Want to make some extra cash before the weekend? Welp, you have a good opportunity on Thursday’s slate of games in the NHL. If you keep reading, we’ll share our three best NHL bets to make across the matchups.
Moneyline: Vegas Golden Knights at Tampa Bay Lightning
We start with a juicy matchup featuring two teams that are favorites to make the Stanley Cup Finals, per the top-used NHL betting sites. The 38-win Golden Knights currently are tops in the Western Conference. The Lightning has also won 38 games, but in a much more stacked Eastern Conference, they’re only in the middle of the pack. No surprise, though, the Vegas-Tampa moneyline odds are pretty close on both sides:
Despite both teams’ seasonal success, they’re concerns for each going into this Thursday night tilt. For the visitors, this is their second game in a five-game road trip in the East. It got off to a bad start on Tuesday when Vegas was beaten by Florida 2-1. The Lightning, however, has gone cold the last month or so. Get this, Tampa has lost eight of its last 11 contests. Not good at all.
It’s easy to say Tampa Bay will be ok, especially after three straight Stanley Cup Finals trips. However, we’re not quite so sure. Things have gotten so bad that head coach Jon Cooper yanked three proven starters — Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point — an entire period a few nights ago. Stamkos is the team captain for God’s sake!
Sure, the Lightning won last time out, but we need to see more consistency from them before we advocate for any moneyline bet — especially against one of the league’s best teams. They should not be -155 favorites, which is why we’re putting our money on the Golden Knights.
Over/Under 6.5 Goals: Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche
Another solid matchup here featuring two teams in the Western Conference with their own Stanley Cup aspirations. We’re going to skip the moneyline in this game in favor of the LA-Colorado over/under. It’s set at 6.5 goals, which is tied for the highest of the night. Here are the current betting odds for each outcome:
We’re going to be completely upfront and say this could be an easy over 6.5 goals. The variable will be which Avalanche team shows up on Thursday. The defending Stanley Cup champions have been the most inconsistent team in the league all season, and that’s encapsulated with a string of recent performances. Over the past week, the Avs lost a game 7-3 (to Dallas) and also won a game 6-0 (most recently vs. the Sharks).
But hey, that inconsistency might help you either way. If we see the championship-level team on Thursday, then good luck putting a lid on that high-powered offense. If they come out flat, then they’ll allow the Kings to torch them for multiple goals — which LA is certainly capable of doing, by the way. The Kings are amid a four-game win streak in which they’ve averaged 4.25 goals a contest. For these reasons, we’re confident that the over hits.
Moneyline: Ottawa Senators at Seattle Kraken
Unlike the previous teams we’ve covered, no one is really thinking Stanley Cup Finals when it comes to Ottawa or Seattle. However, the two teams are still one of the best storylines going right now. Therefore, we were compelled to bet the Ottawa-Seattle moneyline. Here’s how both teams are being pegged by the oddsmakers:
The Kraken has rebounded nicely from a tough expansion season a year ago. The 37-win team is only a game behind Vegas for the West’s top spot. They’ve overachieved thus far and most are expecting them to “come down to Earth” but it hasn’t quite happened yet. And then there’s Ottawa that’s climbed up the Atlantic Division with a five-game winning streak that just ended with a 5-0 thumping at the hands of the Blackhawks — go figure!
Speaking of five-game victory streaks, that’s what the Kraken are on right now. Winners of seven of their last 10, few teams are as red-hot as Seattle. That’s why we’re backing them to hold their home-ice advantage and win this one straight up!
How To Bet On NHL Games Today?
There are 11 different games to bet on in the NHL on Thursday. Between them, you have dozens upon dozens of opportunities to make money gambling. While we love the three we covered above the most, that’s not to say there’s not money to make elsewhere in the league. If you want a full list of betting opportunities on the day (or the rest of the season), look no further than the sites featured underneath. All of these are industry leaders, as pointed out in our latest sportsbook reviews.
In fact, we recommend reading our reviews so you can pick the very best sportsbook of ’em all. This decision will be different for every bettor. Some value huge bonuses more, some value a deeper betting menu more — and sportsbooks will vary in each of these features. These reviews fully breakdown what each bookmaker excels at so start there!
About the Author
Eric is uniquely suited to be a writer for SBS. For one, he's a journalist by trade. Eric spent a large part of his career, covering sports — high school, college, and professional — for newspapers and online-based sites. However, Eric is a bettor himself too. He has first-hand experience hanging out in smoky sportsbooks and casinos, dealing with the ebbs and flows of gambling, and an understanding of how bookies operate. Both these unique qualities make him an expert bet picker for SBS. You'll also see Eric report on the sports betting industry as a whole.
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