Lots of action in the NHL today with games starting early and going throughout the day. Here are some of our favorite bets from the guys on “The Stew with JT Brew” podcast, which airs its “NHL Around the Ice” segment every Wednesday night on the Total Apex Sports YouTube channel. Here are the NHL best bets and player props for February 17, 2024.
NHL Best Bets #3
Buffalo Sabres (+120) at Minnesota Wild (-142) – 5:00 PM EST
Betters should continue to ride this Wild ride with Minnesota, as they are winners of seven of their last 9 games. Most of the games in that span have been to the under-total goals variety. Hot players for the Wild include Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and goalie Filip Gustavsson. Both forwards are on the top line along with sophomore Matt Boldy and they have been carrying this team over the past month. Buffalo is literally all over the place, knocking off good teams one night and looking like garbage the next against lower-level teams. This inconsistency really sums up the Sabres disappointing season.
My gut tells me this is a high-scoring game over the 6 total goals; however, the recent numbers don’t support that. These teams met up early in November, with the Sabres winning 3-2. I may sprinkle a little on the over, however will concentrate on some player props instead.
Over/Under 6 Goals (Over -125, Under +105)
Single Bets – Joel Eriksson Ek Anytime Point (-190) and Minnesota Wild Team Total Goals Over 2.5 (-245) on Draft Kings.
*If can’t parlay these, pick one and place it in a parlay with another game.
NHL Best Bets #2
Florida Panthers (-118) at Tampa Bay Lightning (-102) – 5:00 PM EST
This is the game of the day in my opinion. Both teams coming in this matchup on winning streaks. The Panthers have been stingy giving up much of late, yielding two goals or less in their last nine games. On the other side of the rink, the Lightning have been involved in some games of late where rink managers may want to check the filaments in the net lamps. But, in the last nine head-to-head “Battle for Florida”, these teams have gone five goals or under seven times. Like the Sabres/Wild matchup, I have no data that leads to a sure thing betting on the Over/Under. However, my very large gut tells me once again that this is going to be a game with scoring.
Players to watch are the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, who has points in his last nine games, and Brayden Point who loves to shoot the puck against the Panthers in his career. Matthew Tkachuk has stayed scorching hot for the Panthers, scoring points in 9 of his last 10 games as well. He has been an assist machine of late.
Over/Under 6.5 Goals (Over +102, Under -122)
Single Bets – Alternate Over Total Goals 5.5 (-155),
Over 1.5 Points (-110), Brayden Point Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-120), and Matthew Tkachuk Anytime Assist (-130) on Draft Kings.
NHL Best Bets #1
Anaheim Ducks (+235) at Toronto Maple Leafs (-290) – 7:00 PM EST
Don’t think for one second this is a gimme for Toronto on the money line versus the lowly Anaheim Ducks. Now, should this game be close – the answer is absolutely not! However, the Ducks shocked gamblers last time out, beating down the Ottawa Senators on the road 5-1 to ruin all our betting cards for the night. On the flip side, Toronto loves to let gamblers down in home matchups where they are a heavy favorite.
The last time these clubs met, it took 3-on-3 OT for the Leafs to shoot down the Ducks 2-1. Anaheim also beat the Wild back on January 27th in Minnesota and traveled to Florida on January 15th and beat the Panthers. I would steer clear of the Over/Under and Game Line bets in this one and concentrate more on player props. I’d bet that Auston Matthews stays red hot, and scores at least one goal in this contest, which means that a Mitch Marner assist or two is not far behind.
Over/Under 6.5 Goals (-110)
Single Bets – Auston Matthews Anytime Goal (-125), Mitch Marner Anytime Assist (-190), Toronto Maple Leafs Over 3.5 Team Goals (-170)
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Follow Justin Taylor on X at @jtorange and Bryan “Toast” Clark @toastclark. You can reach Justin via email at jtorange4@gmail.com or Bryan at toastman80@yahoo.com. For all things hockey from fantasy to betting check out “The Stew with JT Brew” podcast where they have the “NHL Around the Ice” segment every Wednesday night on the Total Apex Sports YouTube channel. All podcasts are also downloadable on Spotify and other podcast apps. Make sure to check out Toast’s Takes on the @jtbrewstew X page for daily NHL betting picks.
