Top Shelf Picks: NHL Best Bets Today (Predictions for Islanders-Bruins, Lightning-Predators, Mammoth-Oilers)

Breaking down the best NHL picks on the ice for the 16-game slate on Tuesday, October 28.

The Utah Mammoth are off to a hot start this season. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The NHL takes center stage on Tuesday night with all 32 teams in action for the frozen frenzy. Games are spread out throughout the evening, giving fans a chance to check in on other teams around the league.

There are more than enough games to choose from to bet on tonight, and I’m focusing in on just a few.

My best bets for Tuesday night are targeting a high-scoring game in Boston and two road teams to get it done.

Let’s get right into the best bets – and their odds at the best betting sites – for Tuesday, Oct. 27.

NHL Best Bets for Tuesday, Oct. 27

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins OVER 6.5 (+105)
• Tampa Bay Lightning (-155) at Nashville Predators
• Utah Mammoth (+130) at Edmonton Oilers

Tampa Bay Lightning (-155) at Nashville Predators

If you take a quick look at the Lightning’s record this season of 3-4-2, you’d think that they aren’t playing too well. But that isn’t quite the case.

Tampa Bay has kept it close in every game this season, losing by more than one goal just once thus far, and that was against the red-hot Devils. The Bolts may finally be putting it together with two straight wins over the Ducks and Golden Knights, and now hit the road for a matchup in Nashville.

The Predators are without captain Roman Josi for a few weeks, and that’s a huge loss on the blue line for Nashville. They lost 3-2 last time out after two rather undeserved wins against the Canucks and Kings.

The Lightning have the 10th-best expected goals for share (52.91%) in the league at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick, with Nashville down at the 12th-worst (47.97%).

Tampa Bay is starting to get rolling and I’ll take that to continue on Tuesday night in Nashville.

New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins OVER 6.5 (+105)

The Islanders and Bruins have typically been lower-scoring teams in years past, but that’s not the case this season. The Islanders have gone over the total in seven of their eight games thus far, and the Bruins are 6-5 to the over, but allowed seven goals to the Senators on Monday night.

These are two of the worst teams defensively at 5-on-5 this season, with the Islanders allowing 3.13 expected goals per 60 minutes and the Bruins right there at 3.04, the second- and third-highest marks in the league, respectively.

Ilya Sorokin hasn’t looked like himself between the pipes for the Islanders, and the Bruins are turning to backup Joonas Korpisalo, who has a 4.03 goals-against average and .845 save percentage in four starts this season.

This total already moved up from 5.5 to 6.5, and I’ll happily take it at plus odds.

Utah Mammoth (+130) at Edmonton Oilers

The Utah Mammoth have been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises in the first month of the season. They’re off to an 8-2-0 start and are riding a seven-game winning streak.

That includes three straight wins on the road in St. Louis, Minnesota, and Winnipeg for the Mammoth, with a goal differential of 16-8 in that span – and 32-17 during their seven-game streak.

The Oilers have been up and down this season, losing their last two and five of their last seven after starting out 2-0-1.

Utah has the seventh-highest xGF% (54.07) at 5-on-5 this season while Edmonton is smack dab in the middle at 50.90%. I’ll take the Mammoth to upset the Oilers as they return to Edmonton.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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