After a quiet Friday night, the NHL betting board for Saturday is juiced full of action with 12 games on the slate.
We've sifted through the matchups and NHL odds to find out best bets for the day, highlighted by offensive powerhouses Florida and Colorado continuing to roll, while a highly-touted rookie builds momentum off getting his first career point in style.
Here are our best free NHL picks and predictions for Saturday, January 30.
NHL Picks for Today
Florida Panthers vs Detroit Red Wings
Due to COVID-19, the Florida Panthers have only played four games so far in this wacky NHL season, but they've made the most of those contests, getting seven out of a possible eight points. They've scored 15 goals in that span, which is just one less goal than their opponent tonight, Detroit, has scored in twice as many games.
The Red Wings are in the thick of a rebuild and were projected to be one of the weakest teams in the NHL this season. They've been as poor as advertised, sitting 29th in Corsi For percentage (CF%), Fenwick For percentage (FF%) and goals per game, as well as surrendering the sixth-most goals against per game. That's led to a 2-5-1 record to start the year for Detroit, which has also lost three of its last four games by at least three goals.
Florida boasts a depth of offensive firepower and is healthy coming into this match, while Detroit just doesn't have the talent to keep up in this game. Back the Panthers to keep rolling on the puck line for this tilt.
PREDICTION: Florida -1.5 (+139)
Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers
Life isn't easy in the NHL for a teenage rookie. Just ask New York Rangers neophyte Alexis Lafreniere, the 2020 first-overall draft pick who entered the season with tons of hype—but had yet to register a single point through his first six games.
Lafreniere hasn't been particularly bad to start the season, sporting a FF% of 50.8, sitting fifth among Rangers forwards in CF and still playing more than 15 minutes per game with power-play time. But he finally broke through on Thursday night, when he buried a two-on-once chance to get his first career NHL point – and overtime game-winner, no less – against the Buffalo Sabres.
Getting that monkey off your back, especially for young players, tends to result in an "opening of the floodgates." The Rangers' next game is against a Pittsburgh Penguins squad that is giving up the third-most goals per game in the league, behind shaky goaltending from a pair of netminders that have a combined -9.1 goals saved above average.
With the pressure of his first point (and goal) no longer there, expect Lafreniere to play a little more relaxed and bank on him to find the net at a solid price.
PREDICTION: Alexis Lafreniere Over 0.5 goals (+307)
Colorado Avalanche vs Minnesota Wild
The Avalanche are one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season, and for good reason: they have Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon leading a deep and dangerous forward group, a rising star in Cale Makar headlining a talented defense corps, and a legitimate No. 1 goalie in Philipp Grubauer.
The Avalanche are third in the NHL in CF% and fifth in FF%, but what is really making the Avs scary is that they have generated the third-most high-danger scoring chances in the league and giving up the fifth-fewest high-danger chances against.
That could be trouble for a Minnesota squad that doesn't give up many high-danger chances—but allows opponents to convert on the opportunities they get. The Wild have seen 21.4 percent of opponents' high-danger chances find the back of the net, the third-worst mark in the NHL. Against a Colorado team that is relentless with its shot generation and puck possession, keeping the Avs out of those danger areas is paramount.
Minnesota is tied with Colorado at 5-3-0 to start the season but all eight games have been against Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim—teams that sit in the bottom half of the West Division and are nowhere near the level of Colorado. Trying to contain Colorado's scoring is a whole different beast...and I don't see the Wild being up to the task on Saturday.
PREDICTION: Colorado team total Over 2.5 (-157)
Top NHL Consensus for Today
Want to know who today's biggest NHL betting and consensus bets are right now? Check out our top NHL consensus picks.
Thursday's picks: 2-2 (-0.47 units)
Season record to date: 13-24-2 (-11.51 units)
NHL Betting Card for January 30
- Florida -1.5 (+139)
- Alexis Lafreniere Over 0.5 goals (+307)
- Colorado team total Over 2.5 (-157)
NHL Parlays
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Use our NHL parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
Where Can I Bet on the NHL?
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