Welcome to NHL Frozen Frenzy! Not only will every team be in action, but the start times of each game will be staggered, allowing fans an opportunity to catch a piece of every game. It gets even easier, as you won’t even have to change the channel every few minutes, because John Buccigross will be hosting a live look-in show to take you inside the action in real time, starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Sixteen games means more chances to bet on NHL action than any other night in the season. To get you started, we’ve on odds on every game, betting trends on recent history for each team, and finally the picks, props, and betting tips to come out ahead.
Betting picks from Sean Allen and Victoria Matiash.Betting trends from Mackenzie Kraemer. You can catch more NHL bets on Daily Wager on ESPN2. Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook, unless otherwise noted.
Best bet: Zach Werenski over .5 power-play points (+130).
No NHL team has allowed more than six power-play points to opposing defenders so far this season — except the Anaheim Ducks, who have allowed eight points on the advantage from the opposing blue line. Furthermore, the Ducks opponents have earned 4.20 power-play points per game this season, tied for the most in the NHL. Werenski is back from an early-season injury scare and patrolling the blue line when the Jackets are on the power play.
Betting trends:
The Ducks have won eight of the last nine meetings (+8.08 units). Three straight meetings have gone over the total.
The Blue Jackets are 2-4-0 as favorites since the start of last season (-4.4 units). They lost as -120 favorites against the Flyers in their season opener in their only favorite role this season.
This one is off the beaten path a little, but there is some merit. The Senators have allowed a goal per game to defenders so far this season. With a total sitting at 7.0 and Dahlin still looking for his first tally of the season, here’s hoping he can join Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei, Cam York, John Carlson and Shayne Gostisbehere on the list of defenders to score on the Sens.
Betting trends:
The Sabres have been the most profitable team on the road since the start of last season (+16.86 units).
Best bet: Nikita Kucherov to be credited with 1+ power play points (-460).
The only team allowing more points this season to opposing wingers than the Lightning (4.33) are the Hurricanes (a whopping 6.33). With some questionable net-minding to date and the most goals allowed in the NHL so far this season, let’s take the Bolts best point-scorer and bank an easy one. He has a goal and six helpers in five games against the Canes since the start of 2021-22.
Betting trends:
All six Hurricanes games have gone over the total this season.
This is the Lightning’s second game as a home underdog this season after they were home underdogs one time last regular season. In the last six seasons, the Lightning have only been greater than +100 home underdogs one time (+122 vs Maple Leafs on Saturday – lost).
Best bet: Nick Suzuki over 1.5 shots on goal (-175 on DraftKings).
The Devils have allowed 17.0 shots per game to opposing centers, easily the most in the NHL this season. Suzuki will be aiming to set up Cole Caufield more than trying to bury it himself, but he lets it go when the opportunity is there (nine shots in four games this season).
Betting trends:
All four Devils games have gone over the total this season.
The Canadiens have lost each of the last seven home meetings with the last four of those losses all coming by multiple goals.
The Stars are +8.3 units as a road favorite since the start of last season, the second-most profitable team in the NHL (Bruins).
Each of the past five meetings has gone under the total. Neither team has scored more than three goals in any of those meetings. The Penguins have scored two or fewer goals in four straight meetings.
Best bet: Tomas Hertl to be credited with 1+ power play points (-410).
The Panthers are allowing 2.0 power-play points per game to their opposing wingers. To be clear, that’s just wingers in the Panthers previous five games notching at least two power-play points per contest. The Sharks advantage remains a hot mess with no consistent quarterback, but the opportunity will be there (Panthers are fifth in the league with 23 power-play opportunities given up).
Betting trends:
The Sharks have lost 11 straight games dating back to last season, including all five this season. Nine of their last ten losses are by multiple goals including four of five this season.
The Panthers have won each of the last eight meetings (+8.82 units).
The Avs have been smothering opponents this season as if they were, well, the Islanders. Even with a subdued total, the under looks appealing for two teams that are both top 10 so far this season in limiting goals against. They’ve given up a total of 18 goals in nine games between them.
Betting trends:
The Avalanche have won all five games this season, with four of those wins by multiple goals. They have also won 12 straight regular-season road games, all as a favorite.
The Islanders have covered +1.5 goals in 18 of their past 20 home games including all three this season.
Best bet: Red Wings -2.0 alternate puck line (+213)
Since their opening day loss to the Devils, the red-hot Red Wings, driven by a sizzling Alex DeBrincat, are a pristine 5-0, beating their opponents by an average margin of 3.2 goals/game. The Kraken are rounding out only 1.83 goals/game, including an irregular 7-4 win over the Hurricanes. Melding all that math, this projects to be a comfortable-enough victory on behalf of the home team.
