NHL late-night best bets are back, so we're going to target the two Western Conference battles tonight.
The Nashville Predators head over to the Rocky Mountains to face the Colorado Avalanche, while we also have a battle in Southern California between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings.
Let's dive into my NHL best bets, predictions and picks for January 16.
NHL Late-Night Best Bets for January 16
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 9:00 p.m. | |
  | 10:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NHL Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Predators vs. Avalanche
I’m going to start bold here, but that’s the name of the game.
The Colorado Avalanche are the best team in the NHL. No questions asked. But let’s not count out the Predators here.
In all my years betting on hockey, I think I can count on one hand how many times I have bet +1.5 since the lines are always disjointed.
However, the Predators are no longer an easy out. They’ve managed to stay alive in games and have won certain games that otherwise would have been ruled out.
Nashville has also played Colorado three times this season, and the first time both played, Colorado won handily 3-0, but that was when the Preds were at their all-time worst.
They ended up coming back to win on December 9 in a shootout, and then lost in Denver 4-2 in a game that resulted in Andrew Brunette pulling the goalie in the final five minutes.
Not just that, Nashville is 8-2 against the spread in the past 10 games, but so is the Avalanche.
So, no – this isn’t a foregone conclusion that the Avs dominate. But it’s not a slam dunk either, just because Colorado hasn’t lost a game in regulation all season.
I’ve just been pretty bullish on the Predators in the past month. They’ve actually played better 5-on-5 than the Avalanche in the past two weeks. Nashville’s offensive expected goals are sixth with a 55.32 xGF% and 12th with a 2.7 xGA/60.
Meanwhile, the Avalanche are 13th with a 51.41 xGF% and 17th with a 2.81 xGA/60.
So for plus money on the puck line? Why not? At least the numbers back it up.
Pick: Predators +1.5 (+110)
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Ducks vs. Kings
I love the SoCal battle, and slowly but surely, it’s starting to pick up steam.
The Kings and Ducks have squared off twice so far, and both have a win each. Anaheim walked away with a 5-4 win in the first matchup, while the Kings won the second handily with a 6-1 thrashing.
The problem here is that the Ducks have had a major fall from grace since right before the holiday break.
They started the calendar year on a five-game losing streak before finally coming away with a win against the Dallas Stars.
Tonight’s battle is the beginning of a home-and-home, which includes hardly any travel for the players since there’s only a 42-minute drive in between arenas (or maybe more if you factor in L.A. traffic).
As of late, I’ve been pretty encouraged with the Kings’ play, despite losing four out of five. OK, sure, I ripped them a lot in my recent story against the Golden Knights, but come on… Twenty percent of their cap is covered by players 35-years-old or older.
Drew Doughty has not been good, and Anze Kopitar is fine, but I’m not crazy about older teams in general. With this being a young man’s game, the older generation will either need to adapt or perish in this league. And for Doughty and his $11 million cap hit, he’s doing the latter.
At least their 5-on-5 play is actually one of the bright spots of the team. In the past two weeks, L.A. has played to a fifth-best 56.6 xGF% and a third-best 2.23 xGA/60.
So I’ll ride with the Kings here.
Pick: Kings ML (-137)
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