NHL Betting Picks for Monday 1/22/24: Vegas Looking to Extend Winning Streak

The week begins with six interesting games and some different ways we can bet on them.

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

Pittsburgh Penguins at Arizona Coyotes

Under 6.5 Goals (-134)

Two teams that are hanging around the playoff bubble meet tonight, and both are pretty decent at keeping the puck out of their net.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are thought of as a high-flying offensive team, especially after adding Erik Karlsson. That actually hasn't been the case this season, as they are only 19th in goals per game. They are much better defensively than people expected, allowing 2.67 goals per game. That's good for the seventh-best mark in the league.

The Arizona Coyotes haven't been as good as Pittsburgh defensively, but they are getting a huge boost from their goaltending. Connor Ingram is sixth in the NHL in goals saved above expected (GSAx) per 60 minutes with .572.

Arizona has some decent offensive players they can build around, but they aren't one of the best offensive teams in the league. They are 20th in expected goals per 60 minutes and 22nd in goals per game. They also will be without Nick Schmaltz, who's third on the team in points.

Pittsburgh's goalie hasn't been much worse than Ingram. Tristan Jarry has .353 GSAx per 60 minutes, good for 13th in the league among those who have played at least 15 games. His solid play has helped an underperforming offense stay in the playoff race.

The model on numberFire likes this game to stay under, as well, giving this bet a two-star rating. That makes sense given what we know about these teams, so it's a bet with value tonight.

Vegas Golden Knights at New Jersey Devils

Golden Knights Moneyline (+104)

This game features two teams that have star centers named Jack on the injured reserve. Both Jack Hughes and Jack Eichel will not be participating in this game, but that could leave the Vegas Golden Knights with an advantage.

Eichel has been out for four games, and Vegas has won three of them. That was mostly due to excellent goaltending by Logan Thompson, who was named the NHL's third star of the week. Thompson is at .268 GSAx per 60 and is having a solid season with Adin Hill currently injured.

The difference in this game could come down to goaltending. The New Jersey Devils have the third-worst team save percentage in the league. It looks like they are going to go with Vitek Vanecek in net today. He has the fourth-worst GSAx per 60 in the NHL.

New Jersey has the slightly better five-on-five expected goal percentage, but it's probably not enough to overcome the disadvantage at goalie. Vegas has actually been good with Eichel out of the lineup, controlling 54.4% of the expected goals.

The Golden Knights play with better structure than the Devils, so they can overcome the loss of their star easier than most teams. I like getting plus odds on the better goalie and better coach, so I'll take Vegas +104 tonight.

Chicago Blackhawks at Vancouver Canucks

Canucks -1.5 (-162)

It's rare that a team will be this heavily favored to win by more than a goal, but that's the level of mismatch we are dealing with here.

The Vancouver Canucks continue to be one of the league's best teams. They have the most points in the NHL and have won eight of their last 10 games. They are also averaging the most goals per game and have the best goal differential.

This was supposed to be a homecoming for Connor Bedard, as he's from the Vancouver area. His broken jaw will prevent him from playing in this game and likely prevent the Chicago Blackhawks from having much of a chance of winning. In the seven games since Bedard got injured, Chicago has averaged 1.69 goals per game. No other team has averaged fewer than 2.12 in that stretch.

The Canucks are 16-4-1 at home this season, the best record in the NHL. They have scored 63.3% of the goals at home, also the best in the league.

Vancouver will be starting Thatcher Demko, who has the seventh-highest GSAx per 60 in the NHL. It's been hard for Chicago to score against anyone and will be even harder for them to score on Demko.

If Vancouver is a true contender, they shouldn't have much problem blowing away Chicago tonight.

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.