NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Wednesday, November 20

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Published on November 20, 2024

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Wednesday, Nov. 20

The National Hockey League has five total games on tap for Wednesday night, and we'll be focusing on the nationally televised doubleheader on TNT/truTV/Max. The Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers drop the puck at 7:30 p.m. ET in the first game at Wells Fargo Center, while the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings square off at 10:30 p.m. ET at Crypto.com Arena. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Picks Tonight

Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers

The Hurricanes (13-4-0) and Flyers (8-9-2) battle at Wells Fargo Center in the front end of the TNT double dip.

These teams met at the newly renamed Lenovo Center (formerly PNC Arena) in Raleigh on Nov. 5, with the Hurricanes coming away with a 6-4 victory as a massive favorite (-305) as the Over (6) cashed.

Carolina has won 11 of the past 12 meetings dating back to Nov. 12, 2021, a 2-1 home setback. The Hurricanes have won six straight trips to the City of Brotherly Love. The last time the Flyers won on home ice against the Canes was March 5, 2020. Four of the past six meetings in Philly have been one-goal games, though, with three decided in overtime.

Pyotr Kochetkov (9-2-0, 2.42 GAA, .904 SV%) is expected to start in net for the visitors, while Ivan Fedotov (3-3-0, 3.64 GAA, .871 SV%) is likely for the Flyers. After a disastrous October, Fedotov is 3-0-0 with a 2.22 GAA and .918 SV% in three November starts.

In that most recent meeting, Carolina posted 35 shots on goal to just 16 for Philly, while the Flyers had 18 hits to just 13 for the Canes. Philly was 1-for-3 on the power play, with Travis Konecny lighting the lamp, while Carolina squandered its only two chances on the man advantage. Philly also paid the price way more, blocking 20 shots to a mere nine for Carolina.

However, Carolina had six goal scorers: Jackson Blake, Eric Robinson, Jordan Martinook, Jack Roslovic, Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis (ENG) got onto the stat sheet.

With Carolina dominating this series, we need to play it on the road. But, you cannot risk more than two times your potential return, especially for an away team. The best move would be to play the Canes on the puck line lightly. In each of Carolina's past seven wins since Oct. 31, it has won by two of more goals, including the first battle with Philly.

The Under has cashed in each of the past three games for Carolina, while the Under did cash for Philly last time out in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, although the Over was 4-0 in the prior four outings. However, in this series, the total has gone low in four of the past five meetings, so that's what we'll play.

Hurricanes PL (-1.5, +110 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6.5 (-118 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Buffalo Sabres at Los Angeles Kings

The Sabres (8-9-1) and the Kings (10-6-3) meet at Crypto.com Arena in the second end of the double dip on the left coast.

These teams have already met once this season, with L.A. picking up the 3-1 win at KeyBank Center on Oct. 10 as slight underdogs (-103) as the Under (6) cashed.

That first meeting started well for Buffalo, as Alex Tuch electrified the crowd with an unassisted shorthanded goal late in the second period for the game's first goal. Buffalo carried a 1-0 lead into the third period, but Anze Kopitar splashed cold water on the fans with not one, not two, but three goals in the third period. His first goal was just 13 seconds into the period, while he had a power-play goal and an empty-net marker.

Darcy Kuemper turned aside 32 of the 33 shots he faced, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen managed 20 saves on 22 shots. Luukkonen is expected to get the nod Wednesday, but David Rittich (6-4-0, 2.52 GAA and .892 SV%) likely will be between the pipes for the Kings.

The Sabres have won four of the past six games, including a surprising 6-1 road win against the New York Rangers on Nov. 7 as a heavy 'dog (+172) as the Over (6.5) hit. In fact, the Over is 4-1-1 in the past six games, and 10-2-3 in the past 15 outings.

The Kings halted a slight two-game skid with a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings last time out Saturday. The Under is 2-0-1 in the past three games, but there is a slight edge to the Over at a 4-3-1 clip in the past eight outings. We'll back the Over in this game, and since the Kings are 5-1-1 in seven home games this season, let's back the home side.