NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Saturday, January 25

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Published on January 25, 2025

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Saturday, Jan. 25

The National Hockey League (NHL) has a total of 13 games on the schedule for Saturday. The slate begins at 1:00 p.m. ET in Boston, as the Colorado Avalanche pay a visit to the Bruins. That's an interesting game on NHL Network, as the Avs made headlines trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas and Jack Drury. The Canes also added Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in the three-way trade. We won't include either of those teams in our picks, as it is unclear whether or not the new players will arrive in time.

We're going to focus on a handful of games available on ESPN+. Let's build a couple of strong parlays to get that bankroll built up nicely in the weeks leading up to the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament, which is rapidly approaching. Let's get started.

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Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings

The Lightning (26-18-3) and Red Wings (22-21-5) tangle at Little Caesars Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

These teams met at Amalie Arena in Tampa last Saturday, with the Lightning coming away with a 5-1 victory behind Andrei Vasilevskiy, as the total pushed at most shops.

Brayden Point got the party started with an even-strength goal just 2:02 into the game, while Jake Guentzel opened the second period with a power-play goal to make it 2-0 just 16 seconds into the new period. Nikita Kucherov scored 94 seconds after Guentzel, and Mitchell Chaffee got into the act at 3:58 of the second period. Lucas Raymond answered on the power play for the Red Wings, but Darren Raddysh notched a power-play goal at 15:06. That was enough to chase Cam Talbot after two periods.

Alex Lyon finished up the third period, turning aside all six shots he faced, but Talbot is likely to get a chance to atone on Saturday. The play is backing Vasilevskiy, however, as he made 38 saves against the Wings. While he is just 4-4-1 in nine January starts, he has a sparkling 2.31 GAA and .917 SV%. It's a lack of offensive support that has kept his record down.

Lightning ML (-135 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

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

Los Angeles Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets

The Kings (26-14-5) and the Blue Jackets (23-19-7) meet at Nationwide Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET, also on ESPN+.

L.A. has dominated this series in recent seasons, winning four in a row, and six of the past seven meetings. That includes a 5-2 win on home ice at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 9 as a moderate favorite (-186) as the over (6.5) just came in.

The game got off to a good start for Columbus, as Dmitri Voronkov scored at 13:26 of the first period for the 1-0 lead. However, in the second period, Vladislav Gavrikov and Warren Foegele notched goals to give the Kings a 2-1 lead heading to the room after 40. The third saw Trevor Moore notched a short-handed goal, with Alex Laferriere also getting into the act. Brandt Clarke tucked one into the empty net with 31 seconds left, too, flipping an under into an over.

The Kings have had a power outage on offense lately, going for just 18 goals in the past nine games, or two goals per game (GPG). They've also allowed two or fewer goals in seven of the past nine, so it's no surprise the under is 6-3 in the span.

The Blue Jackets lost 7-4 in Carolina on Thursday, but the under was on a six-game run before that, including a 5-1 win at Toronto on Wednesday. Let's back the Kings on the road and go low on the total.

Kings ML (-170 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Under 6.0 Goals (-120 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Florida Panthers at San Jose Sharks

The Panthers (28-18-3) and the Sharks (14-31-6) meet at SAP Center at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Florida has won 11 consecutive meetings with San Jose, with the Sharks last tasting success in the series on Dec. 1, 2017, in a 2-1 win in Sunrise. The last time the Sharks topped the Panthers in the Bay Area was way back on Nov. 5, 2015, so it's been a minute.

Florida won 5-2 in Anaheim on Tuesday but was tripped up 2-1 in Los Angeles on Wednesday behind Spencer Knight. Sergei Bobrovsky will be back in action on Saturday. He kicked aside 28 of the 29 shots he faced in that 3-1 win over the Sharks on Dec. 7, as Matthew Tkachuk had two even-strength goals and Aleksander Barkov struck on the power play.

Tyler Toffoli ruined the shutout with a power-play goal with just 1:25 remaining in regulation in what was a wild game. The Sharks allowed 54 shots on goal, as former goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was under fire all evening.

Let's back the Cats to maintain their dominance, covering on the puck line and go high on the total. San Jose goalies have allowed four or more goals in five straight, with six or more conceded in the past three outings.

Panthers -1.5 (-115 at BetMGM)
Over 6.0 Goals (-115 at BetMGM)

Today's NHL Best Bet(s)

On Friday, we split our best bets, as the Lightning and Blackhawks ended up going high on the total, while the Golden Knights and Stars did, too. Unfortunately, we had the under in the latter.

For Saturday, our best bet from the above selections will be the over in the Panthers and Sharks contest on the left coast.