NHL Betting Picks and DFS Plays for Thursday 1/4/24: Kraken Look to Build on Outdoor Win

With 13 games on the slate tonight, there are plenty of bets we'll like tonight.

Whether it's moneylines or total goals, there are plenty of ways to bet on the 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.

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.

NHL Best Bets

Tampa Bay Lightning at Minnesota Wild

Lightning Moneyline (-128)

The Tampa Bay Lightning haven't been their same dominant selves this season. They currently sit outside the playoffs and have a goal differential of -8.

They're on the road tonight to play the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota got off to a brutal start to the season, which led to the firing of head coach Dean Evason. They did get the new coach bump under John Hynes but now are dealing with a lot of injuries.

Tampa has a slight edge on shot attempt percentage at five-on-five, 50.39% to 50.18%. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been playing well since he's been back, saving .269 goals above expected per 60 minutes. He should do well against this injured Wild team.

Minnesota will be without Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, the wingers from their first line. Jared Spurgeon is also injured, and he's arguably their best defensemen. They will also have to start Marc-Andre Fleury in goal because starter Filip Gustavsson is hurt, too.

With so many injured players, it's hard to see how the Wild can compete with the Lightning in this game. In the two games without Kaprizov, they've scored three goals total. That won't get it done against Tampa, so laying the -128 isn't too big of a price.

Ottawa Senators at Seattle Kraken

Kraken Moneyline (-122)

Fresh off their win in the Winter Classic, the Seattle Kraken look to build on that momentum to get them back in the playoff hunt. They're on a five-game winning streak.

They'll face the Ottawa Senators tonight and should have the edge in a few areas. Seattle is a much better five-on-five team, controlling 51.71% of the expected goals, compared to 46.73% for Ottawa.

The Kraken seem to have found their goalie that they'll go with, as Joey Daccord has been solid in net. He's saved 7.5 goals above expected at five-on-five this season.

Seattle has welcomed back Andre Burakovsky, and with the addition of Tomas Tatar, they have the same level of depth that led them to the second round of the playoffs last season. They shouldn't have much trouble beating the Senators tonight.

Ottawa sits dead last in the Eastern Conference and has gone 3-7-0 in their last 10 games. They should be treated as one of the worst teams in the NHL, and for some reason, this line doesn't suggest that.

I have no problem with laying -122 on Seattle tonight, and the model on numberFire agrees. It rates this bet as a three-star play.

NHL DFS Picks

We're going to shift gears into some DFS plays for tonight's slate. We'll look at a goalie and two stacks to help us build lineups.

Goalie to Target

Juuse Saros, Predators ($8,000)

Juuse Saros ($8,000) did not get off to a good start to this season. That was surprising considering he was one of the best goalies in the NHL over the past three seasons.

He's gotten back on track in the last month, and that was highlighted by a shutout on Tuesday. He had an easy matchup at home but gets the same thing tonight.

The Nashville Predators will play Calgary Flames on Thursday. Calgary averages the 10th-fewest goals per game, as their lack of offense has been a hot-button issue for them dating back to last season.

Nashville is in the top half of the league in shot attempts against, expected goals against, scoring chances against and high-danger chances against per 60 minutes. They should be able to shut down the Flames tonight, and Saros has little risk of ruining your lineups if you roster him.

Stacks

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers sit one point behind the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the NHL. Their offense has been driven by their top two lines, who have traded off being on fire at different points of the season.

We're going to look at the first line tonight because it's more affordable. Mika Zibanejad ($8,100) had a 10-game point streak snapped on Tuesday after scoring 17 points over that span. Chris Kreider ($7,500) is on this line with Zibanejad and is second on the team with 19 goals. Blake Wheeler ($4,100) is the third member of this line, and he isn't too inspiring but offers cheap correlation.

The second line is harder to fit in, but Artemi Panarin ($10,100), Vincent Trocheck ($6,700), and Alexis Lafreniere ($5,400) certainly are in play.

The Rangers are at home tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago allows the second-most goals per game, as well as the third-most scoring chances and second-most high-danger chances per 60 minutes.

With an implied team total of a massive 4.23 goals, the Rangers are a clear team to target on this slate.

Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets have gone on a surprising run of 7-0-2 and are huge favorites to continue that tonight.

Winnipeg's streak coincides with their new top line coming together. Mark Scheifele ($7,700) leads the team with 36 points in 36 games. Nikolaj Ehlers ($6,700) is finally getting his chance to display his talent on the top line. He's tied for second on the team with 12 goals. Gabriel Vilardi ($6,300) missed a lot of time with injury, but he has 15 points in 18 games and had a stretch in December with 12 points in five games.

The Jets will get the best possible matchup for an NHL team. They'll face the San Jose Sharks, who rank last in nearly every defensive category -- including goals allowed and expected goals allowed.

Winnipeg has the second-highest team total tonight (3.93 goals). This line is fully correlated on the power play, and it isn't too restrictive salary-wise. That makes them clearly one of the best stacks on the board.

Looking for more NHL betting opportunities? Check out all of the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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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.