Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Sunday, February 23

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Published on February 23, 2025

The National Hockey League (NHL) has 10 games on the slate today, as teams make up for lost time this weekend after being off for nearly two full weeks due to the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament. We have two matinee games at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET, but we won't consider bets on those games. That also happens to be the TNT/truTV/Max national doubleheader, but we want to give you more time to set your bets. We're also back with a bonus bet for a cross-sport parlay. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Sunday, Feb. 23

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.

Seattle Kraken at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Kraken (25-29-4) make the third stop on a four-game road trip against the Lightning (31-20-4) at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Sunday. The puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. ET and the game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.

After a 2-1 victory by the Kraken and Joey Daccord on Saturday at Florida, it remains to be seen what Seattle elects to do. Ales Stezka was recalled from Coachella Valley of the AHL to back up Daccord, as 33-year-old veteran Philipp Grubauer (5-15-1, 3.83 GAA, .866 SV%) finally had the plug pulled, replacing Stezka at Coachella Valley. Stezka could be tasked with making the start against the Lightning in his NHL debut.

The Lightning will likely counter with Andrei Vasilevskiy (25-13-3, 2.30 GAA, .919 SV%, three shutouts). He has been extremely hot in February, going 4-0-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .921 SV% in five starts in the month.

It likely doesn't matter if it is Stezka or Daccord again, but back the Lightning on the puck line, and let's go with the over based on Tampa Bay's production on offense prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Tampa has four straight wins while scoring 20 total goals in the span (five goals per game). It's no surprise the over is 4-0 in the run.

Lightning -1.5 (+112 at BetRivers Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-138 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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

Dallas Stars at New York Islanders

The Stars (36-18-2) and the Islanders (25-23-7) hook up at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., and Jake Oettinger (26-12-2, 2.35 GAA, .911 SV%, one shutout) is confirmed to start for the visitors.

Dallas returned to action with a 4-2 win and the team gave Oettinger an extra day of rest after he represented Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Casey DeSmith shut down the Devils on the road and Dallas improved to 7-1-1 in the past nine outings, with the over going 6-1 in the past seven contests.

For the Islanders, they've dropped three of their past four outings. It's not for lack of offense, as the New York offense is good for three or more goals in 11 of the past 12 outings. However, before the break, the Isles allowed 10 goals in the final two games, both against Western Conference teams.

It's rather surprising to see the Stars not favored by much, much more. Take advantage. Despite the fact we have Oettinger in the crease, we'll side with the over, but go a little lighter on that side, if you bet it individually.

Stars ML (-125 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-113 at Fanatics Sportsbook)

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

On Saturday, we rolled with over 5.5 goals in the intra-Canada matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. It cashed rather comfortably.

We haven't done this in a while, but we'll play two best bets today. Let's roll with the Stars on the Moneyline and we'll also look to the over in the Kraken-Lightning game.