Betting trends:
The Kraken are +9.59 units as a road underdog since the start of last season, the second-best record in the NHL (Sabres).
Five of the first six Red Wings games have gone over the total this season.
Best bet: Method of victory, Bruins in 60 minutes (-170)
A perfect 5-0, Boston has yet to wade into the extra frame, regardless of starting goaltender. They’ve yet to surrender more than two goals in any game, allowing a total of seven through five contests altogether. I’m all over another regulation win by the Bruins after they beat Chicago 3-1 nearly two weeks ago.
Betting trends:
The Bruins are +35.45 units since the start of last season, over twice as many units won as the next-best team in that span (Golden Knights: +16.03).
The Blackhawks have lost seven straight home games dating back to last season, with six of the seven losses coming by multiple goals.
Goaltender Jordan Binnington has been superb this season, surrendering only four goals through three contests (1.26 GAA, .959 SV%). The Blues No. 1 has also received very little scoring support from his teammates out front. Meanwhile, the Jets sit middle of the NHL pack in scoring to date and Connor Hellebuyck is coming off his best performance of this young season, a 3-2 OT win in Edmonton. Go Under 5.5 for value in this matchup.
Bonus tidbit: If keen to wager on an individual scoring proposition, know that Brandon Saad (+310 anytime goalscorer) potted his first two of the season against the Penguins over the weekend. One the league’s streakier producers, Saad is skating on a top line with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.
Betting trends:
First-period unders are 3-0-1 in Blues games this season. The Blues have scored one first-period goal all season.
First-period overs are 3-1-1 in Jets games this season with four of the five games having multiple goals. The Jets have not led after the first period this season.
The Wild’s leading scorer has found the back of the net in three of five contests, totaling four goals altogether. He scored two through three games against Edmonton this past season. The Oilers – who certainly aren’t better without an injured Connor McDavid – are giving up too many quality scoring opportunities, resulting in goals. Siding with the Over also feels sound, since Minnesota is still trying to find its own defensive footing to launch 2023-24.
Betting trends:
Entering tonight, the Oilers have been favored in 32 straight games including the playoffs, the longest active streak in the NHL. They are 1-3-1 this season (-6.65 units), all as a favorite.
Four straight Wild games have gone over the total, averaging 9.3 goals per game in that span.
The promised commitment to ramping up the offense under new coach Andrew Brunette is starting to take shape, as the Predators are nine total goals to the good in subsequent wins over the Rangers and Sharks. If the Canucks – fifth in league scoring – can rifle home a pair themselves, then the over 6.5 appears extra appealing.
Betting trends:
The Canucks are 11-5-1 in their past 17 games as a road underdog (+10.17 units) including 3-1-0 this season (+3.48 units).
The over has hit in four straight meetings, with the last three going to a shootout. The Predators won three of those four games.
A longshot, to be sure, but Sharangovich played his best game as a member of the Flames in Sunday’s loss to Detroit, scoring his first goal with his new team. So much so, he moved up the lineup mid-contest, joining center Elias Lindholm. An expected line re-shuffling should see the former Devil fall into a more prominent position against a team with which he’s well familiar from the start. Sharangovich scored two goals against New York through four contests in 2022-23.
Betting trends:
This is the first time this season the Flames have been underdogs. Last season, they were home underdogs only one time all season (Feb. 28 vs Bruins).
The Rangers have won each of the past four meetings in Calgary, all as an underdog.
The Kings can score, and while the Coyotes are riding a nice stingy streak to launch 2023-24, the teams they’ve managed to best suffocate – Islanders, Blues, Ducks – all rank in the NHL’s bottom six in goals/game. This contest sets up to be a much more entertaining affair. Especially since Los Angeles is also allowing 3.60 goals/game. I further like Trevor Moore to dent the score sheet in this one.
Betting trends:
First-period unders are 5-0 in Coyotes games this season.
The Kings are 15-0-2 in their past 17 games as a favorite (+12.2 units) with five straight wins. This is the first time the Kings have been favored this season.
Best bet: Golden Knights -2.0 alternate puck line (+143)
The perfect 6-0 Knights, and their balanced scoring, have secured five of their six victories by a margin of two goals or more. Meanwhile Philadelphia, competitive thus far, has only beaten the Blue Jackets on the road, losing both other contests away from home to the Senators and Stars (OT). Yes, Vegas is going to lose at some point, undoubtedly in the foreseeable future, but I’m skeptical about that happening at home, Tuesday. As are the oddsmakers.
