Skip to content

NHL weekend best bets: Expect fireworks in Pittsburgh

Bruce Kluckhohn / National Hockey League / Getty

We split our best bets on Thursday night. The Flames came through with a regulation win in St. Louis at +100, but three goals were scored in the final five minutes of the Hurricanes game to erase what was a promising looking under.

Let's dig into a couple of plays that stand out for the weekend ahead as we search for a pair of victories.

Jets (+150) @ Penguins (-175)
Jan. 13, 7 p.m. ET

It's not a side but a total that stands out most to me in this game. I like the over.

The Jets are a very strong offensive team. They rank top-10 in goals per game, and that's despite playing much of the season without Nikolaj Ehlers and, at times, Blake Wheeler. The former has produced 65 points in 66 games dating back to the start of last season, while Wheeler is flirting with a point per game.

Having both healthy again gives the Jets a full arsenal of dangerous wingers to put around their one-two punch of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mark Scheifele.

The early returns have been extremely promising, as the Jets have netted at least four goals in all four games since Ehlers returned to the lineup.

I expect Winnipeg will continue to score in bunches Friday night against the Penguins. The Pens have really struggled at five-on-five of late, slotting 25th in expected goals against per 60 over the last 10 games.

They're going to have their hands full slowing down this healthy Jets top six - especially with Tristan Jarry out and Casey DeSmith struggling.

On the flip side, the Penguins should be able to create their fair share of offense as well. The Jets are a mediocre defensive team in the latter half of a road back-to-back.

They'll give up their share of chances, and David Rittich is generally not somebody who can be relied upon to stop a big chunk of them. While he has played adequately this season, Rittich has conceded 11 goals over his last four starts and played just once since Christmas.

There could be some rust in Rittich's game, which isn't ideal when going up against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, and Co.

Look for both teams to do some damage in what should be a high-scoring affair.

Bet: Over 6.5 (-105)

Flyers (TBD) @ Capitals (TBD)
Jan. 14, 7 p.m. ET

The Flyers are on a 7-3-0 run and have burned me a couple of times during that stretch.

While some would undoubtedly argue the team is simply turning a corner and it's time to give them more respect in the market, they are more or less just riding a shooting percentage bender.

The Flyers have scored on 13.33% of their shots over the last 10 games, slotting them just a hair out of the league lead in that time.

Although they deserve credit for making the most of their opportunities, I'm not sure we have much reason to believe it will continue.

In 32 games prior to this heater - a much more substantial and, thus, more accurate sample size - the Flyers ranked 30th in the NHL with an 8.23 shooting percentage.

Considering the roster hasn't changed, I have a hard time believing the Flyers have transformed from one of the least clinical offenses in the league to one of the best. They simply don't have the talent for that to be realistic.

Regression is going to come for this Flyers team, and Saturday's game against the Capitals is a good place for it to start.

The Capitals have largely been a stout defensive team this season, the goaltending has been consistently strong, they're getting healthy, and they're at home looking to bounce back from a disappointing effort against this same Flyers side.

I like the Capitals to win this game within 60 minutes.

Bet: Capitals in regulation (should be around even money)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox