2 Best NHL Bets and Player Props for Friday 10/17/25

Whether it's moneylines, goal props, or who lights the lamp, there are plenty of ways to bet on NHL action all season. It's a long 82-game campaign, meaning that the best selections of each night can be very different based on backup goalies coming into play, injuries that add up, and if teams are due for positive or negative swings.

For additional NHL insights, check out FanDuel Research's daily NHL player prop projections, which are powered by numberFire.

Let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com. Lineup notes come from Daily Faceoff.

Today's Best NHL Bets and Player Props

Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings

Jake Guentzel Any Time Goal (+180)

The Tampa Bay Lightning have the slate's second-highest implied team total (3.7) as road favorites against the Detroit Red Wings, making this a potential spot to look for an any time goalscorer.

Last season, Detroit was 20th or worse in Corsi against (59.94), expected goals (3.04), and high-danger chances allowed (11.41) per 60 minutes. While they've been strong defensively through four games, this is by no means expected to be an elite team in 2025-26, so it's too soon to buy into them making significant strides in this area.

The Lightning have been off to a sluggish start themselves, but they were seventh in expected goals per 60 minutes (3.17) last season and should be one of the league's stronger teams in this campaign.

Jake Guentzel was tied for the NHL's seventh-most goals (41) in 2024-25, which included leading the league in power-play goals (17). Although Guentzel doesn't shoot at as high a volume as some other skaters, he makes his shots count, as he led Tampa in expected goals per 60 minutes (1.30) despite averaging just 13.32 shot attempts per 60.

Our NHL projections forecast 0.54 goals for Guentzel, which is tied for the slate's second-best mark. That would imply roughly +139 odds to score, suggesting we might be getting good value at these odds.

San Jose Sharks at Utah Mammoth

Dylan Guenther Any Time Goal (+155)

The San Jose Sharks were the NHL's worst team in 2024-25, and it's more than likely they'll be in the running for the worst team this season, as well. San Jose is tied for the longest odds to win the Stanley Cup (+50000), and MoneyPuck is giving them a league-worst 5.2% shot of making the playoffs.

In 2024-25, the Sharks were a poor defensive team, ranking 31st in Corsi against per 60 minutes (66.01), 32nd in expected goals against per 60 (3.49), and 28th in high-danger chances allowed per 60 (12.47). Through three games, they're 31st, 25th, and 30th in those metrics, so they're already trending toward being a matchup to exploit in 2025-26.

The Utah Mammoth are expected to be more of a league-average squad, but that's enough to make them -245 moneyline favorites at home -- easily the shortest mark on Friday -- and they're showing an implied team total around four goals.

Utah has a great chance to pocket multiple goals in this one, and Dylan Guenther is someone I expect to be busy. So far, Guenther is averaging the team's second-most shots on goal per 60 minutes (12.02) and leads the way in shot attempts per 60 (25.55).

Our model gives Guenther the slate's highest goals projection (0.57), one that implies he should be more like +133 to score.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.