Expert NHL Best Bets and Predictions for Friday, January 19

January has been a very odd month in the NHL. The teams that we saw dominating at the start of the season, like the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Vegas Golden Knights, have all been struggling. 

There are four games in the NHL tonight, but I’m looking at two of them. While we’re on the topic of teams struggling, the two teams that I am eyeing are both on losing streaks. The New Jersey Devils are an interesting one because they’re facing a very motivated Elvis Merzlikins, and the Florida Panthers have quietly lost three games in a row, but I don’t see that lasting long. 

The New Jersey Devils are certainly in a funk. This team has lost four of its last five games, and there is no doubt that they’re a different team without their star player Jack Hughes. 

Tonight, the Devils will face a very fired-up goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets in Elvis Merzlikiins. The Blue Jackets defeated the Vancouver Canucks on January 15th in a dramatic shootout fashion, and right after that game, Merzlikins openly said that he had asked for a trade. He hasn’t been dealt yet, but he has been confirmed as tonight’s starter, so Merzlikins is now playing to impress the other teams around the league. 

The Devils have only scored six goals in their last three games, and in all three of those, the Under has hit. This has certainly been a bit of a rough patch for New Jersey, considering that they haven’t scored a 5-on-5 goal in their previous two games. 

The Blue Jackets have a ton of skill offensively, but they haven’t been able to put it together consistently. Columbus is scoring 3.00 goals per game, but their power play is only clicking at 15.2%. 

This is the fourth meeting of the season between these two teams, and those last two games were a little more high-scoring than both groups would have liked. I think tonight’s game will have a little more focus defensively, especially New Jersey who have given the puck away a lot in their previous games. I’m riding Merzlikins’ momentum. 

Bet: Under 6.5 +105 (play to -110)

The Florida Panthers are on a bit of a skid right now as they have lost three games in a row, but there isn’t much concern because this group has played some strong hockey over the past two months. Tonight is the perfect night for the Cats to bounce back, considering that the Minnesota Wild are coming off of a rough 7-3 loss last night in Tampa Bay. Speaking of teams playing poorly, the Wild are really going through it right now. Minnesota is 2-7-1 in their last 10 games, and since the new year, they have allowed the second-most goals in the NHL, giving up 4.22 goals against per game. Not only are they struggling defensively, but Minnesota’s special teams haven’t helped much. The Wild only score at 17.9% on the power play, but their penalty kill is the bigger concern as it currently stands at 65.4%. 

The Florida Panthers are essentially trending in the opposite direction despite their recent losses. The Cats score the sixth-most goals per game, averaging 3.88, and their power play is at 33.3%. 

Sam Reinhart might be the hottest player in the NHL, as he has scored goals in eight straight games, a new franchise record. He’s got the second-most goals in the league, only trailing Auston Matthews, and this Panthers group of forwards can be very scary when they’re on the top of their game. 

Marc-Andre Fleury is tonight’s likely starter for Minnesota, and in his last seven appearances, he is 2-4-1 with a 2.63 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. On the other hand, Sergei Bobrovsky is the likely starter for Florida, and in his last seven games, he is 5-1-1 with a 2.41 goals against average and a .911 save percentage. 

I trust the Panthers way more than I do the Wild right now, especially since they’re on a back-to-back. 

Bet: Florida Panthers to win in regulation -125 (play to -140)