NHL Betting Picks for Friday 1/19/24: Red Wings Try to Continue Hot Streak

A four-game slate ends the week in the NHL, leaving bettors with some intriguing options to consider for 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

Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes

Red Wings +1.5 (-140)

In a crucial tilt in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Red Wings will collide with the Carolina Hurricanes tonight.

The Red Wings occupy the top Wild Card spot in the East, and the Hurricanes sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division. With so much still capable of happening over this second half, every game counts, with this being a big one.

Detroit enters tonight with a three-game winning streak, bringing momentum against a team in the Hurricanes that is 7-2-1 in the last 10 games. We're siding with the Red Wings to cover at +1.5 tonight thanks to their current stretch.

The Red Wings have been one of the best offensive teams in hockey this season. They're averaging 3.50 Goals For per 60 minutes, ranking as the fourth-best in the NHL. Carolina isn't too far behind, however. The Hurricanes are sporting 3.38 Goals For per 60 minutes, good for ninth. Where these teams do have differences is in the Goals Against department, as the Red Wings allow 3.28, while the Hurricanes have been better at a 2.96 clip.

Even still, recent play has the Red Wings as a surging team that can and should keep it tight tonight.

Alex Lyon and Antti Raanta are expected in net tonight. Lyon has easily been the better goaltender, having a 2.54 goals against average and .923 save percentage compared to Raanta's 3.28 goals against average and .869 save percentage. That's all we need to see to back Detroit.

numberFire's model gives the Red Wings a 72.78% likelihood of covering tonight.

Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers

Panthers ML (-192)

There may be no two teams going in more opposite directions than the Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers.

Minnesota has been brutal over their last 10 games, coming into tonight with a 2-7-1 record and completely losing any momentum they had when naming a new head coach. Florida, on the other hand, is looking like the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago, repping a 7-1-2 record in that same 10-game span.

The Wild are averaging just 2.08 Goals For per 60 minutes in their brutal 10-game stretch. The Panthers have been at the top of the league with 3.86 Goals For per 60 minutes in that time. Only the Ottawa Senators have been allowing more goals than the Wild, as they're the second worst with 4.05 Goals Against -- making for a potentially huge night in Florida. For what it's worth, the Panthers are letting up only 2.47 Goals Against per 60 minutes.

Sergei Bobrovsky will give them the final edge they need over the Wild tonight, who are likely to start Marc-Andre Fleury. Bobrovsky has been one of the best goalies in the league this season, as the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has a 2.46 goals against average and .911 save percentage. Fleury has struggled as expected, coming in with a .897 save percentage and -4.37 goals saved above expectation.

There's little reason to believe any other result other than the Panthers taking home the win tonight.

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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.