3 Best NHL Bets and Predictions for Thursday 1/23/25

Whether it's moneylines or total goals, there are plenty of ways to bet on the NHL action all season. It's a long 82-game campaign, meaning that the best selections of each night can be very different based on backup goalies coming into play, injuries that add up, and if teams are due for positive or negative swings.

For additional NHL insights, check out FanDuel Research's daily NHL projections, powered by numberFire.

Let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com. Lineup notes come from Daily Faceoff.

NHL Betting Picks Today

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Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers

Flyers Moneyline (+126)

The Philadelphia Flyers don’t have to travel far on Thursday night as they head across state lines for a showdown with the surging New York Rangers. As good as they’ve looked, the Rangers may have hit a snag with their recent efforts, leaving an edge in backing the Flyers at Madison Square Garden.

New York is coming off a solid 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators last time. That was the Rangers sixth win over its last nine games, albeit with points in each one of those contests. Still, they’ve been out-matched in most of their more recent contests. The Broadway Blueshirts have been out-played in three of their past four, with their actual goals-for rating (60.0%) vastly out-performing their expected margin (49.9%).

Philadelphia has been on a similar hot streak. The Flyers have won three straight and have gone 5-0-1 over their past six. However, unlike their Thursday night counterparts, the Flyers' wins are substantiated by elite metrics. Philly has outplayed its opponents in five of those six outings, producing a spectacular 61.7% expected goals-for rating.

The Flyers have an analytics advantage that isn’t reflected in the betting odds. Therefore, we see an edge in backing the visitors in this Metropolitan Division tilt. But don’t be surprised if this one gets sorted out in overtime or a shootout.

Ottawa Senators vs. Boston Bruins

Bruins Moneyline (+125)

The Boston Bruins were humiliated on Wednesday night. They threw away an early lead to lose 5-1 to the New Jersey Devils. They don’t have time to sit and stew over the loss; they're heading back home for an intra-divisional battle against the Ottawa Senators.

These teams met last week, with the B’s coughing up a 5-3 third-period lead before losing in a shootout. Blowing leads has become an unflattering look for the Bruins, but they should see a shift in outcomes over their coming games. They’ve been out-scored at five-on-five just once over their last five games, tallying 13 five-on-five goals over that stretch. Assuredly, those elite scoring metrics will eventually translate to more wins.

We don’t expect the Senators to be able to keep pace offensively with the Bruins. Ottawa has recorded just four goals at five-on-five over its previous four contests. More concerningly, they’ve been held scoreless in two of those contests. That underwhelming scoring is projected to continue as they’re averaging just 5.5 high-danger chances per game across the four-game sample.

Scoring-wise, we give a substantial advantage to the Bruins in this one. Try as the Sens may, we don’t see another dramatic comeback in the Senators' future.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers

Canucks Moneyline (+164)

Connor McDavid will be absent from tonight’s Edmonton Oilers lineup for the second straight game as he continues to serve his three-game suspension. We saw how the McDavid-less Oilers fared earlier in the week, and we anticipate another similar performance against the Vancouver Canucks.

While the Oilers could sustain their gaudy production metrics, their output took a significant hit without their captain. Edmonton mustered just two goals on 32 shots, underscoring McDavid’s contributions to the team’s scoring.

Even if the Oilers see a slight rebound, that won’t offset their ongoing goaltending concerns. Edmonton’s netminders have combined for an .880 save percentage over their previous four contests.

When these teams met on Saturday night, Vancouver utterly dominated the box score. The Canucks finished the game by out-shooting, out-chancing, and out-possessing the Oilers, and that was with McDavid playing almost the entirety of the contest. Granted, the Nucks are on the road in this one, but we’re anticipating a similar performance on Thursday night.

In their current form, the Oilers are undeserving of being such a steep moneyline favorite. Consequently, bettors have a playable advantage in backing the underdogs.

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