Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, January 29

Expert NHL picks for Capitals vs Red Wings, Panthers vs Blues & more. Get sharp bets, parlay ideas & odds today to boost your edge and bankroll.

January 29, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, January 29

By:

Daniel Dobish

January 29, 2026

NHL Picks

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NHL Best Bets & Picks: Capitals vs Red Wings, Panthers vs Blues & More – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has 15 games on a jam-packed slate Thursday. We're going to focus on three games, including the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings. Those two square off at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+/hulu.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Thursday's NBA and/or NCAA basketball action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.

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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.

Washington Capitals at Detroit Red Wings

The Capitals (25-22-7) and Red Wings (32-17-5) meet at Little Caesars Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game can be streamed on ESPN+ or hulu.

The Red Wings enter the day just a single point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division, although they also have three games in hand on Tampa. LCA has been a tough place for competitors, as the Red Wings are a solid 18-9-1 on home ice this season.

The Capitals are 12 points back of the first-place Carolina Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division. The Caps are just 11-12-4 on the road this season, and they've been stumbling a bit overall, going just 1-5-1 across the past seven games, earning three out of a possible 14 points.

Detroit swept a home-and-home against Washington back on Dec. 20-21, winning 5-2 in the nation's capital, while winning 3-2 in overtime in the rematch in The D. Moritz Seider sent the home fans away happy with the overtime winner. Cam Talbot made 31 saves on 33 shots in the victory.

Let's roll with the Red Wings, who have done well against the Caps, and they're playing the better hockey lately, too. We'll lean low on the total, but don't go crazy there.

Red Wings ML (-128 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6.5 (-104 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Florida Panthers at St. Louis Blues

The Panthers (28-21-3) and the Blues (19-25-9) meet at Enterprise Center at 8 p.m. ET. The two-time defending champs have posted a 14-10-0 mark on the road, while the Blues are just 12-10-6 on home ice this season.

St. Louis surprised Florida in Sunrise on Dec. 20 as moderate underdogs (+145) as the Over (5.5) easily cashed, halting a three-game win streak in the series for the Panthers. Jake Neighbours had a pair of goals, as did Robert Thomas, while Joel Hofer kicked aside 27 of the 29 shots he faced to pick up the victory.

Daniil Tarasov (8-6-2, 2.53 GAA, .908 SV%) is confirmed to start for the Panthers, his fifth starting assignment in January. With Sergei Bobrovsky struggling a bit, Tarasov has carved out a nice role for himself. He has won four in a row, while posting a 1.27 GAA and .944 SV%.

Hofer (11-10-3, 2.78 GAA, .902 SV%, 4 SO) has also pushed aside a veteran in St. Louis, as Jordan Binnington hasn't been at the top of his game this season. He is 9-7-1 with a 2.17 GAA and .922 SV% in his past 17 starting assignments, although he has allowed six goals on 43 shots in the past two outings, going 0-1-1 in the span.

Let's back the Panthers here, as Tarasov has been on a roll, and Florida is just the better team. But goals could be hard to come by with two surprisingly decent tendies in the blue ice.

Panthers ML (-160 at Bet365, Caesars and Fanatics Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 (+102 at BetRivers Sportsbook)

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Anaheim Ducks at Vancouver Canucks

The Ducks (28-22-3) and the Canucks (17-31-5) renew acquaintances at Rogers Arena in Vancouver at 10 p.m. ET.

The Ducks are just a game under .500 on the road, going 13-14-2 this season, while the Canucks are a dismal 5-17-3 on home ice. When it rains, it pours, too, as it was learned this week that Thatcher Demko will miss the remainder of the season. He entered the NHL with so much promise, but injuries have derailed his career.

Vancouver won the first meeting as road 'dogs on Nov. 26, posting a 5-4 win in Anaheim at +130 as the Over (6.5) cashed. The Canucks have dominated, winning three in a row, and nine of the past 10 in this series, while the Over is 3-1 in the past four tilts.

Anaheim got housed 7-4 in Edmonton, snapping a seven-game win streak, and the offense has still averaged 4.0 goals per game (GPG) in the past three, while putting up a healthy 3.2 GPG across the past 10 outings. Ville Husso was hammered in net in Edmonton, as Lukas Dostal needed a break after going the previous night. Dostal (19-12-2, 3.03 GAA, .894 SV%) is expected to be back in there, and that's good news for the Ducks.

With Demko out, Nikita Tolopilo (2-3-0, 3.72 GAA, .887 SV%) is the projected backstop for the home side. He has managed a 5-5-3 record, 2.94 GAA and .901 SV% for the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL.

Based on the goaltender matchup, Anaheim should be a slam-dunk play, and it is just playing much better overall, too. It's actually surprising that the Ducks aren't favored by more, but it's probably due to the recent run of success in the series by the Canucks. Vancouver is having its issues lately, though, and we'll go high on the total, too.