NHL Betting Picks and Player Props to Target: Sunday 1/14/23

Sunday in the NHL during football season is usually quiet, and today is no different with just two games. How can we find value amongst them?

Whether it's moneylines, total goals, or player props, there are plenty of ways to bet on the NHL action all season long. It's a long 82-game season, 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.

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 come from FanDuel Sportsbook.

NHL Best Bets

Washington Capitals at New York Rangers

Capitals +1.5 (-128)

The Washington Capitals won yesterday's first game of this home-and-home series with the New York Rangers, so I'm not sure why such a friendly number exists for them to just stay within a tally in the Big Apple.

Yesterday's goaltending matchup favored Washington, and today's will, too. The Caps will turn to Darcy Kuemper, who has posted a modest 0.58 goals saved above expectation (GSAx) and an improved .889 save rate in the past 30 days. Most will assume Igor Shesterkin gives the Rangers an edge on the other side, but Shesterkin has struggled to -1.12 GSAx in the past month.

Goaltending would be the only reason to separate these two teams this much. New York's expected-goals-for rate (51.4 xGF%) doesn't tower over Washington's (48.2 xGF%) by any means.

Some consensus betting data shows a lot of love for the Rags in this spot; this is an easy choice to fade the public.

Detroit Red Wings at Toronto Maple Leafs

Over 7.5 (+152)
William Nylander Anytime Goal (+110)
David Perron to Record a Point (+116)
Dylan Larkin to Record 2+ Points (+240)

You won't find a spot with two wretched goaltenders and two quality offenses that often. Over 6.5 (-150) is available, but I don't mind jumping to this alternate line when pucks could be flying in the net here.

The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs have both seen at least 57.9% of their games hit the "over" this season, and today will be one of their easiest respective challenges. Over the past 30 days, Toronto's Ilya Samsonov has the third-worst GSAx (-8.53) in the NHL, and Detroit's James Reimer (-6.19 GSAx) has the sixth-worst mark. They've both been truly awful but are forced into action on the second leg of a back-to-back for both clubs.

With that in mind, this is the game to dive into props, starting with the highest expected scorer in numberFire's projection model. It's assigning 0.62 projected goals at the median to William Nylander, which otherwise translate to -163 odds for a score. The anecdotal evidence favors his case, as well. Nylander hasn't scored on 10 shots in three games entering this projected shootout.

On the other side, Detroit's top line can do damage, as well. David Perron has the recent pleasure of skating with stud center Dylan Larkin in all ice conditions, which has led to four points in six January contests thus far. His 17:06 TOI average is excellent, too. Perron is projected for 0.82 points by nF, so these plus-money odds on just one are quite the steal.

As for Larkin, numberFire has him pegged for 0.60 goals and 0.76 assists for a rare 1.36-point projection in this high-scoring contest. Larkin has points in each of his last four games with an absurd 21:13 TOI average, making him the obvious favorite to find the scoresheet for the Wings. nF would assign +178 odds for two points based on his projection, so I'll take this in lieu of his goal-scoring prop so that he and Perron can produce points together on a potential marker.

All four of these bets correlate with a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, which these teams are well familiar with at this stage.

Looking for more NHL betting opportunities? Check out all of the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.