NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Thursday, January 23

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Published on January 23, 2025

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Thursday, Jan. 23

The National Hockey League (NHL) has 11 games on the scheduled for Thursday, including the Utah Hockey Club and Minnesota Wild battling at hulu and Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET, as well as ESPN+ like all of the other games. We'll try and get back on track and cobble together a winning parlay or two, as we try and build our bankroll back up. Let's get started.

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Montreal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings

The Canadiens (24-19-4) and Red Wings (21-21-5) renew acquaintances Thursday. These Original Six teams played a home-and-home set Dec. 20-21, with the Canadiens sweeping the series by outscoring the Red Wings 9-4. Montreal won both of the games as an underdog.

The Habs have been playing very good hockey lately, too, going 7-1-1 in the past nine games, while posting a 10-2-1 in the previous 13 outings since Dec. 28. Since Jan. 4, Montreal has been involved in five games in either overtime or a shootout, winning four of those games.

The combination of Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes has been doing a very good job give Montreal a chance to win each and every night.

Montembeault (17-16-3, 2.95 GAA, .899 SV%, 3 SO) is confirmed to start, and Cam Talbot (11-10-2, 3.07 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO) is expected to be on the other end. Montembeault won both starts against the Red Wings in the home-and-home set, allowing just four goals on 49 shots.

On the flip side, the Red Wings aren't playing great. When Todd McLellan took over, the Wings lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Dec. 27 in his debut. After that, they won seven in a row, the longest win streak since 2012, but since they're 1-3-1, with a 0-2-1 mark in the past three games with just three total goals scored.

Based on recent play, let's back the Canadiens as underdogs, and play the Under based on Detroit's inability to light the lamp lately.

Canadiens ML (+106 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6.0 Goals (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Don't wager on your favorite sports betting apps without knowing the latest NHL odds.

Utah Hockey Club at Minnesota Wild

The Utah Hockey Club (20-19-7) and the Wild (28-15-4) meet at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It's the third meeting of the season between these Western Conference clubs, with the road team winning both of the previous outings.

On Dec. 10, Minnesota outslugged Utah 5-4 in a shootout at Delta Center in Salt Lake City as a slight underdog (+106) as the Over (5.5) cashed, while Utah outlasted Minnesota 2-1 as slight 'dogs (+106) as the Under (6) hit in the Twin Cities on Dec. 20.

Utah is flying high after surprising the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets 5-2 as a moderate underdog (+148) as the Over (5.5) cashed on Monday. In fact, Utah has won back-to-back games for the first time since winning four in a row Dec. 12-20. The last victory in that streak was against the Wild.

For Minnesota, it edged the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on the road Monday, making up for a 6-2 egg-laying in Nashville on Saturday. Despite the win over the Avs, the Wild are still 1-3-0 in the past four games while allowing 16 goals in the span, or 4.0 GPG.

Utah is 2-4-0 in six games this season when playing on no rest, while the Under is 5-0-1 in those outings.

Let's back the Wild to get the job done at home behind Filip Gustavsson (18-9-3, 2.58 GAA, .914 SV%, 3 SO) while going low on the total.

Wild ML (-154 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6.0 Goals (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Pittsburgh Penguins at Anaheim Ducks

The Penguins (20-21-8) and Ducks (18-23-6) square off at Honda Center in Anaheim at 10 p.m. ET.

These teams met on Halloween in the Steel City, with the Penguins edging the Ducks 2-1 in overtime as heavy favorites (-179), with the Ducks covering on the puck line as 'dogs.

Pittsburgh has dominated this series, winning six of the past seven since Dec. 11, 2021, while the Under has hit in six of the past nine meetings. However, six of the past nine meetings have been decided by a single goal, so it has been nip and tuck.

In that late October meeting, Lukas Dostal stood on his head, making 43 saves in the hard-luck OTL, as Alex Nedeljkovic made 22 saves and wasn't nearly as tested. It was Sidney Crosby's second goal in OT which sent the home fans away happy.

Pittsburgh is 2-1-0 on the current seven-game road trip, and it has picked up points in four of the past five road games, going 2-1-2.

Anaheim is 0-3-1 in the past four games, and it is 1-5-2 in the past eight outings while getting shutout three times in just the past six outings since Jan. 11. The struggles on offense for the Ducks, Anaheim's recent play, and Pittsburgh's dominance in the series makes the Pens a solid play as moderate favorites. Let's go low on the total, too.

Penguins ML (-144 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Under 6.0 Goals (-115 at BetMGM)

Today's NHL Best Bet(s)

OK, we held on for the Under in the Jets-Avalanche battle in Denver on Wednesday night. Anytime Connor Hellebuyck is in action, it's a good idea to go low. Now, let's make it three in a row on our best-bet play.

The Under in the Pittsburgh-Anaheim game is the way to go since the Ducks have been blanked three times in the past six games. It's uncertain if Joel Blomqvist (3-6-0, 3.53 GAA, .904 SV%) will be able to blank them, but he should do well.