Betting trends:
Underdogs are 6-2-1 all-time in this series (+6.35 units). This is the sixth straight time the Flyers will be underdogs against the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights are 19-5-0 in Adin Hill home starts including playoffs.
The rise of the salary cap changes everything in the NHL.
On Jan. 31, the league and the NHLPA announced an agreement to create “increased predictability” about the salary cap over the next three seasons, provided there’s a new collective bargaining agreement beyond the 2025-26 season. The upper limits for the cap are projected as:
2025-26: $95.5 million
2026-27: $104 million
2027-28: $113.5 million
It’s a shrewd negotiating tactic, giving the players a sense of the league’s prosperity and their own future earning potential under a skyrocketing cap. But it also materially changed how teams could approach the March 7 NHL trade deadline.
“I think this is going to be an interesting deadline. Everybody’s like, ‘We’re going to have money next year.’ So I wonder if you might see some actual contracts move,” one NHL team executive said. “I think teams might be looking at free agency this summer and wondering what they’re actually going to get out of it. So maybe they’re willing to trade for Seth Jones or something at the deadline.”
With that salary cap bump on the horizon, here’s a look at the players who could move before the NHL trade deadline on March 7 at 3 p.m. ET, from the shocking possibilities to the pending free agents to the players with low-cost contracts who could be the difference in winning the Stanley Cup.
This list was compiled through conversations with league executives and other sources, as well as media reports. ESPN insiders Kevin Weekes and Emily Kaplan added their input in its creation. Salary figures are from Cap Wages and PuckPedia.
The Mountain West and Pac-12, along with Boise State, Colorado State and Utah State, have agreed to enter mediation related to the ongoing lawsuits related to school exit fees and a poaching penalty the Mountain West included in a scheduling agreement with the Pac-12, sources told ESPN.
It is a common step that could lead to settlements before the sides take their chances in court, however, a source told ESPN that, as of Wednesday evening, it was an informal agreement. The Mountain West initiated the talks, a source said.
In September, the Pac-12 filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the legality of a “poaching penalty” included in a football scheduling agreement it signed with the Mountain West in December 2023. As part of the agreement, the Mountain West included language that calls for the Pac-12 to pay a fee of $10 million if a school left the Mountain West for the Pac-12, with escalators of $500,000 for each additional school.
Five schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State — announced they were leaving the Mountain West for the Pac-12 in 2026, which the Mountain West believes should require a $55 million payout from the Pac-12.
In December, Colorado State and Utah State filed a separate lawsuit against the Mountain West, seeking to avoid having to pay exit fees that could range from $19 million to $38 million, with Boise State later joining the lawsuit. Neither Fresno State, nor San Diego State has challenged the Mountain West exit fees in court.
Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
Nebraska is hiring New England Patriots director of pro personnel Patrick Stewart as the football program’s new general manager, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday.
Current Nebraska general manager Sean Padden — who oversaw top recruiting classes in this cycle in high school recruiting and in the NCAA transfer portal — will move to a new role of assistant AD for strategic intelligence, sources told Thamel. Padden’s role will include ties to the salary cap, contract negotiations and analytics, while Stewart will run the personnel department.
Under second-year coach Matt Rhule, Nebraska finished 7-6 last season, capping its year with a 20-15 win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Cornhuskers were 3-6 in the Big Ten.
In New England, Stewart’s departure comes at a time in which the Patriots are in transition under first-year coach Mike Vrabel. The hiring of Vrabel has had a ripple effect on the front office with the addition of vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden, who had worked with Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans for five seasons (2018 to 2022).
The Patriots’ personnel department is still led by executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, who had tapped Stewart as director of pro personnel last year. Sam Fioroni had served as the Patriots’ assistant director of pro personnel in 2024. Others on staff could also be eyed for a promotion or new role.
Stewart, who graduated from Ohio State, began his professional career in the college ranks with the Buckeyes (2000 to 2004), Western Carolina (2005) and Temple (2006) before breaking into the NFL with the Patriots in 2007 as a scouting assistant. He then split time between college and pro scouting with the organization over the next 10 seasons.
Stewart was a national scout for the Philadelphia Eagles (2018-19) before working for the Carolina Panthers as director of player personnel (2020) and then vice president of player personnel (2021-22). He returned to the Patriots in 2023 as a senior personnel adviser.