Top Shelf Picks: NHL Best Bets Today (Predictions for Capitals-Flyers, Penguins-Islanders, Maple Leafs-Oilers)

The NHL continues a busy week on Tuesday night with seven games on the docket.

I’m targeting a home favorite, a low-scoring game on Long Island, and a high-scoring game in Edmonton tonight.

Read on as I break down my NHL best bets – and their odds at the best betting sites – for Tuesday, Feb. 3.

NHL Best Bets for Tuesday, Feb. 3

Philadelphia Flyers (-125) vs. Washington Capitals
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders UNDER 5.5 (+110)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Edmonton Oilers OVER 6.5 (-148)

Philadelphia Flyers (-125) vs. Washington Capitals

The Capitals beat the Islanders at home last night and now head to Philadelphia to take on a struggling Flyers team. Normally, that wouldn’t be too big of an issue for Washington. However, both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren are hurt, so it’s likely that the Caps will turn to Garin Bjorklund to make his NHL debut between the pipes.

Bjorklund has split his time between the AHL and ECHL this season. He has a .929 save percentage in seven ECHL games, but that drops to .879 in 11 AHL games.

While the Flyers have lost four in a row, they had two days off to get ready for this divisional matchup. They have a huge rest advantage over a Capitals team that played last night and is just 12-12-4 on the road this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders UNDER 5.5 (+110)

The Penguins and Islanders both come into tonight’s matchup with tired legs. Pittsburgh lost 3-2 to Ottawa at home, while New York lost 4-1 in Washington. Both of those games went under the total, and we should see another low-scoring affair tonight on Long Island.

First and foremost, it’ll be Vezina Trophy favorite Ilya Sorokin between the pipes for the Islanders. He has a 2.44 goals-against average and .916 save percentage on the year. The Penguins will start Stuart Skinner, who has a 2.53 goals-against average with Pittsburgh.

Most importantly, though, is how the Islanders have played back-to-backs so far this season. In eight games on no days rest, they’ve scored 18 goals while allowing just 14. That’s an average of 2.25 for and 1.75 against.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Edmonton Oilers OVER 6.5 (-148)

The Oilers once again get the benefit of hosting a tired team that played in Calgary the night before. The Maple Leafs complete the Alberta doubleheader tonight in Edmonton, and that’s usually led to some high-scoring games this season.

Toronto is 3-4-1 on no days rest this season, scoring 3.63 goals and allowing 4.25 on average in those eight games. The over is 6-1-1 in those eight games, and there were nine goals in the first meeting between these two teams when the Oilers won 6-3 in Toronto.

These are two of the more profitable teams when it comes to betting the over this season in general. The Oilers have gone over 6.5 in five straight games, including a 7-3 loss last time out.

Both teams are capable of putting pucks in the net and neither side is strong on the defensive side of things. This should be a back-and-forth affair in Edmonton tonight.

I wouldn’t mind taking over seven to get these odds down as well.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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