We have an absolutely loaded 11-game NHL slate tonight and tons of options to consider. If last night was any indication, we are in for some serious scoring tonight, as all four games hit the over last night. 

This shouldn't be too much of a surprise, with scoring being a bit higher early in the season. Let's jump right into our NHL Best Bets for Thursday, October 17th and go through which NHL Picks I'm targeting. 

 

 

 

NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 10/17

With so many teams in action tonight, let's try to narrow down the list of players to a handful, who bring a good level of consistency and solid betting odds. 

On these types of slates, it can be a bit overwhelming with so many player props, but staying focused on a few is the route to go for our NHL Best Bets today. 

 

 

 

Canucks vs. Panthers Prediction: Thursday, October 17th

What a matchup we have tonight between the winless Vancouver Canucks and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. The Canucks are a team with Stanley Cup aspirations but they're off to a surprising 0-1-2 start, having yet to win a game. 

The Panthers are doing their normal thing at 3-2 but are playing with Aleksander Barkov, who is arguably the best defensive center in the league, and star winger, Matthew Tkachuk. The Panthers are factually a bit weaker on defense without Barkov and the Canucks should be playing with a bit of desperation to avoid a winless four-game start to the season. 

Through their first three games, the Canucks have a 64.31 Corsi For per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-best in the league. They are generating a ton of shot attempts but not getting them all to connect thus far. Ultimately, I view that as an encouraging sign in the long term. They're doing the “right” thing on offense and generating chances but the results haven't been there. 

That's the type of team I'm willing to buy low on and get ahead of the positive regression that is coming their way. This leads me to J.T. Miller, who is the center on the first forward line and the first power-play unit. He's been over this mark in two of the three games this season and the Canucks will need him at his best tonight. 

 

 

 

Oilers vs. Predators Prediction: Thursday, October 17th

Another game with plenty of intrigue tonight would be the Edmonton Oilers visiting the Nashville Predators. Both of these teams are not off to the start they imagined and have much higher expectations than they are currently showing. 

While I firmly believe both of these teams will be fine in the long run, their defenses are struggling right now and it presents an opportunity to jump on some player props with some juicy plus money. 

This brings me to Leon Draisaitl, who has completely dominated the Predators in recent seasons. Over the last three seasons, Draisaitl has played 9 games against the Predators and piled up an insane 23 points. 

Not only is he an elite scorer/playmaker, he is surrounded by Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard. A top-line role and power-play time put any player in a spot to score, something Draisaitl has excelled at in this matchup. 

 

 

 

Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 10/17