Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Monday, February 3

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Published on February 3, 2025

The National Hockey League (NHL) has just a single game on tap for Monday night, as the Ottawa Senators travel to meet the Nashville Predators at 7:30 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena in Music City. We will provided picks and player props to make this very intriguing game even more interesting. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Monday, Feb. 3

For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Ottawa Senators at Nashville Predators

The Senators (28-20-4) and the Predators (18-26-7) meet at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Monday night in the NHL's standalone game.

Honestly, sometimes, we can fall into bad habits and just bet to bet, because we're looking for a reason to be interested in a game. First off, that's a bad habit, don't do it. But, sometimes, even if there is a limited slate, or a single game, like Monday, the game can still be very intriguing. Don't overlook these single games, rather than tune out just because it is a short slate.

The Senators enter this game on a roll, winning four consecutive games. Ottawa rolled the visiting Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre, as rookie Leevi Merilainen kicked aside all 16 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. That's the good news for Merilainen. The bad news is that he was sent to Belleville of the AHL for his efforts.

The Senators activated veteran Linus Ullmark (back) from long-term injured reserve Sunday, and the Sens will go with Anton Forsberg as the backup behind Ullmark despite the fact Merilainen went 8-3-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .925 save percentage. It's a bit risky to mess with team chemistry, as the rookie was cooking. We'll see how it pans out.

Ottawa has won five in a row at home, but it has not only lost the past two games on the road but it was shut out on the road against the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins in the past two away games Jan. 21-23.

As far as Nashville is concerned, the Predators are in freefall. They've dropped four straight games, including a 3-0 setback at Pittsburgh last time out. In fact, Juuse Saros has received a total of just three goals of offensive support in his past three outings since Jan. 25. The Preds have been outscored 15-6 in the four-game skid. Saros hasn't won in four starts since Jan. 18 against the Wild.

These teams met Dec. 7 in Canada's capital city, with Ullmark and the Senators edging the Predators 3-1. Saros made 27 saves on 30 shots, while Ullmark had 36 saves in the victory. Prior to his back injury suffered after one period in Edmonton on Dec. 22, Ullmark had won his previous seven starts since Dec. 5. In fact, he hasn't lost in regulation since Nov. 23, a span of 10 starts.

Jacob Bernard-Docker opened the scoring in that December win, while Claude Giroux had the goal to make it 2-0 late in the second period. That goal stood up as the game-winning tally. Nick Cousins added one in the third, while Fedor Svechkov ruined the shutty for Ullmark at 18:03 of the third, about the only thing to go wrong for the veteran and the Sens on that evening.

While there is a little bit of concern about Ottawa's viability on the road, and there is worry about Ullmark returning, and either messing with the chemistry and/or having rust, that concern is nullified by the fact the Predators are playing terribly. Back the Sens on the road.

In addition, we'll go low on the total, as the Under is 5-2 in the past seven for the Senators while going 20-4-4 in the past 28 outings. For the Predators, the total has gone low in two of the past three. And, the Under cashed in the first meeting in December, while going 7-1 in the past eight meetings since Feb. 25, 2020.

As far as player props, Jake Sanderson has managed two goals and eight points in the past four games. He is plus-money (+102) to simply record a single point. You have to play that, as he has been red-hot.

Senators ML (-102 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (-108 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Jake Sanderson - 1+ Points (+102 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Don't make any on your favorite sports betting apps without consulting the NHL odds first.

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

Last night we played Detroit's Dylan Larkin to get to four shots on goal, and he and the Red Wings played a defensive battle in Vancouver. We didn't come close on that player prop.

We're going back to the props again, hitting Sanderson at plus-money to either record a goal or an assist. He just needs one point, and he has been on fire lately.