NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Sunday, January 26

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Published on January 25, 2025

NHL Best Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks for
Sunday, Jan. 26

The National Hockey League (NHL) has a total of five games lined up for Sunday, and all of them can be streamed on ESPN+. The highlight of the slate is the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights meeting at T-Mobile Arena at 8:00 p.m. ET in a 2023 Stanley Cup Final rematch. We'll put together a couple of parlay opportunities and a best bet. Perhaps you put these picks into a cross-sport parlay with NFL Conference Championship action, NBA plays or college hoops action. Let's get started.

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Colorado Avalanche at New York Rangers

The Avalanche (28-20-2) and the Rangers (24-20-4) lock horns at Madison Square Garden at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Colorado is making the second stop on a three-game road trip. It kicked off the journey with a 3-1 setback at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon against the Boston Bruins.

The Avs weren't doing a bad job, leading 1-0 after 40 minutes. However, things went south in the third period, as the B's notched three goals, all with new acquisition Martin Necas on the ice. He took a -3 in his team debut, although he endeared himself to his new team with two blocked shots, a hit and two shots on goal in 25:08 of ice time.

Jack Drury also debuted, going scoreless with a -1 rating with one blocked shot in 15:04 ice time. He won just four of his 11 faceoff chances (37.4 percent). That's as bad as I did Thursday night in a 3-2 loss, as I won just two of my five chances. You don't want to suck like I do at the dot, Jack. Pick it up.

Scott Wedgewood was tasked with just 12 saves on 14 shots, but with the back-to-back and a day game, Mackenzie Blackwood is likely to be back between the pipes.

These teams just met on Jan. 14 at Ball Arena in Denver, with the Avs winning 3-2 in overtime thanks to Devon Toews. Sam Carrick had a short-handed goal and assist for the visitors, while the Avs had goals from Parker Kelly and Artturi Lehkonen in regulation. The Avs outhit the Rangers 17-12, while both sides were 0-for-3 on the power play. The Rangers paid the price way more, blocking 22 shots, while the Avs had just 10.

The Avs are 3-2-0 this season on no rest, but they've won the past three times. However, Colorado also has just four goals of offense in the past three games, while New York is on a 7-0-3 heater in the past 10 outings. Let's back the Rangers at home behind Igor Shesterkin, as New York is playing its best stretch of hockey this season.

Rangers ML (+102 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (+104 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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

Calgary Flames at Winnipeg Jets

The Flames (24-16-7) travel to meet the Jets (33-14-3) at Canada Life Centre at 6 p.m. ET.

Calgary is coming off a 5-4 victory in Minnesota. It had a 3-1 lead going into the third period, and a 5-2 lead late in regulation before the Wild scored two goals in the final 74 seconds to make it look closer than it was.

Calgary lost 2-1 last time out in St. Louis on Jan. 14 when playing on no rest behind Dan Vladar, and it lost 3-0 in Vegas on Dec. 29 on no rest, also with Vladar in between the pipes. The Flames are 1-4-0 in five games in the second game of a back-to-back, losing four in a row. Now, they're tasked with breaking that skid against the dominant Connor Hellebuyck (30-7-2, 2.02 GAA, .926 SV%, 6 shutouts). Ouch.

Hellebuyck is already up to 30 wins, and he has won six of his past seven starts since Jan. 7, allowing two or fewer goals in each of those victories. At home, he is an even better 18-3-2 with a 1.82 GAA, .931 SV% and five shutouts. He hasn't faced the Flames this season, but he was just 1-2-0 with a 3.72 GAA and .874 SV% against them in three starts in 2023-24.

Winnipeg has won back-to-back games against Colorado on the road and Utah at home on Friday, 5-2. Look for Hellebuyck and the Jets to snuff out the Flames on Sunday. However, based on last season's numbers against Hellebuyck, let's back the Flames catching a goal and a half. The over is 4-1 in the past five meetings, though, so perhaps we have a few more goals than expected.

Flames +1.5 (-130 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Florida Panthers at Vegas Golden Knights

The Panthers (29-18-3) meet the Golden Knights (30-15-4) at T-Mobile Arena at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Florida is coming off a 7-2 road win against the San Jose Sharks, and the Panthers took care of the over on its own. The Panthers had seven different players light the lamp, too, with Matthew Tkachuk picking up three points. His goal was the only one on the power play in San Jose.

Vegas suffered a 4-3 loss last time out in Dallas on Friday as the over (5.5) cashed. The total has ended up going high at a 3-0-1 clip in the past four games, with the Golden Knights averaging 3.3 goals per game in the past seven games since Jan. 12, while allowing 4.0 goals per game in the past six outings.

These teams met in Sunrise on Oct. 19, with the Panthers posting a 4-3 win in overtime behind Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a seesaw battle and very entertaining before Gustav Forsling sent everybody home happy with an overtime winner.

The Panthers have won five of the past seven games on no rest. Florida will turn to Spencer Knight for the game. Vegas is a concerning 2-6-1 in their past nine games. Let's back Florida to get it done, even with the backup goaltender, and go high based on the numbers for Vegas lately.

Panthers ML (+105 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-128 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Today's NHL Best Bet(s)

On Saturday, the Panthers notched seven goals to help the total go over (6.0) for our best bet all on their own. Florida ended up winning 7-2 in San Jose to help our best bet cash.

Let's go to the well again with Florida. It has Knight, the backup goaltender going, but he has been decent lately. The Golden Knights are driving this over train, as Vegas has scored 23 goals in the past seven games (3.3 goals per game) while allowing 24 goals in the past six outings (4.0 goals per game). Based on the play of Vegas, the over is the way to go Sunday night on The Strip.