Welcome to the Frozen Frenzy in the NHL tonight for this Tuesday! That's right all 32 teams are in action this evening with staggered start times for your viewing pleasure and ESPN will be broadcasting all of them in an NFL Redzone-type format. As a lifelong NHL fan this is awesome and what is better is that the angles for betting on tonight's slate are aplenty. I wish I could have more action but it's important to be responsible even on the big nights so I narrowed the NHL Best Bets to 4 selections that include and 60-minute line, an underdog Money Line, a team total and a Puck Line on a home favorite. Best of luck out there everyone and enjoy the craziness that is tonight's NHL slate!

  • Season Record: 6-9-1
  • Bankroll: -2.90 units

Follow me on twitter @jwaggs10

**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned.

NHL Best Bets for October 24

Toronto Maple Leafs at Washington Capitals 

On this massive NHL slate tonight let's start from the top with the first game of the night between the Maple Leafs and the Capitals. From the surface these teams could not be more different as the Maple Leafs pursue another deep playoff run and the Caps are stuck in purgatory with a half way rebuild. The stats favor Toronto as you would imagine as they are scoring 3.6 goals per game while the Capitals are scoring just 1.25. You go deeper and you can see the disparity even further with the Maple Leafs holding a xGF% of 54.97% the 8th best in hockey while the Caps sit at 46.03%. That's a wide gap and it has me wondering why the Leafs aren't -200 favorites or more heading into this game on the sportsbooks. In addition to that Joseph Woll will start in net for Toronto and he's been their best netminder thus far with a 1.68 GAA and .949 SV%, another key factor to picking the Maple Leafs. I can't really take the Money Line though as it's juiced to -170 but it's still a value if you're a conservative bettor I will take them on the 60 minute line tonight at a much better line of -110. 

Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs 60 Min Line (-110 at BetMGM)

 

Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators

For the next pick of the NHL best bets let's pick on a team that played last night and is on the road for tonight! The Sabres have been a disappointment so far this season scoring just 2.17 goals per game with an offense that should be better but alas they have not been. I am more interested in their defense though that has allowed 3 goals per game so far and are starting Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the first time this season. Last year the Sabres netminder allowed 3.61 goals per game and had a save percentage well under the standard .900 mark. Against a Senators team that is scoring 4.2 goals per game, the 3rd highest rate in the NHL that's a BIG problem. Looking deeper into the home splits this season the Senators have been even better with 18 goals in 4 home games this season and that average is more than enough to top their team total tonight of 3.5 goals. 

Pick: Ottawa Senators Team Total Over 3.5 Goals (-140 on Bet365)

 

Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks

Okay everyone, here we come with the upset special on this huge slate of games! Sometimes the value dictates you take a swing and I am excited for this one as the Blackhawks at home have played only one game in a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights but they played them tough and the Chicago crowd will be rowdy for this matchup. I selected this game for an upset because while the Bruins are 5-0-0 their underlying stats aren't as good as you'd think as they sit middle of the league in Corsi For % at 49.89% which is interesting because most great teams are well over 50% and then their expected goals for percentage is low at 51.79%. 

These stats have a way of catching up with teams and there are some projections they could start their backup Jeremy Swayman tonight which gives some light to the underdogs in Chicago tonight. Another thing to watch too is that the Bruins aren't very deep at center these days so Connor Bedard will have some room to roam which is critical to the Blackhawks success. 

Pick: Chicago Blackhawks Money Line (+185 on PointsBet) Half Unit Play

 

San Jose Sharks at Florida Panthers

The Sharks are going to be one of the worst teams in the NHL this season and it's already been proven through 5 games as they sit at 0-4-1. I don't project things to get much better either as they are in the midst of an East Coast road trip that historically has gone bad for many West Coast-based teams. In their first game of the trip they lost 5-1 to Nashville and tonight they get a hungry Florida team that hasn't started the way they've wanted to. I will give the Panthers credit though they have played without Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad who are the backbones of the defense but also contribute a ton in the offensive zone. 

Despite these absences Florida ranks 10th in Corsi For % and is still over the critical 50% mark in expected goals for at 51.7%. This means despite their 2-3-0 record they are doing the right things and should be rewarded soon! The Money Line is way too chalky as you might expect though so I am looking full Puck Line tonight as the Sharks are 1-4 against the spread this season and it gives us a clean line of -105 for the Panthers.

Pick: Florida Panthers Puck Line -1.5 (-110 at BetMGM)