NHL Best Bets Today, 1/23: Picks, Predictions & Player Props - Thursday
We have a loaded 11-game slate tonight and there are options abound for NHL best bets today!
This is an awesome slate with so much scoring potential and some very clear player props to target.
NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 1/23
The NHL season rolls on with some massive slates and we're getting incredible action every night.
The scoring was on display last night with 5+ goals from multiple teams.
Blue Jackets vs. Hurricanes Prediction: Thursday, January 23rd
The Columbus Blue Jackets are coming off a big 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, but they face another tough test tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The calling card for the Hurricanes over the last few seasons has been tons and tons of shots or shot attempts. Since the start of January, the Hurricanes come in with 75.08 Total Shot Attempts Created per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the best in the NHL.
On the other side, the Blue Jackets have allowed 64.18 Total Shot Attempts in the same situations since the start of January, which is the sixth-most in the league. We have a matchup of two teams at the opposite ends of the shot creation and shot prevention spectrum, and it's all about the Canes tonight.
Let's turn to Andrei Svechnikov, who leads the Hurricanes with 133 shots on goal this season, or 2.7 per game. Over his last eight games, Svechnikov has hit three shots on goal five times, due to his role on the first forward line and the first power-play unit.
This is a very clear spot for Svechnikov to continue piling up the shots against a weaker defensive team.
- Expert Picks Blue Jackets vs. Hurricanes
- Andrei Svechnikov Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-114 on FanDuel)
Golden Knights vs. Blues Prediction: Thursday, January 23rd
It's been a weird stretch of games for the Vegas Golden Knights but they're still a team worth trusting in the prop market. Vegas has the third-most points in the NHL and yet they come in as losers of six of their last seven, including four straight.
Hockey can be a weird sport sometimes, but the best teams generally rise to the top and it can present a buy-low opportunity. Despite these losses, Vegas is still playing “well”, at least by my definition. Since the start of January, they come in with 64.46 Total Shot Attempts Created per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-best in the league.
They're doing the right things on offense, they just aren't scoring goals and getting rewarded for their efforts. This is something I can buy into – doing things the right way, but variance not falling in their favor.
This brings me to Pavel Dorofeyev, who has the second-most (138) shots on goal for Vegas this season. Over his last 10 games, he has at least two shots on goal in nine of those games, and over 2.5 in seven of them. He's a consistent option on offense for them and that's what they continue to need in this little slump.
- Expert Picks Golden Knights vs. Blues
- Pavel Dorofeyev Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-106 on FanDuel)
Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 1/23
- Kirill Kaprizov Over 3.5 Shots on Goal (+100 on FanDuel)
Player News
Shea Langeliers went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in a 4-2 win over the Twins on Wednesday.
After an unusually quiet game, Langeliers stepped up to the plate in the 10th inning and blasted a two-run homer that would send his Athletics to an eventual victory. Quite possibly the hottest hitter in baseball at the moment, that was his third straight game with a long ball and 10th in August to go along with a 1.132 OPS this month.
Tyler Ferguson walked one in a scoreless 10th inning to earn the save on Wednesday against the Twins.
Ferguson was given the difficult task of holding onto a lead with the ghost runner on second base in extra innings and got the job done. He is the third different Athletics’ reliever to save a game in as many chances, plainly telling us that this is a pure closer-by-committee.
J.T. Ginn allowed seven hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Twins on Wednesday.
After pitching four relatively clean innings, Ginn fell apart in the fifth. James Outman doubled to start the frame and then after he retired the next two batters, Trevor Larnach and Brooks Lee each had run-scoring hits that tied this game. Ginn got the hook just after when he walked Luke Keaschall and what could’ve been a fantastic outing fell by the wayside. When he was going right, he was keeping his sinker low in the zone and working his changeup and slider off it. When the Twins rallied, he left a few too many pitches up and they got hit hard. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Tigers and Rangers with both starts at home.
Brooks Lee went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI on Wednesday against the Athletics.
Lee doubled home a run in the Twins’ two-run fifth, the only runs they’d score in this game. He extended his hitting streak to seven games in the process and has been one of the primary beneficiaries to Minnesota’s trade deadline exodus playing in every game but one this month.
Bailey Ober allowed three hits and two runs with one walk and seven strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Athletics on Wednesday.
Ober had both his changeup and sweeper working in this one. They combined to force 12 of his 18 total swings-and-misses and were his most consistent pitches. He needed both of them too, because his fastball velocity fell a bit more than a full mile per hour and he threw a handful of them below 90 mph. Still, he tied his season-high with seven strikeouts and has a 3.68 ERA in 22 innings since coming off the injured list at the beginning of the month. He has a two-start week coming up against the Blue Jays and Padres.
Wyatt Langford went 2-for-2 with a solo home run, three runs scored, and three walks in a 6-3 win over the Royals on Wednesday.
In just his fourth start out of the lead-off spot this season and first since July 20th, Langford was the engine this Rangers lineup has desperately been missing. He smacked a lead-off home run off Royals’ starter Noah Cameron and was never retired in this game. While it’s been a trying season for Langford, he’s still teeming with talent and this move to the lead-off spot could be exactly what gets him going.