Top Shelf Picks: NHL Best Bets Today (Bet Kings to Take Down Red Wings in Detroit)

Iain MacMillan | Jan 27, 2025

The Kings are road favorites in Detroit on Monday night. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

We went 1-1-1 for 0.00 units on Sunday night. A rare complete wash on a three-game betting slate.

It's time for a new week of action starting on Monday night and I have three bets locked in, including a wager on the Kings to cash in as road favorites in Detroit. Let's dive into them.

• Season-to-date record: 102-101-7 (-6.15 units)

Best NHL Bets Today

• Kings -145 vs. Red Wings via BetMGM
• Flyers +120 vs. Devils via BetMGM
• Penguins -162 vs. Sharks via FanDuel

Kings vs. Red Wings Prediction

I'm surprised the Kings are this short of favorites against a Red Wings team that they're clearly far superior than. The Kings enter tonight's slate ranking sixth in CORSI% and 10th in 5-on-5 expected goals percentage over their last 25 games. The Red Wings rank 16th and 22nd in those two respective stats.

Darcy Kuemper has also been on fire for the Kings this season, sporting a save percentage of .922. That will give them a huge leg up on the Red Wings tonight.

Pick: Kings -145

Devils vs. Flyers Prediction

I can't get past the Flyers being as good analytically as they've been lately. They lead the NHL in 5-on-5 expected goals percentage over each team's last 25 games, continuously playing great hockey on both sides of the ice. Unfortunately, they've also got the worst goaltending in the league in that stretch, constantly costing them wins.

They might be able to scrap by that issue tonight when they host a Devils team that has plenty of shooting issues lately, scoring on just 9.06% of their shots on goal in their last 20 games.

I think there's value on Philadelphia as a +120 home underdog tonight.

Pick: Flyers +120

Penguins vs. Sharks Prediction

The Penguins have let me down this season but they are leagues above this Sharks team, that has ranked in the bottom five of the NHL throughout the season. THings haven't gotten better for them lately, ranking dead last in expected goal differential per 60 minutes over their last 10 games at -1.75.

The Penguins have their own issues, but a 14th ranking in expected goal differential puts them in a class above San Jose.

Pick: Penguins -162

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!