Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Tuesday, February 4

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Published on February 4, 2025

After a light night, you knew the National Hockey League (NHL) was going to have a loaded slate Tuesday. We have a total of 14 games on the schedule, including the Ottawa Senators, who were able to scratch out a win in the Music City on Monday. The only four teams not on the ice will be the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators and the New York Rangers. Let's preview a handful of games and build a winning parlay or two. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Tuesday, Feb. 4

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.

Vegas Golden Knights at New York Islanders

The Golden Knights (31-16-6) make the second stop on a four-game road trip against the Islanders (24-21-7) at UBS Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.

VGK opened the trip with a 4-2 setback against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, as the Golden Knights have slipped to 1-2-2 in the past five outings, and 3-7-3 in the past 13 games since Jan. 9. That skid started with a 4-0 loss at home against the Islanders at T-Mobile Arena.

That's par for the course in this series lately, as the road team has cashed in the past two meetings while going 5-2-0 in the past seven in the series. The underdog has won four of the past five meetings, too.

The Islanders are just three games over .500 this season, but they've picked up the pace lately with a 7-1-0 mark since Jan. 18, with the only setback a 6-3 loss at Florida on Sunday in the second end of a back-to-back with backup goaltender Jakub Skarek in the crease for his NHL debut.

With red-hot Ilya Sorokin (19-14-4, 2.63 GAA, .908 SV%, 3 SO) back in net, let's back the underdog. The Under is 6-2 in the past eight games for the Islanders, and 12-4 since Dec. 29, including the first meeting with Vegas on Jan. 9. Go low, and feel confident in doing so.

Islanders ML (+125 at BetMGM)
Under 6 Goals (-120 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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

Philadelphia Flyers at Utah Hockey Club

The Flyers (23-25-6) and the Utah Hockey Club (21-22-9) meet at Delta Center in Salt Lake City with a puck drop scheduled for 9 p.m. ET, and this game can also be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.

Philadelphia is having a difficult time lately, and bench boss John Tortorella might have a coronary. The Flyers have been shut out in three consecutive outings, outscored 10-0 by the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche.

The Flyers have managed one or fewer goals in five of the past six outings, with the Under going 6-2 in the past eight games, and 10-4-1 in the previous 15 outings since Jan. 5.

Utah enters on an 0-3-2 skid, averaging just 1.6 goals per game (GPG) in the five outings, cashing low in four in a row.

These teams met in Philadelphia on Dec. 8, with Utah winning 4-2 as an underdog (+101) as the total (6) pushed at most shops. That was a win by backup tendy Jaxson Stauber, coming in the second end of a back-to-back. Michael Carcone, Logan Cooley, Kevin Stenlund and Juuso Valimaki lit the lamp against Samuel Ersson, who stopped just 21 of 25 shots.

Let's back the home side, based on the fact Philly is having such a hard time scoring lately. And, that goes hand in hand with the Under, which is a strong play based on Utah's offensive struggles lately, too.

Utah Hockey Club ML (-134 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (-105 at BetMGM)

Detroit Red Wings at Seattle Kraken

The Red Wings (27-21-5) and the Kraken (23-28-3) square off at Climate Pledge Arena at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

This is the second and final meeting between these teams. Detroit spanked Seattle 6-2 on Jan. 12 at Little Caesars Arena as a moderate favorite (-166) as the Over (6) cashed. The Red Wings jumped all over Philipp Grubauer, scoring on three of their first four shots in 6:16, as Marco Kasper, J.T. Compher and Alex DeBrincat (PPG) chased Grubauer to the showers. In the second period, Erik Gustafsson and Dylan Larkin also notched goals on the man advantage.

That was more than enough offensive support for Cam Talbot, who made 31 saves on 33 shots in the home victory.

Detroit is a perfect 3-for-3 on the road trip, including a 3-2 win in a shootout at Edmonton on Thursday, and a 3-2 OT victory in Vancouver on Sunday. Both of the non-regulation wins came with Alex Lyon in between the pipes. Talbot is likely to be in the nets, however.

The Red Wings have won six in a row, as they've really turned a corner under head coach Todd McLellan since taking over Dec. 27. They're 14-4-1 in the 19-game span under his tutelage, including the rout of the Kraken.

On the flip side, Seattle is just 1-3-0 in the past four games, and 6-9-1 in 16 outings since the ball dropped to ring in the new year. The Kraken have won two of the past five games at home, too.

Let's back the Red Wings on the road, and let's lean low on the total.

Red Wings ML (+100 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (+100 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

In Monday's standalone game, we played another prop, going with Ottawa's Jake Sanderson to notch just a single point at plus money. He was able to score a goal in Nashville, helping us cash. Let's get it again.

On Tuesday, we'll go low on the total between VGK and the Islanders for our best bet, and on FanDuel, grab the alternate line for a little insurance, rather than playing Under 5.5 at plus-money.