3 NHL Best Bets and Predictions for Sunday 1/19/25
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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Ottawa Senators vs. New Jersey Devils
Senators Moneyline (+155)
The New Jersey Devils are coming off one of the most pathetic efforts of the season. They’re expected to turn things around in a hurry as they take on the Ottawa Senators. That said, we think the Sens have too much fight in them, compounding the Devils’ issues.
New Jersey looked abysmal on Saturday night. The Devils attempted just nine shots and one high-danger chance at five-on-five, resulting in a 15.8% expected goals-for rating. While it hasn’t always been that one-sided, New Jersey getting outplayed has been a more regular occurrence over its recent schedule. They’ve been outplayed in three of their past five, yielding a 43.7% expected goals-for rating.
The results haven’t always gone their way, but the Senators have recently been rolling with plenty of gusto. Ottawa has outplayed its opponents in three of four and all but two of its past six, crossing the 60.0% eGF threshold with all of its efforts. Stifling defense has been the watermark of those performances, with none of those foes attempting more than eight high-danger opportunities.
Sunday’s showdown against the Devils is a prime opportunity to back the Sens as undeserving underdogs. At the current price, we see value in the guests.
New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens
Rangers Moneyline (-115)
Moneyline
All of a sudden, the New York Rangers are back in it. After an unbearable run in which they won four contests over a 19-game stretch, the Rangers have gone 6-1-2 since the start of the calendar year. That run has been propped up with solid analytics, giving them an advantage over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night.
New York is getting back to the style of hockey that made them successful in the first place. They’ve held their opponents to eight or fewer high-danger chances in five straight, giving up a paltry average of 6.4 per game. Predictably, that’s translated to improved expected goals-for ratings, with the Rangers out-chancing their opponents in all but one of those contests.
The Habs have been trending more negatively over their recent sample. Montreal has outplayed its opponents just once over its previous five games, consistently failing in its own end. Across their past five, opponents are averaging 11.4 high-danger chances per game, with three of those opponents attempting at least 11.
New York’s advantage against the Canadiens is more pronounced than the betting line implies. On that basis, we see an edge in backing the Rangers in this spot.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars
Stars Moneyline (-235)
Moneyline
The Dallas Stars are coming off a 6-3 shellacking on Saturday night. Nevertheless, they can get back to their winning ways with an inter-conference showdown against the Detroit Red Wings tonight.
Despite the recent letdowns, Dallas has maintained its usual standard of excellent play. The Stars have outplayed five of their past seven opponents, relying on their typically stout defensive play. Over that same stretch, they’ve held four teams to nine or fewer quality chances while out-chancing them in all but two games. The ice has been tilted in their direction, and we expect the results to start favoring the Stars.
Detroit struggles to put forth consistent efforts, which puts the Wings at a disadvantage against the Stars. The Original Six franchise ranks as one of the worst analytics teams in the league, putting up the fifth-worst expected goals-for rating on the season. Moreover, the Wings have given up 22 high-danger chances across their previous two games. Assuredly, that total will ratchet higher on Sunday.
Dallas has a significant edge against the Wings. They are the superior analytics team and are insulated on home ice on Sunday night. Consequently, we like their chances of getting back on the winning track versus Detroit.
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