NHL Best Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for Thursday, November 7

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Published on November 7, 2024

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Thursday, Nov. 7

The National Hockey League has 12 games on tap for Thursday night, highlighted by the matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, and a battle between the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Both of those games have a puck drop at 7 p.m. ET, and each can be viewed or streamed on ESPN+, with the Flyers-Lightning game also available on Hulu.

We'll highlight a total of four games for some parlay possibilities, and perhaps you can also mix and match some of these plays with the NFL Thursday night game, NBA games and/or college hoops. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Picks Tonight

Pittsburgh Penguins at Carolina Hurricanes

The Penguins (5-7-2) travel to meet the Hurricanes (9-2-0) in a Metropolitan Division battle at the newly renamed Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.

The Pens have managed a dismal 2-5-2 record in the past nine games dating back to Oct. 18, and that skid started with a 4-1 setback against the Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena as the Under (6.5) cashed.

In that win by Carolina, Drew O'Connor opened the scoring to make it 1-0 Pens, but Jackson Blake leveled the scoring just 64 seconds later in the first period. Martin Necas and Shayne Gostisbehere each notched power-play goals in the second period, while Jack Roslovic added an insurance marker to put a bow on the scoring.

In that game, Frederik Andersen made 25 saves on 26 shots, but he is sidelined with a lower-body injury. Pyotr Kochetkov (6-1-0, 2.72 GAA, .878 SV%) is going to get the starting nod for the home side. The Canes have won seven in a row, outscoring the opposition 33-16. Back the Hurricanes on the puck line, but also play the Under. The total has gone low in six straight meetings, while the Under is 8-1-1 in the past 10 in the series.

Hurricanes PL (-1.5, -102 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6.5 (-112 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Flyers (4-8-1) take on the Lightning (7-6-0) at Amalie Arena in Tampa. The Lightning won two of the three meetings last season, including a 7-0 win at Amalie in the most recent meeting March 9 last season.

The Flyers have dropped the past two games, getting outscored 9-4. The Over cashed at Carolina in a 6-4 loss Tuesday, but the Under is 3-1 in the previous four outings.

Tampa Bay has dropped three in a row, and the Lightning have conceded 15 goals in the skid. The Over has cashed in three of the past four, so we'll avoid the total, as the trends are all over the board.

The Lightning have won four of the past five in the series, and seven of the previous nine outings. The favorite is 7-2 in the past nine in the series, too.

Lightning PL (-1.5, +135 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets

The Avalanche (6-7-0) travel north to try and cool off the Jets (12-1-0) at Canada Life Centre on Thursday.

Colorado won the final four battles in a six-game playoff series last April, including two wins in Winnipeg. The Avs doubled up the Seattle Kraken 6-3 on Tuesday behind Justus Annunen as the Over (6) cashed for the fifth consecutive outing. The very erratic Alexandar Georgiev (1-4-0, 4.62 GAA, .822 SV%) is confirmed to start, however.

For the Jets, they blanked the Utah Hockey Club 3-0 behind Connor Hellebuyck on Tuesday for a rare Under result. The Over had connected in six in a row prior to that Under result against UHC. Winnipeg ranks No. 1 in the NHL with 4.8 goals per game (GPG), while the power play is humming at 44.4 percent, which is also tops in the league.

We should see plenty of offense in this battle in Manitoba.

Over 6.5 (-110 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings

The Canucks (6-2-3) and Kings (8-3-3) tangle at Crypto.com Arena in a very good matchup at 10:30 p.m. ET.

The Kings have actually dominated this series lately, winning five of the past six meetings since April 2, 2023. The Under is 8-1-1 in the past 10 meetings dating back to Dec. 30, 2021, too.

Kevin Lankinen (6-0-2, 2.09 GAA, .923 SV%, 1 SO) has been a revelation for the Canucks, while he'll be opposed by Darcy Kuemper (4-0-3, 2.67 GAA, .899 SV%, 1 SO). That's a tremendous goaltender matchup, and the goals should be at a premium.