Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Monday, March 3

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Published on March 3, 2025

The National Hockey League has six games on tap for Monday, all with a relatively early window. The first game is a battle of nation's capitals, as the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals square off at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, so note the earlier than usual puck drop. The final game between the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks goes off at 8:30 p.m. ET, also on ESPN+. The New York Islanders and New York Rangers play at 7 p.m. ET in the only nationally televised game on NHL Network.

We'll break down a handful of the games, trying to cobble together some winning parlays for you. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Monday, March 3

For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers

The Lightning (35-20-4) travel to meet the Panthers (37-21-3) at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

These teams met in a home-and-home set Dec. 22-23, with the road team coming away victorious in each of the outings. This is not a home-and-home, but it is a back-to-back, as Tampa Bay hosts the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.

For the Lightning, they, too, are red-hot, winning eight consecutive games in regulation since Feb. 4, while going 9-0-1 in the past 10 outings.

The Panthers have also been playing great hockey lately, winning three in a row by a combined 11-4 score, including a sweep of the visiting Alberta teams Feb. 27-March 1. Goaltending and defense have been key for Florida lately, allowing just six goals in four games since the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament break, and a total of nine goals in the past six games, which is 1.5 goals per game (GPG) allowed in both spans.

The Under has been on an extended run for the Panthers, going 3-1 in the past four games, while cashing at a 6-4-1 clip in the past 11 games. At home, the Under has a 4-3-1 edge in the past eight skates at Amerant.

The Lightning have also been successful because of tremendous tending and D, allowing just three total goals out of the break in four games, good for just 0.75 GPG allowed. The Under is a perfect 4-0 in those games, as Andrei Vasilevskiy has absolutely stood on his head in the stretch.

For Florida, Sergei Bobrovsky is still the primary goaltender, but Chris Driedger is now the primary backup. That's because Spencer Knight was traded over the weekend to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Seth Jones, as the defending champs bolster the blue line for another deep postseason run.

That's the good news for the Panthers. The bad news is that Matthew Tkachuk went on long-term injured reserve due to his groin injury. Evan Rodrigues and Mackie Samoskevich have been skating in top-six roles as a result of the injury to the gritty Florida star. In addition, Rodrigues had a goal and an assist with a plus-2 against the Flames on Saturday, so he is plugging along rather nicely.

Bobrovsky, who had a 23-save shutout in the 3-0 win over Calgary on Saturday, is projected to start against the Lightning. He has three shutouts this season, and 14 in his tenure with Florida, scooting him up to third on the team's franchise list for blankings.

With Bob and Vassy in the crease in this Sunshine State battle, the best play is to go low. And, we'll lean Lightning, going with the road trend, not only because of that, but due to the fact Tkachuk is missing, and Tampa is whole at the moment.

Lightning ML (+120 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-124 at Fanatics Sportsbook)

Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.

New York Islanders at New York Rangers

The Islanders (27-25-7) and the Rangers (30-26-4) battle at Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed or streamed on NHL Network.

The season hasn't gone according to plan for either of these teams, especially the Blueshirts. However, the Rangers have still dominated the season series against their rivals, winning both meetings by a combined 10-3 score. That includes a 5-1 road win at UBS Arena on Feb. 25 behind Igor Shesterkin. In that game, Jonny Brodzinski was an unlikely source of offense with two goals and three points, while Urho Vaakanainen notched a goal and two assists.

The Rangers chased Ilya Sorokin from that start, as he coughed up five goals on just 11 shots through the first two periods before Jakub Skarek came on to finish up, turning aside the seven shots he saw. Sorokin and Shesterkin are the projected matchup here.

The Rangers come in with some confidence after a 4-0 blanking of the Nashville Predators behind Jonathan Quick, and they've won three of the past four games since an 8-2 embarrassment at Buffalo out of the break.

New York traded Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche over the weekend in exchange for veteran rearguard Calvin de Haan, who had an assist in his team debut against the Preds on Sunday. The team also added Juuso Parssinen for depth on the left wing in that deal with the Avs.

Reilly Smith was held out of Sunday's game, as the free-agent-to-be is expected to be dealt before Friday's non-waiver trade deadline.

The Isles also got well against the Predators, who have become everyone's punching bag lately. New York won 7-4 at home as moderate favorites Saturday in a matinee game win, and the Isles have won two in a row, while cashing the Over in five of the past six outings.

We have to go with the home side here, though, as the Rangers just seem to have the number of the Islanders, and lean Over on the total, based on recent trends for both teams.

Rangers ML (-115 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-124 at BetRivers Sportsbook)

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

On Saturday, we benefitted from some late goals in the third period of the outdoor game at Ohio Stadium, cashing high. In case you're scoring at home, the Over has cashed in four consecutive outdoor games, and five of the previous six.

For Monday, we'll go with the Over in the Battle of Gotham, as well as the Under in the Sunshine State battle.