In this article, I’ll outline the most noteworthy NHL odds, news, and betting insights from Friday’s five-game NHL slate, and I’ll also offer up my best pick of the night.
Pick—Dallas Stars vs Anaheim Ducks: Ducks Moneyline -105
The Dallas Stars were expected to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders entering the season and have certainly lived up to the hype so far in getting off to a 23-7-5 start. It may not appear overly appealing to fade them at a price of -105, but this seems like a good spot to target the high-flying Ducks, who will have a rest advantage and have been excellent on home ice.
The Ducks have been off since Tuesday evening and should have a little more jump than a Stars side that got into town late Thursday evening following a matchup in San Jose.
The Stars have plenty of elite talent up front and a pair of tremendous goaltenders in Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith, and it’s easy to see that they have strengths that are not well quantified by public expected goals models. Still, the Stars have been outchanced quite heavily over the last 10 games, playing to an expected goal share of 43.56% in that span of games while generating only 24.1 shots per 60.
Though the Ducks have not been quite as strong recently as they were earlier on in the season, I’m still a believer that their 20-12-2 start to the season under head coach Joel Quenneville is fairly legitimate. They have plenty of high-end offensive talent among their top three units and, like the Stars, have the ability to make the most of their chances.
Dallas has been getting outchanced by the majority of opponents recently but has been able to make it work with a PDO of 105.32, a mark that has been proven highly unsustainable.
Though DeSmith has been excellent in goal this season, at worst the Ducks hold an equally convincing starter in Lukas Dostal in this matchup. Dostal holds a +13.4 GSAx rating and a .905 save percentage in 19 appearances this season, after a fantastic campaign last year, which helped a drastically worse Ducks side garner decent results.
This looks like a good spot to fade the Stars in a matchup where the Ducks should be able to carry much of the play despite being a slight underdog.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Florida Panthers
| Hurricanes moneyline odds | -135 |
| Panthers moneyline odds | +115 |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (+100), Under 6 (-120) |
| Time | 7:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- This is the first matchup of the season between these two sides and it should garner a little extra attention from the Hurricanes given that the Panthers knocked them out in each of the past three postseasons.
- The Hurricanes are entering a tough stretch in their schedule, as they will play in Tampa Bay tomorrow before hosting the Panthers Tuesday night. Carolina is 8-2-0 over the last 10 games and now has a four-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division.
- This will likely be the Panthers’ first look at Brandon Bussi, who has overtaken the number-one role in Carolina. Bussi holds a .911 save percentage and a record of 11-1-1.
- Matthew Tkachuk is on track to return to action in the near future, but will remain sidelined for this matchup.
Vancouver Canucks @ New York Islanders
| Canucks moneyline odds | +115 |
| Islanders moneyline odds | –135 |
| Game total | Over 5.5 goals (+105), Under 5.5 (-125) |
| Time | 7:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- The Canucks are 2-0-0 since trading Quinn Hughes. Obviously they are not likely to actually be a better side after trading away one of the game’s best skaters, but Marco Rossi is currently being used as the team’s top centre and helps alleviate what is currently a severe lack of depth down the middle, while the Hughes situation likely had been a distraction.
- Thatcher Demko returning and playing at a high level has been another key reason the Canucks have started their Eastern road trip 2-0-0. Demko has stopped 48 of 49 shots faced over the last two games and has been quite effective when available this season with a +9.9 GSAx rating and a .910 save percentage in 13 appearances.
- Elias Pettersson (upper body) is expected to remain unavailable.
- Ilya Sorokin has been confirmed as the starting goalie for New York, and he has put himself in the Vezina conversation with a .910 save percentage and a +22.4 GSAx rating in 23 games this season.
- There are some strong arguments that suggest this should be a pretty low-event matchup, but oddsmakers are certainly aware of that given that backing this game to go under a low total of 5.5 is still priced at -125.
New Jersey Devils @ Utah Mammoth
| Devils moneyline odds | +115 |
| Mammoth moneyline odds | –135 |
| Game total | Over 5.5 goals (-120), Under 5.5 (+100) |
| Time | 9:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- The Devils kicked off their two-game Western road trip with a 2-1 shootout win in Vegas on Wednesday and are now 9-8-0 away from home.
- Brett Pesce returned to the lineup in Wednesday’s matchup and was a stabilizing force across 23:56 of ice time. Though Pesce is not a huge name, he is the best shutdown defender on the Devils roster, and as Luke Hughes and Dougie Hamilton have both been worse than expected, Pesce’s return could prove significant.
- Though Pesce’s return should help, the Devils are still without a laundry list of skaters, including Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Simon Nemec and Arseny Gritsyuk.
- The Mammoth hold fairly notable home-and-road splits, as they are 8-5-1 on home ice compared to a mark of 9-11-2 on the road.
- Logan Cooley remains on the IR, and Barrett Hayton has overtaken his role as the Mammoth’s second-line centre, while JJ Peterka has taken Cooley’s spot on the top power-play unit.
Winnipeg Jets @ Colorado Avalanche
| Jets moneyline odds | +210 |
| Avalanche moneyline odds | –260 |
| Game total | Over 6 goals (-115), Under 6 (-105) |
| Time | 9:07 p.m. ET |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
- As someone with tickets on Joel Quenneville to win coach of the year, it would be nice if the Avalanche were to fall off to some extent, but barring injury, it seems highly unlikely. The Avs hold an absurd +57 goal differential and are 24-2-7 in a year where the rest of the league has been more competitive than ever, and Jared Bednar is a worthy Jack Adams favourite at +200.
- Colorado has been particularly dominant on home ice, where it holds a record of 13-0-2 and has covered the puck line in 11 of 15 games.
- Connor Hellebuyck has played to a .939 save percentage and 1.65 GAA in three games since returning from a near month-long absence.
- The Jets’ lack of offensive upside outside of their elite top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabriel Vilardi has been quite concerning.
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