We are coming off a bit of a weird night in the NHL with several heavy underdogs winning by multiple goals. 

Hopefully, we get some more consistency from tonight's slate, which will set us up for a solid night from a prop perspective. 

 

 

 

NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 10/30 

While early season results can be a bit fluky sometimes, “buying” into that type of variance can be profitable. 

I'm not saying we should be looking at a random fourth-liner for a hat trick, but simply understanding that hockey can be weird sometimes and results will even out as the year goes on. 

 

 

 

Lightning vs. Avalanche Prediction: Wednesday, October 30th

A rematch of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals is always a good time, and we should be in for plenty of scoring tonight. The Colorado Avalanche have gotten off to a much-discussed slow start but have turned things around and won five of their last six games. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning have always been one of the more consistent teams in the league and even with a series of roster changes, they're off to a strong start this season. Given how bad the Avalanche have been on defense/goaltending to start the season, Tampa should look to jump on them early with plenty of pressure. 

With Nikita Kuchervo and Jake Guentzel on the same line, opposing defenses need to dedicate plenty of resources to shutting them down. This has me interested in Brayden Point, who can often get overlooked on that line. Point has plenty of success against the Avalanche in recent years, going over this mark in three of the last four matchups he's faced them. 

With a role on the top forward line and the first power-play unit, Point should have plenty of chances to rack up three shots on goal against a very suspect defense. 

 

 

 

Flames vs. Utah Hockey Club Prediction: Wednesday, October 30th 

After a rough loss the other night against the San Jose Sharks, the Utah Hockey Club has to rebound tonight at home. Utah was up 4-1 entering the third period against the lowly Sharks and proceeded to give up three goals in the final five minutes of the game, and then lose it in overtime. 

It's a rough look and they need to come out with some juice tonight against the Calgary Flames. I'm not saying Utah needs to win this game, but they need to do things the right way from the jump. 

This season, the Flames are allowing 66.92 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-most in the league. Opposing teams are firing the puck early and often against the Flames' defense, which should be a point of emphasis for Utah tonight. 

Utah has been solid at generating chances this year with 63.28 Total Shot Attempts created per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is good for the eighth-most in the league. 

I'll simply side with Utah's best player, Clayton Keller, who has 30 shots on goal in 10 games this season. He's had at least two shots on goal in every single game this year and over the 2.5 mark in eight of those 10 games. Keller is as consistent as you can find this season and they need to right the ship a bit after a rough outing in their last game. 

 

 

 

Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 10/30