to the IR usually does. Pyotr Kochetkov is undoubtedly the best remaining goalie, but he has been very inconsistent, and my take is that his inconsistency is due to his increased workload. Even though he saw a ton of action last season, he still was able to get rest nearly every other game. The Leafs are currently in the middle of their mentor’s trip and should be motivated to give a much better performance in front of their mentor’s than Tuesday’s game against the Flyers where they somehow squeaked a win despite being outplayed. I believe this game is closer to a 50/50 matchup, and that makes the Leafs ML too good of a value to pass up at +145 on Bet365.

New Jersey/NY Rangers Over 6.5

(+100, Bet365/DraftKings Sportsbook/FanDuel Sportsbook, 1.5u to win 1.5u)

The Rangers goaltending situation is going to make the majority of their games turn into high-scoring affairs more often than not. Over the last month of play, the Rangers are leading the entire league in CF+CA per game, which is a metric I use for “pace of play.” There’s naturally going to be more high-danger scoring chances in these games, so it’s not a surprise that the Rangers also lead in high-danger chances for and against over the last month of play. The Devils certainly play at a slower pace, but they’re still around the league average, and are one of the best in the league at generating grade-A chances. To be able to get the over 6.5 at even money is a steal.

Vegas Golden Knights -1.5

(+148, FanDuel Sportsbook, 2u to win 2.96u)

The Golden Knights are the hottest team in the league and it’s not even close. They have won nine of their last 10 games and their only loss was to the Habs in a weird New Year’s Eve Noon local start time that is incredibly out of the ordinary for Vegas. They have steadily controlled the majority of the games since Mark Stone came off IR, and even more so at home, where they have an outstanding 17-4-0 record. I always like taking puck lines against Patrick Roy led teams, and especially when they’re as good at burying empty-netters like the Golden Knights are.

Bonus Bets

Seattle Kraken ML (-110, BetRivers)
Edmonton/Pittsburgh Underr 6.5 (-110, Bet365)

Prop bets will be posted on Discord.

Goal Scorers

Jason Zucker
Jack Quinn
Brady Tkachuk
Ridly Greig
Brayden Point
Stefan Noesen
Dawson Mercer
Jesper Bratt
Jamie Benn
Shane Wright
Kappo Kakko
Matthew Knies
Jordan Kyrou
Mark Stone
Tanner Pearson