NHL Best Bets for Thursday (2/6)

Thursday’s NHL best bets will cover the night’s nine-game slate with a scheduled first puck drop at 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

Washington Capitals ML

(-145, BetMGM, 2.9 units to win 2 units)

I couldn’t be more skeptical about the Flyers after they made a questionable trade last week with the Flames where they gave up Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. I don’t think the trade made their team better, though we didn’t get to see their incoming players in Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier play Tuesday against Utah. Even if they’re dressed, I don’t know if it’s enough to top a surging Capitals team that has actually been one of the NHL’s most consistent teams this season. Their consistency along with solid goaltending from Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren has them with a nine-point cushion for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. With Ivan Fedotov scheduled in net for the Flyers, I think this matchup is firmly on the Washington side, and I think Philly’s lack of depth is going to hurt them. MGM still has the Capitals at -145 for the ML, so take it as quickly as you can. I don’t mind going up to -170 on this one if the line changes.

Columbus Blue Jackets ML

(+136, DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Blue Jackets should be getting Zach Werenski back in their lineup. Yes, they are as banged up as any team in the NHL right now and losing Kirill Marchenko due to a freak accident when a puck hit him while sitting on the bench is frustrating but are proving to have the depth necessary to push them to a potential playoff berth. They had a realistic shot at beating the Sabres this past Tuesday, and that was without Werenski on the ice. As for Utah, I think their performance against the Flyers Tuesday is blown out of proportion considering how big of a favorite they are on the road. Let’s take the Blue Jackets ML at a great price at +136 on DraftKings.

Bonus Bets

Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+160, Bet365/DraftKings)
Vegas/New Jersey OVER 5.5 (-120, Bet365/BetMGM/Caesars)
Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (+155, BetMGM)
Carolina/Minnesota OVER 5.5 (-105, BetRivers)

Prop bets will be posted on Discord.

Goal Scorers

Claude Giroux
Mark Stone
Jack Hughes
Alex Ovechkin
Tom Wilson
Dylan Guenther
Kent Johnson
Mikko Rantanen
Marco Rossi
Jonathan Drouin
Cale Makar
Auston Matthews