Top Shelf Picks: NHL Best Bets Today (Predictions for Panthers - Hurricanes, Lightning - Blues, Ducks

The NHL opens the weekend with a five-game slate on Friday night.

I had a rough go of it last night with the underdog Islanders as my only win. I’ll try to bounce back tonight with a few plus odds plays.

Read on as I break down my NHL best bets – and their odds at the best betting sites – for Friday, Jan. 16.

NHL Best Bets for Friday, Jan. 16

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Florida Panthers (+136) at Carolina Hurricanes
Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (+140) at St. Louis Blues
Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings OVER 6.5 (+110)

Florida Panthers (+136) at Carolina Hurricanes

It doesn’t seem to matter who is injured for the Panthers or what type of lead the Hurricanes have: Florida has Carolina’s number. The Cats overcame multi-goal deficits to take the first two meetings against the Canes last month, and now they’re bigger underdogs tonight in Raleigh.

Both teams have had a few days off to get ready for this one. Florida is coming off two straight wins in Ottawa and Buffalo, while Carolina dropped its last two contests, including a shutout loss in St. Louis.

Brad Marchand could be returning to the lineup tonight, and Matthew Tkachuk is nearing his season debut as well. If either of those two play, fantastic. If not, I still like the Panthers as road underdogs tonight.

Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (+140) at St. Louis Blues

The Lightning are the hottest team in the league right now as they sit atop the Eastern Conference. They’ve won 11 straight games, outscoring the opposition 53-26 in that span. They lost Brayden Point to injury earlier this week, but the Blues are without Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg as well.

Tampa Bay is a huge moneyline favorite tonight, so I’m looking at the puck line. The Bolts have won by margin in eight of their 11 wins during this streak, and the Blues' last six losses were all by at least two goals.

The Lightning are actually a better team on the road (17-4-3) than at home (12-9-0), and should have no problem in St. Louis tonight. They beat the Blues 4-1 at home last month.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings OVER 6.5 (+110)

The Ducks failed us last game with a 3-1 win over the Stars for a rare under, but that was an outlier. Anaheim was missing a few of its top scorers as late scratches, and they’re all day-to-day and could return tonight.

The Ducks are still 31-15 to the over this season, and while the Kings are 26-20 to the under, this is a rivalry matchup that typically has a lot of goals. The first two meetings this season both went over the total, as did the last matchup last year.

The Kings might be able to control the pace and keep this a low-scoring game, but I can’t pass up a chance to take the Ducks over at plus odds.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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