Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Saturday, February 22

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Published on February 22, 2025

The National Hockey League (NHL) is back from the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament break. We have a total of 14 games on the slate, with all but four teams in action on Saturday. There are three afternoon puck drops, so we'll avoid those games and focus on the evening slate of outings. Let's cobble together a few nice parlays, building a bankroll for the remainder of the season. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Saturday, Feb. 22

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.

Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators

The Canadiens (25-26-4) hit the road for Canada's capital city to battle the Senators (29-23-4) at 7:00 p.m. ET. The game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.

For the Habs, Joel Armia is back from his time with Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-off tournament, while the Sens welcome back runner-up finishers Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson of Team USA.

This is the second meeting of the season between these two Canadian combatants. Montreal won the first meeting on Oct. 12 at Bell Centre by a 4-1 score as short underdogs at home (+138) as the Under (6.0) hung on. Sam Montembeault allowed just a single goal on 25 shots, besting Linus Ullmark, who was good for 22 saves on 26 shots. Montembeault is confirmed for the rematch.

Before the break, the Senators lost three in a row in the state of Florida, getting outscored 14-5. The over cashed in all three of those setbacks and each of the past six outings.

The Canadiens also lost three in a row before the break, while going 1-7-1 in the past nine games. In that span, Montreal managed to score two or fewer goals in four of the past seven outings, while averaging two goals per game (GPG) in that nine-game span.

Let's side with the Senators, while all teams are rested and raring to go. We should see plenty of offense right out of the break, so go with the over.

Senators ML (-167 at BetRivers Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-122 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Don't place any wagers on your go-to sports betting apps without first researching the latest NHL odds.

Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues

The Jets (39-14-3) meet the Blues (25-26-5) at Enterprise Center in St. Louis at 7:00 p.m. ET. This game can also be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.

Sadly, for hockey fans already missing the 4 Nations Face-Off, we won't get a goaltender rematch for the final game between Canada and Team USA. Eric Comrie (5-7-1, 2.58 GAA, .912 SV%, one shutout) is confirmed to start for the Jets, not Connor Hellebuyck from Team USA. It remains to be seen whether the Blues will roll with Jordan Binnington (15-19-4, 2.89 GAA, .897 SV%, three shutouts) or not.

This is the third of four regular-season meetings, with the teams set to meet in The 'Peg on April 7th. The road team has won the first two meetings this season, with the Blues winning 4-1 in the most recent meeting in Manitoba on Dec. 3. The under has cashed in both previous meetings.

Winnipeg hit the break on an eight-game win streak, including two victories by Comrie. With the backup goalie starting don't expect the Jets to miss much. Comrie blanked the Carolina Hurricanes in his most recent start on Feb. 4. The under is 3-1 in Comrie's past four starts, too, while the over cashed in the previous three outings by Hellebuyck. That might surprise some.

Let's roll with the Jets to stay hot and the road team to maintain its mastery in this series. And, we'll go low on the total. Prior to the break, the under was 4-1 in the past five games for the Blues and 8-3-2 in the previous 13 contests.

Jets ML (-125 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Utah Hockey Club at Los Angeles Kings

The Utah Hockey Club (24-23-9) and the Kings (29-17-7) meet at Crypto.com Arena at 9:00 p.m. ET. It's on ESPN+.

This is their second meeting of the season. The Kings won 3-2 in the first battle, also in SoCal, back on Oct. 26 as the under (6.0) cashed. Joel Edmundson lit the lamp twice for the Kings, while Brandt Clarke notched a power-play goal. Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley were the scorers for Utah, but that was not good enough to save Connor Ingram from a loss.

Utah won a wild 5-4 shootout in Washington on Super Bowl Sunday afternoon before the break. They are 3-1-0 in the past four games and 3-2-2 in the previous seven games, needing overtime or a shootout in five of those games. The under is 6-2 across the past eight contests, too.

L.A. is 3-0-1 in the past four games, falling 2-1 in a shootout on Feb. 8 before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The over-under has split 2-2 in the past four home games for the Kings.

Let's roll with the Kings, as long as you can keep the price at -180 or under. There are plenty of books under that number at the time of publishing. As far as the total, it's all under, all the time.

Kings ML (-170 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (-113 at BetRivers Sportsbook)

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

We backed a Team USA win in Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off final, but unfortunately, Canada came up with a 3-2 win in overtime. To make matters worse, I had a rather hefty wager pre-tournament on Team USA (+155) to win it all, so I was doubly bummed. Oh, well, back to the drawing board.

For Saturday, let's roll with the over in the Habs-Sens battle north of the border.