Top NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions: Wednesday (10/19)
Just a trio of games on the NHL slate tonight, and the action gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET with a matchup between the Flyers and Panthers. The Jets take on the Avalanche to follow, while the night concludes with a Western Conference showdown between the Blues and the Kraken. Below I’ve listed my top two bets on the ice tonight.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook
Prop Bet Analyzer: View top-rated props and historical prop performance by player >>
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Florida Panthers
The Flyers won outright last night against Tampa Bay and cashed as a +250 underdog. We’ll see if lightning can strike twice in the same place as they take on the Panthers and see themselves as a +260 underdog. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, FL.
I’m rolling with the Flyers and backing them on the puck line since it’s still a plus-money payout. The fact is that John Tortorella has these players fired up and playing well right out of the gate. They’re 3-0-0 to start the season and have wins over the Devils, Canucks, and Lightning last night. While they don’t own an overly talented roster, Torts will always put his players in the right spot to succeed while extracting maximum effort.
From a statistical standpoint, Philadelphia has been great on defense, as they rank fourth in the league in goals against per game at 2.00. Offensively, they’re 13th in scoring, with an average of 3.7 goals per game. On the flip side, the Panthers are surrendering 3.00 goals per game. I think Florida’s defense will be a sore spot this season, especially with the departure of MacKenzie Weegar in the defensive zone. He was traded alongside Jonathan Huberdeau in the Matthew Tkachuk deal with Calgary. Ultimately, I expect the Flyers to be physical, outwork the Panthers tonight, and at least keep this a one-goal game, if not win outright.
Bet: Philadelphia Flyers +1.5 (+105 via Caesars)
St. Louis Blues vs. Seattle Kraken
The Blues hit the road for a three-game west coast road trip with stops in Seattle, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. They’re 1-0-0 to start the season thanks to a 5-2 victory over the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. The Kraken already have four games under their belt and come into tonight’s contest at 1-2-1. They’re currently on a two-game losing streak. Tonight’s game is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET from Seattle.
I’m going to back the Blues on the moneyline tonight as they look to start the road trip on a high note. I feel like -145 is a pretty low price, considering how bad Seattle is expected to be this season. Now, they did make a couple of nice additions in Olver Bjorkstand and Andre Burakovsky; but make no mistake, this team is full steam ahead on the Connor Bedard sweepstakes.
As for the Blues, it’s expected that they’ll turn to Jordan Binnington to do the netminding tonight. He’s 1-0-0 on the year with a 2.00 GAA and 92.0 SV%, as he stopped 23 out of 25 shots in the opener on Saturday. I expect the 29-year-old goaltender to have a productive year in net, considering he has a quartet of solid defensemen in front of him with Nick Leddy, Colton Parayko, Torey Krug, and Justin Faulk. This unit should be able to stifle a Kraken team that finished 28th in scoring last year (2.6 gpg) and are on a similar pace to start the new campaign (24th, 2.8 gpg). The bottom line is that the Blues have ambitions to make a deep playoff run this year, and these are two points that they should come away with easily. Let’s lock in St. Louis tonight on the moneyline.
Bet: St. Louis Blues Moneyline (-145 via Caesars)
Join the BettingPros Discord Chat for Live Betting Advice >>
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts
Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our How To Bet and Sports Betting Strategy and Advice pages are for you. You can get started with our How To Section — including How to Avoid the 7 Biggest Sports Betting Mistakes — or head to a more advanced strategy — like Thinking Like an Expert Sports Bettor — to learn more.