In this article, I’ll outline the most noteworthy odds, news, and betting notes from the marquee matchups from Thursday’s nine-game NHL slate, and I’ll also offer up my best bet of the night.
Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet was arguably inheriting a better role than was generally credited entering this season, as the Flyers were a better team than their 33-39-10 recorded suggested last season, but their solid play was marred by a league-worst .873 save percentage.
Dan Vladar was brought in during the offseason in an effort to upgrade Philadelphia’s crease, and to this point, he has done exactly that playing to a +3.0 GSAx rating and .912 save percentage in eight games played. It’s not overly surprising that with better-than-average goaltending the Flyers hold a solid record of 7-5-1, and dating back to the start of last season, the Flyers rank 15th in expected goal share.
Tocchet has also gotten the most out of Trevor Zegras, who has bounced back with 15 points in 13 games after a highly disappointing 2024-25 season under head coach Greg Cronin, and at this point it appears very clear that Cronin’s awful offensive tactics were holding back many of the Anaheim Ducks’ talented young forwards.
The Nashville Predators, meanwhile, look headed for a comparably disappointing season as we saw last year when they finished with a record of 25-46-11. They rank fourth last in expected goal share at even strength, and own the third worst goal differential in the NHL (-12). Captain and top defender Roman Josi remains week-to-week, leaving what was already a thin blue line looking quite poor.
It took an excellent performance in goal from Pyotr Kochetkov, who was named the game’s First Star, but the Hurricanes were able to beat the New York Rangers with top defenders Jaccob Slavin, Shayne Gostisbehere and K’Andre Miller sidelined on Tuesday. Miller may return for tonight’s game, but Slavin and Gostisbehere are expected to remain sidelined.
With a record of 5-9 straight up, the Wild have been one of the NHL’s greatest underperformers relative to oddsmakers’ expectations this season. Backing them in each of their first 14 games would have led to a -32.8% ROI.
Andrei Svechnikov skated alongside Sebastian Aho and Taylor Hall on the top line at Wednesday’s practice. Svechnikov has had a highly disappointing start to the season, recording only two goals and one assist in 12 games played. He’s garnered only 14:50 of ice time on average playing amid a deep Hurricanes forward corps.
The Blues will be playing the second leg of a travelling back-to-back after suffering a 6-1 loss last night in Washington. Joel Hofer played the final 30 minutes and 32 seconds of the game after Jordan Binnington was pulled, and has been confirmed as tonight’s starter.
Hofer holds an .836 save percentage and 5.02 GAA in six games played this season. Hofer and Binnington have combined for the worst save percentage in the NHL, which is the greatest reason for their disappointing 4-8-2 start.
The Sabres are 5-1-4 in their last 10 games and have played to an expected goal share of 48.09% in that span.
The Sabres will be without several key forwards, as Jiri Kulich (was skating as top-line centre), Josh Norris, and Zach Benson are expected to miss this matchup, while Jason Zucker is day-to-day with an illness.
Jordan Kyrou will be a surprise healthy scratch for the Blues
Due to their quick-strike and highly opportunistic offensive play, it has never felt like the Canadiens are out of any game this season. They were not at their best Tuesday in being outshot 42 to 20, but scratched out a point thanks to some clinical finishing in the second period.
Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes has been confirmed as the Canadiens’ starter in this matchup. With a +8.2 GSAx rating and .930 save percentage in six appearances this season, Dobes has greatly outperformed Samuel Montembeault, and in the majority of seasons would be among the Calder favourites.
Teammate Ivan Demidov is a major reason that Dobes likely won’t get many Calder votes. Demidov has recorded 12 points in 13 games played this season, while averaging just 14:05 of ice time. He’s only been skating on the top power play for four games, but has already racked up four power play goals in that span.
With 15 points in his first 10 games of the season, Drake Batherson holds the fourth highest point-per-game average among skaters to play at least seven games this season.
With a record of 8-7 straight up, the Bruins have been a very profitable side to bet this season due to their low expectations entering the year. Backing Boston in each of its 15 games would have yielded a +20.8% ROI.
Second-stringer Joonas Korpisalo has been confirmed as the Bruins’ starting goaltender, which has led to some movement in the betting market. Korpisalo holds an .882 save percentage and 3.49 GAA in six appearances this season.
The Capitals will be playing the second leg of a travelling back-to-back after earning a 6-1 win over the Blues Wednesday. Charlie Lindgren will start in goal as a result, and he has played to a save percentage of .880 and GAA of 3.46 this season.
While Lindgren’s counting stats are not good, they are marred by the fact that he soaked up all seven goals in the Capitals’ 7-1 loss versus the Senators on October 25th, on a night where the team completely no-showed. Lindgren has proven himself as a better than league average starter, and it likely would not be wise to handicap this game with the idea that he is a poor goaltender in mind.
With regular second-line centre Pierre-Luc Dubois sidelined for a significant period of time, Connor McMichael will continue to receive the opportunity to centre the team’s second unit.
Evgeni Malkin ranks sixth in the NHL with 19 points. He’s found strong chemistry with underrated play-driver Anthony Mantha, who is proving to be a savvy bet from GM Kyle Dubas after missing the majority of last season due to a knee injury.
As noted above, it seemed fair to believe that the talented young Ducks would show significant progress offensively this season under a sharper head coach in Joel Quenneville. That has been the case, as they have scored 3.92 goals per game, which is the highest mark in the NHL.
After recording a hat trick on Tuesday versus the Florida Panthers, Cutter Gauthier is now tied for the league lead with 10 goals.
2023 second-overall pick Leo Carlsson has also popped off offensively, tallying 18 points in the first 12 games of the season.
Centres Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa are listed as day-to-day ahead of this matchup, while Matt Duchene is expected to remain sidelined
Akira Schmid has been rock-solid in goal during Adin Hill’s current absence, playing to a record of 6-1-0 and a save percentage on .908 in seven appearances this season. With Hill set to return in the near future and Carter Hart eligible to play in December, the Knights will have a crowded depth chart in goal.
The Lightning had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 loss in Colorado on Tuesday evening. The Lightning hold a 60.04% expected goal share over the last six games, which is the second-highest mark in the NHL.
Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy split top forwards Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner onto two separate units in their most recent game versus the Red Wings, and at the time of writing it is unclear if the two will remain apart once again in tonight’s matchup.
