Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Wednesday, February 5

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Published on February 5, 2025

The National Hockey League (NHL) has three games on the schedule for Wednesday night. We're looking to make a little more lettuce, too. On Tuesday night, we hit our best bet, and just missed our six-way super parlay (+5142) because the Under missed in the Detroit Red Wings-Seattle Kraken matchup. Other than that, it was a good night, cashing the 3-way moneyline parlay (+675) and 2-way conservative parlay (+312) to build that bankroll as we get ready for Super Bowl LIX, the 4 Nations Face-off, etc. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Wednesday, Feb. 5

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.

Boston Bruins at New York Rangers

The Bruins (27-22-6) travel to meet the Rangers (25-23-4) at Madison Square Garden in an Original Six battle, and the game can be viewed or streamed on TNT/truTV/Max at 7 p.m. ET.

Boston is coming off a 3-0 shutout of the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, as Jeremy Swayman kicked aside all 35 shots he faced. Charlie McAvoy and Trent Frederic scored even-strength goals in the second period, and Morgan Geekie notched an empty-net goal to put a bow on the scoring.

The Rangers doubled up the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Sunday in the second end of a back-to-back behind Jonathan Quick. They lost 6-3 at TD Garden against the Bruins on Saturday in the front end.

Igor Shesterkin was knocked around for five goals on just 24 shots in that loss, with McAvoy and Pavel Zacha striking on the power play. David Pastrnak had the hat trick, while Charlie Coyle also got on the board. For the Rangers, J.T. Miller made his new presence felt with two goals, including one on the man advantage, while Jonny Brodzinski also lit the lamp.

Swayman started Tuesday, so he is unlikely to go back-to-back. Sadly for the Rangers, Joonas Korpisalo is more than capable. However, the Rangers have won four of the past five meetings, including each of the previous two at MSG. Let's stick with New York to avenge that 6-3 loss.

Rangers ML (-175 at BetMGM)
Over 6 Goals (-110 at Caesars Sportsbook)

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

Edmonton Oilers at Chicago Blackhawks

The Oilers (33-16-4) and Blackhawks (16-31-5) meet at United Center for the third time this season. The road team has won each of the first two meetings.

Edmonton scooped up a 4-3 win in Chitown on Jan. 11 as a giant favorite (-400) as Calvin Pickard allowed three goals on 22 shots, while Arvid Soderblom allowed four goals on 34 shots.

In that game, the Blackhawks fired out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno, and Chicago was ahead 3-1 midway through the second after Ryan Donato answered Vasily Podkolzin's goal. However, Adam Henrique and Corey Perry leveled things 3-3 before heading to the room for the third, and Zach Hyman won it with a power-play goal at 7:18 of the final stanza.

We can't risk nearly three times our return on the Oilers straight up, so let's look to the puck line. Petr Mrazek is projected to start, and he is very giving at 9-18-2, 3.32 GAA and a .895 save percentage. Pickard is set to go for the Oil, as Edmonton started Stuart Skinner on Tuesday in a 3-2 win at St. Louis. Let's go high on the total, too.

Oilers -1.5 Goals (-105 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Over 6 Goals (-120 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Montreal Canadiens at Los Angeles Kings

The Canadiens (25-23-5) take on the Kings (27-17-6) at Crypto.com Arena at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Montreal won 4-3 in San Jose in a wild back-and-forth with the Sharks. The power play was bumping, posting goals from Cole Caufield and Brendan Gallagher, and Joel Armia notched a game-winning shorthanded goal late in the third period. It was his second straight game with a shorty.

Since Sam Montembeault started in San Jose, Jakub Dobes is projected to start as Montreal wraps up the three-game Cali trip.

The Kings are back from a 1-3-1 road trip to the Eastern Conference, although they did scoop up two points in a 4-2 win at Carolina on Saturday. Still, the Kings are a dismal 3-7-1 in the past 11 games. The offense has struggled lately, while the goaltending and defense have crashed back to Earth.

Let's back the Canadiens on the puck line in what should be a close game, and we'll go low on the total. The Under is 4-2-1 in the past seven games for Montreal while going 4-2 in the past six for L.A.

Canadiens +1.5 Goals (-125 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-120 at BetMGM)

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

In Tuesday's game, we didn't need to buy the extra half-goal in the Vegas-N.Y. Islanders game, as those teams combined for just three goals. Still, we cashed the Under, and we're back in back for the year-to-date total.

On Wednesday night, we'll go high in the Edmonton-Chicago game for our best bet, as we should be able to get to six scores.