Tonight’s NHL slate may not offer many thrilling matchups, but we’ve identified two betting picks you should consider at the top-rated sportsbooks.
First, we’re heading to Florida where the recent back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are favored to cover the spread at home against the current bottom team in the Eastern Division. Meanwhile, Colorado aims for a second straight win in New York.
Picks Summary
- Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (-110)
- Colorado Avalanche ML (-115)
*All odds from Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 – 07:00 PM ET at Amalie Arena 
Quick Rematch
Only four nights ago the Tampa Bay Lightning traveled to Chicago where they played out a 4-3 victory, requiring top scorer Nikita Kucherov to come up with the winning goal in overtime.
In the meantime, Tampa Bay also faced the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, but the Blackhawks went on the road to Minnesota on Sunday. Now they make the long-haul flight to Tampa Bay and have one less day of rest than the home team.
The Lightning have won 4 of their previous 5 home games, including their current 4-0 winning streak. Unfortunately for Chicago, they are 0-6 in their previous six road games and 1-9 in their previous ten. The Blackhawks are 2-8 in their previous 10 trips to Tampa Bay.
The Pick
Although Tampa Bay hasn’t the best ATS at home in the NHL, they do have a winning one sitting at 12-10, which isn’t bad considering they have been the favorites for the majority of those 22 games.
Chicago has gone 11-12 ATS on the road but it also has to be said that, just like the Lightning, Chicago has been the underdog for the majority of their road games.
We feel the Lightning have too much attacking power to run away with a lead here against the Blackhawks, so take Tampa Bay on the PK line at -110 NHL betting odds.
NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (-110) at Bet365
Colorado Avalanche vs. New York Islanders
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 – 07:30 PM ET at UBS Arena
Avalanche Worthy Road Favorites
Despite having the 9th worst home record in the NHL, the NY Islanders are currently on a 5-0 winning streak on home ice, so it has to be said before this winning streak they had the 3rd worst home record in the league.
Unfortunately for Islanders fans, we are looking to oppose their winning streak tonight when Colorado travels to town. The Colorado Avalanche have the 4th best road record in the entire league, sitting 15-10 overall. The Avalanche are 6-4 in their previous 10 road games, although only one of those 4 losses came against a team who is at their level in terms of strength and playoff potential.
The Islanders have been strong in the crease, allowing just 2.9 goals per game, which is the 13th-best in the NHL (not bad for the team 3rd last in their conference). However, their offense has been the biggest issue thus far this season, having scored just 2.75 goals per game.
Colorado allows and scores an average of 3.2 goals per game.
The Pick
The Avalanche are only 3-7 in their previous 10 trips to the UBS Arena but did come away with a 7-5 win the last time they faced New York at home. We believe they are due back-to-back wins in New York as they picked up a 5-4 win against the NY Rangers in their previous game.
Despite the Islanders’ strong home form in recent weeks, it must be noted that three of their four wins came against weak opposition and their win over Carolina required overtime.
Betting odds currently have the Avalanche at -115 on the moneyline to pick up a win here, so we believe this is good value and would happily bet it down to as low as -130 with the top-rated sportsbooks.Â
NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche ML (-115) at Bet365
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*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
