Happy Saturday hockey fans and welcome to the last big slate in the NHL before the All Star festivities begin in Toronto next weekend. As mentioned its a beefy slate of games today as they stretch from early afternoon to late night west coast action and there are 14 games in total! Lots of things to look at and I have no shortages of picks for you all today including a Puck Line, a pair of game totals and the Dog of the Day makes its triumphant return! If you like the rationale then tail the picks, if you don't feel free to fade as sometimes the best bets are the ones not taken!

  • Season Record: 85-72-3
  • Bankroll: +6.9 units
  • Dog of the Day Record: 9-9 (+2.85 Units)

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**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned.

NHL Best Bets for January 27th

Arizona Coyotes at Carolina Hurricanes

The east coast has not been very nice to the Coyotes in 2024 and just saying that is putting it nicely. They're two games into the trip and they've lost each contest and have been outscored 12-5 in the process. That's complete domination and something I have taken note of as they haven't been a good road team all season in general at 8-15 straight up. The numbers against the spread are a bit better at 13-10 but given the trends and playing the Canes I see this game poteintally turning ugly for the Yotes. The Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the NHL and are scoring like crazy at home with 3.59 goals per game this season. They are also 14-5-4 on home ice for what its worth with a +17 goal differential so they have been good in Carolina all year long. Give me the Canes to win and do so in convincing fashion later today!

Pick: Carolina Hurricanes Puck Line -1.5 (+100 on BetMGM)

 

New Jersey Devils at Tampa Bay Lightning

If you've been reading my articles this season you know I'm a sucker for an over bet and that's especially true when the Devils are on the slate. New Jersey has gone over the total at a record of 28-18 on the season, the 4th highest hit rate in the NHL and with goaltending woes continuing I don't see their games slowing down. Vitek Vanecek is the grinch of New Jersey right now as his performances from last season are a distant memory and his GAA hangs at 3.21 with the Devils defense overall allowing 3.5 goals per game. This horrid defense gets no break tonight either as the Lightning come in red hot scoring 23 goals over their past 5 games! The Lightning also have a slight track record to the over this season and in addition have topped the total in 4 of the past 7 games. Expect Tampa Bay to be the driving force but remember the Devils can score too, even without Jack Hughes they are averaging 3.4 goals per game over the past month on the road. All that said above, give me the over in this one tonight and let's see some goals!

Pick: Devils & Lightning Over 6.5 Goals (-110 on BetMGM)

 

Nashville Predators at Edmonton Oilers

This article will complete its ying and yang now as we've had a Puck Line and an over so naturally there's going to be an under on the board somewhere and I didn't have to search long to find one. The Oilers oddly enough have been one of the best defensive teams in the NHL over the past couple months allowing 1.3 goals per game on home ice! That's outrageously great defense and I'm not sure the Predators will push the agenda either as they are slow in terms of pace and score just 3.1 goals per game on the road over the past month. The part that could get us here is that the Oilers offense is a sleeping giant but right now the trends are average for the unit and the Nashville defense allows2.9 goals per game on the road which is not too shabby. I think it gets close but both teams are playing well right now leaning on defensive structure, why go away from that winning formula?

Pick: Predators & Oilers Under 6.5 Goals (-115 on Caesars)

 

DOG OF THE DAY

Vegas Golden Knights Money Line at Detroit Red Wings (+115 on DraftKings)