Welcome to NHL Best Bets, where we have a three-game slate to get through the middle of the week. 

We'll be back for another massive slate of games tomorrow before we hit a short break.

 

 

 

NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 2/5

It's a smaller slate of games but we have some headline names and teams in action tonight. 

Let's pick up some wins over the next few days before the 4 Nations Face-Off starts next week. 

 

 

 

Bruins vs. Rangers Prediction: Wednesday, January 22nd

An Original Six matchup is always exciting, and it's set for primetime and national TV. This of course would be the Boston Bruins at the New York Rangers, which we just saw a few days ago where the Bruins won 6-3.

Let's keep it simple for this matchup and turn to David Pastrank for some shots tonight. Pasta leads the league with 222 shots on goal this season, which is nothing new for him. Also, historically, Pasta has routinely put up big performances against the Rangers, as we saw over the weekend where he posted a hat-trick. 

Goals are great but they are variable so the shots on goal are where we will look. In the two games this season versus the Rangers, Pastrnak has 13 shots on goal. Last season, Pastrnak had 15 shots on goal in three games, giving us a high level of consistency to trust. 

As for the Rangers, they've been struggling on defense this season and that has been shown over the last two weeks when they've allowed 64.37 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the sixth-worst in the league. 

So, while it's a fun narrative that Pastrnak has historically been great against the Rangers, it's fundamentally a great matchup and he's the highest-volume shooter in the league. 

 

 

 

Canadiens vs. Kings Prediction: Wednesday, January 22nd

The Los Angeles Kings have hit a bit of a rough patch with seven losses in their last 10 games, they aren't playing “bad”. I know it sounds weird, so I'll explain. 

Over the last two weeks, the Kings are scoring 1.77 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the 11th lowest in the league. However, they are generating 64.07 Total Shot Attempts in the same situations, which is the seventh-highest in the league. 

They're taking a ton of shot attempts but hardly scoring any goals. So, if we glance at their Expected Goals Scored per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, they are up at a whopping 3.17, which is the third-highest in the league. That's what you would expect for a team taking the seventh-most shots attempts. 

They're doing a lot of the right things, they're just not getting good results. I will buy into that type of team 10 times out of 10. A player leading the way in that area is, Adrian Kempe. Kempe is a proven goal-scorer but hasn't been able to find the back of the net recently. Over the last five games, he has had an awesome 21 shots on goal but no goals. 

Considering the matchup versus the Montreal Canadiens, who have allowed 3.02 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations over the last two weeks, which is the third-worst in the league, Kempe and the Kings are due for an offensive breakout. 

 

 

 

Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 1/22