NHL Best Bets (Feb 25): Bruins and Flames Will Combine For a Boatload of Goals

There's plenty of NHL action for bettors on Tuesday. Check out our two best bets, including whether you should take the Over or Under in the Bruins-Flames matchup.

The 2020 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. As new faces in new places get acclimated to their new teams, there are 13 games on the NHL slate to bet on tonight. The high-quality action starts right away as the Maple Leafs and Lightning faceoff to open the night. Also on tap is the battle of New York between the Rangers and Islanders, the Jets visiting DC to take on the Capitals and a Central Division battle between the Blackhawks and Blues.

There's plenty to wager on, but let's take a closer look at two games in particular. Here are my two best bets for Tuesday:

Calgary Flames vs. Boston Bruins: Over 6 goals (+100)

The Bruins are mad. They should be. They got boatraced by the Canucks 9-3 to finish off a four-game road trip and have been stewing since Saturday. I bet they hit the ice tonight with some renewed energy, looking to score at will. The Flames may be the perfect opponent for that to happen.

The Flames are playing plenty of high-scoring games lately. They are averaging four goals per game in their 13 games since the All-Star break. But they’re also allowing plenty as well. The over is 7-0-1 in the last eight games the Flames have played. They’ve played in games that featured six or more goals 12 times in the last 13 contests. One of those was only a few days ago in a 4-3 loss to the Bruins in Calgary.

The Bruins are seventh in the NHL in overall scoring at 3.3 per game and rank ninth in home goals per game at 3.41. I expect them to fill the net and for the Flames to follow in kind.

Florida Panthers vs. Arizona Coyotes: Coyotes (-125)

You may want to wait until warm-ups to place this bet, but the expectation is that the Coyotes will get starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper back in net for the first time since December 19. Kuemper was in Vezina contention before suffering a lower-body injury and, in fact, still leads all qualified goaltenders in save percentage at .929. Getting him back between the pipes would be a huge boost to a Coyotes team that’s fighting for a playoff spot.

Although Arizona’s 16-11-4 record this season at Gila River Arena isn’t anything to write home about (ranking 18th in the NHL in points percentage), they’ve played better there lately. The Coyotes have won three home games in a row, all against teams currently in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference: Capitals, Islanders and Lightning. They’ll now play host to another Eastern Conference team, but one on the outside looking in.

The Panthers have lost both games of their Western Conference road trip heading into the finale against Arizona. They’re 4-8-1 in February and just traded one of their better forwards, Vincent Trocheck, to Carolina. Given the poor start to the road trip and the huge game against the Maple Leafs at home on the horizon, this is a game Florida is in danger of falling flat in.

Season Record: 34-32-2 (+0.00 units)

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