Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Tuesday, February 25

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Published on February 25, 2025

The National Hockey League has a full slate packed into a tight window Tuesday. There are a total of 12 games, with six puck drops as at 7 p.m. ET, two at 7:30 p.m. ET, three at 8 p.m. ET, and a lone 9 p.m. ET start. We'll analyze of a few games, hopefully cobbling together a couple of winning parlays along the way. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Tuesday, Feb. 25

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.

Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens

The Hurricanes (33-20-4) and Canadiens (26-26-5) square off for the first of three meetings between now and April 16.

Carolina is licking its wounds after a 6-3 beatdown from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. The good news for Carolina is that the offense continued where it left off prior to the 4 Nations Face-off break, but the bad news is that the six goals allowed were tied for the most this season. The last time Carolina allowed six goals was in both games of a back-to-back with the Florida Panthers on Nov. 29-30.

Pyotr Kochetkov started that game against the Leafs, so it's likely Frederik Andersen (6-3-0, 2.12 GAA, .914 SV%, 1 SO) slated to face the Habs. Sam Montembeault (19-21-3, 2.97 GAA, .897 SV%, 3 SO) is confirmed for the home side.

The Canes limp in with just a single win in the past five games, while losing three in a row on the road. Carolina is just 1-3-1 in the past five road tries, too.

The Habs pounded a good Ottawa team 5-2 on the road coming out of the break, but they're just 1-3-0 in the past four games, too, and Montreal has lost four in a row in regulation on home ice, going 0-4-1 in the past five at Bell Centre, last winning in front of the home fans Jan. 21.

Let's play Montreal lightly on the puck line as a home 'dog, and we'll go Under on the total, as long as you can get it at 6.5.

Canadiens +1.5 (-140 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Under 6.5 Goals (-135 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

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

Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers

The Penguins (23-27-9) and Flyers (25-26-7) meet at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and it's always contentious when these Keystone State rivals do battle.

The home team is 2-0 in the previous two meetings this season, and the home side is 4-1 in the past five in the series. In a strange quirk, the Over is 3-0 in the past three meetings in Pittsburgh, yet the Under is 5-0 in the past five meetings in Philly.

The Pens have been hammered at home by the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers in two games out of the break, losing 8-3 to the Caps, and 5-3 to the Blueshirts. In the final game before the break, Pittsburgh lost 3-2 in Philadelphia on Feb. 8 as the Under (5.5) held on.

Scott Laughton opened the scoring in that 3-2 seesaw affair. Erik Karlsson leveled the scoring, before Garnet Hathaway restored Philly's lead. Travis Konecny made it 3-1 at 4:27 of the third, while Anthony Beauvillier sliced the lead to 3-2. Samuel Ersson tightened up and didn't allow anything more, and Konecny's goal stood up as the game winner.

With the home side doing so well, and the trends at Wells Fargo Center pointing to going low, that's what we'll do -- Flyers and Under.

Flyers ML (-140 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-115 at Bet365 Sportsbook)

Detroit Red Wings at Minnesota Wild

The Red Wings (29-22-6) and Wild (34-19-4) meet at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., and it is our semi-regular reminder that St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota -- not Minneapolis. Puck drop is slated for 8 p.m. ET.

These teams just met Saturday in Detroit, with the Wild coming away with a 4-3 OT victory. It's not a true home-and-home, though, as the Red Wings hosted the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

In that Wild win, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin (PPG) got the home side off to a good start at 2-0. Vinnie Hinostroza (PPG) halved the lead, and through two periods, Detroit led 3-1. Lucas Raymond (PPG) made it 3-1 early in the third period, but then things turned bad for the home team. Matt Boldy and Marcus Foligno notched two goals in the final 6:53 of the third to force overtime, and Marco Rossi was the hero with an assist to Joel Eriksson Ek.

The comeback made a winner out of Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 27 of 30 shots, while Cam Talbot knuckled under the pressure late, but he still stopped 35 shots.

The Wild have won three in a row, cashing the Over in the past two. The Red Wings have been to overtime in both games out of the break, topping Anaheim 5-4 last time out. The Over is on a 4-0 run.

We'll back the Wild straight up at home, as they aim for the season series sweep, and let's go high based on the trends for both teams lately.

Wild ML (-118 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-114 at Fanatics Sportsbook)

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

On Monday, we backed the Over in the Sharks-Jets game, and it was a surprisingly defense battle. Boo. On Tuesday, we're going high on the total between the Wild and Red Wings as our best play.