Thursday Jan. 16 NHL Betting Picks: Lightning vs. Blues, Panthers vs. Hurricanes

It’s a quiet five-game slate tonight, but it features some interesting games. 

In the late slot, we get the Ducks and Kings battling for L.A.-area supremacy and a back-end playoff spot. 

The East is where it’s at, though, as we get three of the teams that make deep Spring runs every year in action. So let’s look there for a couple NHL picks.

NHL Season Stats

Record: 17–26
Units: –8.21

Lightning vs. Blues

Lightning ML (-182 Unibet)

The Blues come in off easily their best outing of the year, a 3-0 shutout of an excellent Hurricanes team. But consistency has been elusive for the Blues this season, to say the least. They have yet to put three wins in a row together. Yeah, this would only mark two, but they could not face a hotter opponent right now than the Lightning.

Tampa has won 11 straight and outscored opponents 51-26 during that stretch. If there’s one big concern for the Lightning, it’s injuries, as defensive stalwarts Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh remain out and Brayden Point just went down with a “lower body” injury that could force him to cede his spot on Team Canada.

Not to worry, though, as it’s a super-deep team and Nikita Kucherov (23-44-67), Jake Guentzel (20-27-47), and Brandon Hagel (22-19-41) remain healthy and productive. Plus, the much thinner Blues have their own injury concerns, as their biggest offensive threat Robert Thomas is expected to miss the game, as is Philip Broberg.

Panthers at Hurricanes

Panthers ML (+140 Caesars)

Speaking of Carolina — yes, they are excellent — but they’ve hit a little stretch of mediocrity here. They’ve gone just 6-6-2 dating back to December 19 and have been outscored 46-50. It’s hardly time to panic, as they remain atop the Metropolitan Division and just short of best in the league. It’s a long season, and their biggest tests come in April and May.

Florida has had a stretch of mediocrity that’s lasted all season and would not make the playoffs if they started today. Fortunately for the two-time defending champs, they still have time — though unfortunately, they have an All-Star-caliber player on the injured list right now. Matthew Tkachuk should return any day now, but not in time for the Hurricanes game. Seth Jones is out with an “upper body” injury, and Brad Marchand may miss the game as well.

So why in the world roll with this depleted and sluggish squad? Well, it’s part narrative, I’ll admit. They tend to get up for the big games, especially against the Hurricanes, who they’ve beaten in both meetings this year. In their last encounter, Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell found the net, and Sam Reinhart had three assists — and all will suit up tonight.