NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Thursday, January 16

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Published on January 16, 2025

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Thursday, Jan. 16

The National Hockey League (NHL) has a 13-game slate on Thursday, including a doubleheader which can be viewed or streamed on ESPN. The national broadcast game is the Detroit Red Wings traveling to meet the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. ET in Sunrise, while the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche square off at 9:30 p.m. ET. We'll make picks on four games with some short, succinct analysis to give you a handful of parlay opportunities to choose from. Let's get started.

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Washington Capitals at Ottawa Senators

The Capitals (29-10-5) and Senators (22-18-3) meet in the North American Capitals bowl at Canadian Tire Centre at 7 p.m. ET. That's not an official name, but it should be.

This is the first meeting between these teams this season, and Canada's capital representative, the Senators, have won five of the past seven in this series. These games have been pretty close lately, with four of the past eight meetings decided in overtime.

Washington had no trouble with the Anaheim Ducks last time out, as Logan Thompson blanked them 3-0. The Caps are 5-0-3 in the past eight games, and Thompson has allowed five goals in the past four games, with the Under cashing in each outing.

The Sens are have won three in a row, and Leevi Merilainen has been a sensation, pitching two shutouts against the New York Islanders (Jan. 14) and Pittsburgh Penguins (Jan. 11) in the span.

The moneyline is a coin flip at this point, and taking the Sens on the puck line is too much risk for not enough reward. Let's simply stick to the Under here.

Under 5.5 Goals (+100 at Caesars Sportsbook)

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Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers

The Red Wings (20-19-4) and the Panthers (26-16-3) square off at Amerant Bank Arena at 7 p.m. ET, and this game is, again, on ESPN.

Detroit was cooled off by the San Jose Sharks of all teams, as the Red Wings fell 6-3 at home as heavy favorites (-179) as the Over (6) cashed. It snapped a seven-game win streak, which was the longest successful run since 2012. It was also just the second loss under new bench boss Todd McLellan.

Entering the San Jose game, the Red Wings were 14-of-28 (50.0 percent) on the power play in eight games under McLellan, but Detroit was 0-for-2 Tuesday, part of its undoing. Ville Husso allowed five goals on 23 shots, and that was not a great showing, either.

The Panthers nipped the New Jersey 2-1 in a shootout Tuesday, bouncing back behind Spencer Knight after a 4-3 loss in Philadelphia the night prior. The Panthers are just 4-5-1 across the past 10 games.

However, Florida has won nine of the past 10 in this series, with the Under going 4-0 in the past four, and 6-1-2 in the past nine meetings. Moneylining the Panthers is too steep, so let's back the Red Wings catching a puck and a half, and go low on the total.

Red Wings +1.5 (-138 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-120 at BetMGM)

Calgary Flames at St. Louis Blues

The Flames (21-15-7) and the Blues (21-20-4) tangle again in Gateway City on Thursday, with a puck drop set for 8 p.m. ET. This is the second game of a back-to-back set.

Calgary is hoping the sixth time is a charm. St. Louis has won the past five meetings, with the Blues outscoring the Flames 18-10 during the span. The Blues have won three of those meetings as an underdog, with the Over going 3-1 in the past four. St. Louis is also 9-1 in the past 10 in the series since Jan. 27, 2022, including underdog wins in six of the past eight victories.

Calgary suffered a 2-1 loss Tuesday, as Dan Vladar and the Flames were edged by Jordan Binnington and the Blues. Colton Parayko opened the scoring just 49 seconds into the game, but Kevin Bahl leveled things 1-1 on a helper to Martin Pospisil at 6:06 of the third period. However, Radek Faksa answered back for the winner at 11:11 of the third on helpers to Alexei Toropchenko and Tyler Tucker.

It's hard to ignore the dominance of the Blues in this series. They're a slight favorite, and worth playing until the Flames figure them out.

As far as the total, the Under is 4-1 in the past five for Calgary, and 7-2 in the past nine. The Under has cashed in the past two games for St. Louis, winning 2-1 against Calgary, and losing 2-1 against Columbus. Let's keep going low.

Blues ML (-135 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (-105 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks

The Kings (24-12-5) and the Canucks (19-14-10) meet at Rogers Arena, with a puck drop of 10 p.m. ET.

The Kings had a game wiped out last week, ironically against the Flames, due to the awful wildfire situation ravaging the Los Angeles area. They started a road trip Friday in Winnipeg with a 2-1 OT win, while falling 2-1 to the aforementioned Flames in Calgary on Saturday. They followed that up with a 1-0 loss in Edmonton on Monday. The goaltender duo of Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich have been a force, allowing just five goals in the past five games, mostly of Kuemper's doing.

The Kings have scored just three goals in three games since resuming play, and you can't blame the players if their minds are elsewhere, although defense and goaltending are on point.

The Canucks have been having trouble lighting the lamp lately, too, going for just five goals in the past four games, while getting shut out twice in the past six outings.

The best play on the entire board might be the Under here. Let's make that our standalone play in this game.