Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Tuesday, January 6

Expert NHL betting picks & predictions for Tuesday, Jan. 6: get top best bets, game previews & odds for Avalanche vs. Lightning & Stars vs. Hurricanes.

January 6, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Tuesday, January 6

By:

Daniel Dobish

January 6, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Avalanche vs Lightning and Stars vs Hurricanes – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has a total of 10 games on the schedule for Tuesday night, including the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs meeting on TNT/HBO Max at 7:30 p.m. EST.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with NBA and/or NCAA basketball action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.

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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.

Colorado Avalanche at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Avalanche (31-3-7) and Lightning (25-13-3) meet at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN+.

It hasn't happened very often this season, but Colorado is looking to rebound from a loss in regulation. The Avalanche kicked off a three-game trip with a 5-3 win over the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Saturday, but they were tripped up 2-1 on Sunday by the Panthers in Sunrise. The Avs had their 10-game win streak snapped as moderate favorites (-150) against the Cats, and the Under (6.5) cashed, halting a four-game Over run.

All three regulation losses for Colorado have come on the road, and each have been against Eastern Conference teams, falling 3-2 on Oct. 25 to the Bruins, and 6-3 on Dec. 4 to the Islanders.

The Avalanche haven't lost back-to-back games in regulation this season, but they were 0-1-3 in a four-game span from Oct. 21-26, with three of those matchups being road games.

Tampa Bay is looking to avenge a near-miss in Denver, falling 3-2 on Nov. 4 in the first meeting between the two teams, as Colorado won as moderate favorites (-140) as the Under (6) cashed. Former Lightning forward Ross Colton was credited with the game-winning goal, while Victor Olofsson had two goals, including a power-play marker, in that home victory.

Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves on 24 shots in the first battle, while Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 30 of the 33 shots he faced. That is the expected goaltender lineup for Tuesday's rematch on the Suncoast.

For Colorado, Nathan MacKinnon has been blazing hot lately, going for five goals and 13 points with a plus-5 rating and three power-play points in just the past five outings. Brock Nelson has picked up the pace with four goals and eight points in the same five-game span.

Looking to Tampa Bay, Nikita Kucherov continues to rack up points at a dizzying pace, going for seven goals and 17 points with a plus-10 rating and seven power-play points in just the past seven games.

It should be a fun one in Tampa, with high-octane offenses on both sides. Let's get crazy and take the Lightning as home underdogs as they look to deal the Avalanche back-to-back regulation losses for the first time this season. While the stars on both sides are performing at a high level right now, go low on a total of 6.5 goals, go lightly on that. Wedgewood and Vasilevskiy comprise a high-level goaltender matchup.

Lightning ML (+105 Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars and DraftKings Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 (-120 Bet365, Caesars and DraftKings Sportsbooks)

Dallas Stars at Carolina Hurricanes

The Stars (25-9-8) and Hurricanes (25-14-3) meet at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. at 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN+.

I am located just southeast of Raleigh, and temperatures are forecast to be unseasonably warm Tuesday, with temperatures around 63 degrees. However, you can expect Stars forward Mikko Rantanen to get a very, very chilly reception when he steps back onto the ice for the Stars.

He was acquired by the Hurricanes last January, as Carolina swung a massive deal which it thought would position it for a Stanley Cup run. The Canes were hopeful of extending Rantanen, but he waffled on an extension and just didn't seem interested in returning to the team. He just wasn't comfortable, and the Canes weren't willing to face another situation like Jake Guentzel in the previous season, when they acquired him for a lot of draft capital only to see him leave town with little compensation.

Rantanen was shipped to Dallas, where he signed an eight-year, $96 million extension, while Carolina received Logan Stankoven and a handful of picks, including two first-round selections. They also had Taylor Hall left over from the huge deal which sent Martin Necas and Jack Drury to Colorado for Rantanen, so general manager Eric Tulsky did as well as he could.

The fans are likely to shower Rantanen with boos when he steps on the ice for pregame warmups, as well as every time he touches the puck. Carolina fans are loud, and they also have long memories. They remember just two goals and six points in 13 games for Carolina as well, as Rantanen just never really seemed to embrace them, or the team.

This season, Rantanen has 16 goals and 57 points in just 41 games, while Carolina's Sebastian Aho is the team leader with 42 points, including a team-high 25 assists. The next closest scorers are Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers, with 31 points apiece. It truly is a different system, and requires a buy-in Rantanen clearly had no interest in.

Carolina returns from a 3-1 win in New Jersey on Sunday, as Brandon Bussi snapped the team back on track as slight road favorites (-125) as the Under (6) cashed. Still, the Canes are just 2-3-0 in their past five games at home.

Dallas suffered a 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal at home, and the Stars are in the midst of a 0-2-3 slide in the past five games. The Over is 6-1-1 in the past eight matchups as well, with Dallas allowing exactly four goals in each of the past five games.

Let's side with the Hurricanes, who should skate with a little extra pep in their step, trying to pay back Rantanen. We'll also go Over on the total based on the Stars' recent play.