NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Saturday, January 4

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Published on January 4, 2025

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Saturday, Jan. 4

There are a total of 12 games in the National Hockey League on Saturday, including two matinee games in Washington and San Jose. We'll avoid those two NHL venues, giving you time to read and digest this information before finalizing your parlays. Let's get started.

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Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs

The Bruins (20-16-4) and the Maple Leafs (24-13-2) battle in an Original Six matchup at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The game, like all others on the list below, can be viewed or streamed at ESPN+. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Bruins limp in with back-to-back losses to the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, getting outscored 5-2. The goaltending of Jeremy Swayman hasn't been bad, but the offense has helped him to just 17 goals in the past seven outings.

The Maple Leafs swept a home-and-home with the New York Islanders on both sides of the New Year holiday. Toronto has posted an 8-4-0 record in their past 12 games while hitting the over at a 7-2-0 clip in the past nine outings.

In six of the past eight meetings, including the playoffs, the underdog has cashed. Let's go low on the total and back the Bruins.

Bruins ML (+122 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (+110 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Before placing any wagers on your favorite sports betting apps make sure you have the latest and most competitive NHL odds to help you make informed betting decisions.

Minnesota Wild at Carolina Hurricanes

The Wild (24-11-4) and Hurricanes (23-13-2) match up at Lenovo Center in Raleigh at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Minnesota edged the Washington Capitals 4-3 for a shootout win to kick off a quick two-game road trip to the mid-Atlantic. The Wild are 4-1-0 in their past five games, while the over has hit in three of those contests.

Carolina topped the Florida Panthers 3-1 in Sunrise on Thursday, but is still just 3-3-1 in their past seven games, while the over has hit in four of the previous five outings.

The under has hit in four of the past five meetings in this series, although the over is 4-1 in the past five battles in North Carolina. The best play here is just going with the over.

Over 5.5 Goals (-120 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

Tampa Bay Lightning at Los Angeles Kings

The Lightning (20-13-2) and the Kings (22-10-5) battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Tampa suffered a 2-1 loss against the San Jose Sharks to kick off a three-game Golden State road trip Thursday as a gigantic favorite (-261) as the under (6.0) cashed.

L.A. picked up a 3-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils behind Darcy Kuemper last time out, a third consecutive victory. The Kings have been red-hot since November 27th, going 11-2-2 in their past 15 outings.

The over is 3-1-1 in the past five games in this series, but the under is 3-2-1 in the past six for Tampa Bay while going 14-6-1 in the past 21 contests.

Let's bank on the Kings at home, while going low on the total.

Kings ML (-120 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6.0 Goals (-120 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

Buffalo Sabres at Vegas Golden Knights

The Sabres (14-20-5) face the Golden Knights (25-9-3) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Buffalo suffered a 6-5 overtime loss in Colorado last time out behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. After a three-game win streak, the Sabres are 0-1-1 in their past two outings. The over has been most impressive, going 4-0-1 in the previous five outings, while going 9-2-2 in the past 13 contests.

The Sabres have won three in a row in this series, outscoring the Golden Knights 15-6, cashing as an underdog in each at +429 in the span.

The Golden Knights topped the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 on Thursday behind Ilya Samsonov. Vegas is 7-1-0, while the under is 5-3 in the past eight outings and 10-4 in the past 14 contests.