NHL Picks Tonight: Best NHL Bets and Player Props for January 18, 2024

Thursday is a busy night in the NHL with 11 games on tap and Grant Leonard is ready to take on the board with his best NHL bets and player props for tonight's slate.
NHL Picks Tonight: Best NHL Bets and Player Props for January 18, 2024
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Big plate of NHL action to feast on tonight. Tons of tasty tilts on the board, so this will be an excellent evening to plant yourself on your couch and watch some hockey while scrolling your favorite sportsbook. When you do, here are the best NHL bets and player props tonight!

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Best NHL Bets Tonight

Avalanche, Bruins over 6.5 (+102 on DraftKings)

Getting a little frisky with this one, I'll admit, but hear me out. These teams played each other on January 8 and it was a 4-3 Avs win. 7 of the last 10 games have gone over 6.5 for BOTH teams. Too much firepower on both benches to not hammer this over with even slightly plus money. 

Capitals ML (-115 on FanDuel)

I love the Caps here, and I don't love the Caps much at all this year. And I'm a lifelong Caps fan. They just crawled through a 2-0 win over the Ducks on Tuesday, which was really a 1-0 win with an empty netter. They play their best hockey at home where they've won 3 of their last 4. The Blues have lost 3 of their last 4 overall, and play markedly worse on the road. 

Maple Leafs ML (-125 on DraftKings)

This is really a bet on the Leafs to break their losing streak, which now sits at 4. They won 4 in a row preceding this 4-game losing streak though, and I expect them to get back on the winning side tonight in Calgary. They could've (should've) had a W in Edmonton on Tuesday but squandered a 2-goal lead. The Flames are riding their own 4-game win streak into this one but those wins came against the lowly Senators, the Coyotes twice, and the slumping Golden Knights. Go Leafs Go!

Best NHL Player Props Tonight

Brandon Hagel points (-145 on DraftKings)

Betting on the Bolts at home is always fun as they boast one of the league's best home ice advantages, and they come into this on a 3-game win streak and winners of eight of their last 10 at home. Hagel's got seven points in his last 10 games overall, but logs a ton of ice time and has a nice matchup with a Wild team that's 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and struggles on the road in general. 

Pavel Buchnevich over 2.5 shots on goal (-125 on DraftKings)

Kinda love Buchnevich in this spot here. The Caps give up a ton of shots, and Pavel's notched over 2.5 in 7 of his last 10 games, including 2 in a row. I might like the Caps to win, but not without allowing the Blues' big guns to get their fair share of chances. 

William Nylander over 3.5 shots on goal (-140 on DraftKings)

Totally riding the hot hand with this one. Willy's been a shots-on-goal monster for his team and for us bettors all season, and we're rolling him out again tonight. He's hit over 3.5 shots on goal in 8 of his last 10 games and in 4 in a row. He fired 6 shots on goal against the Oilers in Edmonton 2 nights ago too. 

Happy hunting y'all!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grant is a former RotoWire contributor. Former Junior B ice hockey player, and current believer that the Washington Capitals' aging core still has another Cup run left in the tank.
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