NHL Best Bets Tonight: Predictions & Picks for Tuesday (March 5)
Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images. Pictured: Thatcher Demko.
Check out our NHL best bets for Tuesday, March 5 – predictions and picks from our hockey experts.
The Action Network's hockey crew flipped through the numbers for tonight's nine-game slate, which we've also covered with our individual NHL game previews. And they've found some gems in the betting markets.
For our NHL best bets tonight, we're targeting four games in particular with two moneyline bets, a play on the puck line and a player prop.
Below, check out and tail along with our experts' NHL picks for the Tuesday slate, which is available fully on ESPN+.
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NHL Picks and Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our NHL betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | ||
| 8 p.m. | ||
| 9 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. | ||
Blue Jackets vs. Penguins
By Carol Schram
The Blue Jackets and Penguins recently swung a minor forward swap that saw Emil Benstrom head to Pittsburgh in exchange Alex Nylander. Originally drafted eighth overall in 2016, Alex has never lived up to the lofty standards set by his older brother William Nylander with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s now on his fourth team after playing just five games for the Penguins this season, and he's logged 34 points in 98 career NHL games.
But Nylander was immediately inserted into the Blue Jackets’ top six. Now, he’s on the hottest streak of his career with six points in his last three games, including a hat trick in Columbus’s 6-3 win over Vegas on Monday.
As the Penguins head home after losing the last three games of their Pacific Division road trip, they’re 10 points out of a wild-card spot. Anxiety is running high with rumors swirling that Kyle Dubas will listen to trade offers for nearly any player on the roster.
From a betting perspective, the Nylander/Bemstrom deal is just another example of how badly this season has gone for Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are going through a rare sunny stretch with two straight wins and a 5-5-0 record in the last 10 games.
Vibe check suggests that the Penguins could be in trouble on Tuesday. A moneyline of +200 offers bettors a great incentive to back the road dogs. Play the Jackets down to +175.
Pick: Blue Jackets (+200 at ESPN BET)
Kraken vs. Jets
By Ryan Dadoun
Although Seattle did earn a 4-2 victory over Calgary on Monday, the Kraken will be playing on no rest tonight against a tougher opponent in the Jets. Seattle will also likely still be without Alexander Wennberg, who was held out of Monday’s game for “trade-related issues,” and he will likely either be scratched again or dealt before the contest.
The Kraken’s decision with Wennberg signaled that they intend to be sellers leading up to Friday’s trade deadline, so it’s entirely possible some of that dealing will occur before tonight’s game. Even if it doesn't, the list of scratches might extend.
Any such restraints would make what was already likely to be an extremely difficult contest for Seattle that much harder. The Kraken rank 28th offensively with just 2.74 goals per game, so under ideal circumstances, they’d still have difficulty getting much past Connor Hellebuyck, who is having a fantastic campaign with a 29-12-3 record, 2.25 GAA and .924 save percentage in 44 games.
Meanwhile, Seattle deployed Philipp Grubauer on Monday, so they’re projected to counter with Joey Daccord. To be fair, Daccord has done well this campaign with a 16-12-10 record, 2.45 GAA and .919 save percentage in 49 contests, but he’s posted a 3.47 GAA and a .904 save percentage over his past five appearances, which has led Grubauer to take over the goaltending duties. Daccord was last utilized on Feb. 24.
The contest being in Winnipeg is the icing on the cake. The Jets are a commanding 19-8-4 at home while Seattle is 13-12-6 on the road. Although Daccord has the potential to make this a low-scoring affair if he rebounds, I still like the Jets’ chances of beating the 1.5-goal spread against them, and I’m consequently recommending taking them on the puck line.
Play the Jets puck line (spread) of -1.5 down to +120.
Pick: Jets -1.5 (+150 at Caesars)
Blackhawks vs. Coyotes
By Tony Sartori
There is a Central Division tilt in the late window of Tuesday's NHL slate with the Arizona Coyotes hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. Both teams are terrible, but Chicago is on another level of struggling. They are just 1-14 over their past 15 games and have now lost 22 consecutive road games, the fourth-longest skid in NHL history.
One of the factors of these trends is poor defensive play. Entering this matchup, the Hawks rank 29th in the league in goals allowed per game and 27th in shots on goal allowed per game.
Based on their underlying metrics, positive regression is unlikely as the Blackhawks rank 31st in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. Backing up this leaky defense is goaltender Arvid Soderblom, who will get the nod on the second half of Chicago's back-to-back.
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While Petr Mrazek has played tremendously for the Hawks, the exact opposite is true when Soderblom's number has been called. Through 23 appearances in the crease, Soderblom is 2-18-1 with a .875 SV% and 3.97 GAA.
That brings us to Arizona forward Nick Schmaltz, who we will back to score against his former team in this matchup. Schmaltz enters this contest in good form, scoring in each of his past two games and potting four goals over his past five.
Two of those goals came on the power play, a category in which he leads this team in. That is worth noting because Chicago ranks 24th in penalty kill percentage.
Finally, we are catching a great price at +185 via FanDuel, a line that is 10-15 cents longer than the rest of the market at the time of writing.
Pick: Nick Schmaltz Anytime Goalscorer (+185 at FanDuel)
Canucks vs. Kings
Vancouver is priced evenly with Los Angeles Tuesday at -110. That tells us the Canucks are still power-rated slightly above the Kings given that they are on the road. Still, I believe the Canucks deserve to be a larger favorite and that this is a good time to sell high on LA.
The Kings have displayed no home-ice advantage this season, where they're 12-10-6 compared to their road record of 19-9-4. Both teams enter on the same rest schedule since they played last Thursday in Vancouver, a game the Kings won 5-1.
Although we just saw the Kings win in this matchup, that doesn't mean that as a rule they are the better team. With three excellent pieces in Mikey Anderson, Viktor Arvidsson and Adrian Kempe all out of the lineup for the Kings, the Canucks do currently hold a better roster.
There's no doubt the Canucks were lucky to win as many games as they did early on this season. Still, their recent run of play has clearly been a low point in a dominant season. Their power play will stabilize again and become a clear strength relative to the field, and on most nights, Thatcher Demko will offer a huge edge in goal.
I think this is the right time to buy on Vancouver and sell on the suddenly hot Kings, and believe we are getting a good number with a pick'em price of -110.
Pick: Canucks (-110 at FanDuel)
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