NHL Betting Odds for 10/17: Rangers, Panthers Part of Well-Paying Parlay
- Recent Stanley Cup champions in the Golden Knights and Lightning meet in Tampa.
- Celebrini’s injury deprives NHL fans of a showdown of the last two No. 1 draft picks.
- Check the latest NHL betting odds as only four of 11 home teams are favored on Thursday.
Even with only four games on the schedule on Wednesday, there was plenty of action. Pittsburgh’s 38-year-old Evgeny Malkin had his fourth straight multi-point game with a goal and three assists. He assisted on Sidney Crosby’s power-play goal in overtime to lift the Penguins to the 6-5 win over Buffalo in the highest scoring game of the night. His goal was the 500th of his career.
The Anaheim Ducks defied the NHL odds with a 5-4 overtime win over Utah while the Boston Bruins went into Denver and kept Colorado winless. As was predicted, Toronto’s Auston Matthews came through with his first goal of the season as Toronto had no issues topping the visiting Los Angeles Kings. The road team is favored in eight of the 11 games being played on Thursday.
When looking at the NHL injury report, Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark, Dallas forward Tyler Seguin, Detroit forward Vladimir Tarasenko and San Jose forward William Eklund are among the players considered to be questionable for Thursday’s games.
Let’s look at my NHL picks for Thursday.
3 Ways to Bet on Tonight’s NHL Games
1. Recent Champs Set to Collide in Vegas
There is nothing quite like a matchup between the teams that won three of the last five Stanley Cup titles to get a busy Thursday night of hockey going.
The Vegas Golden Knights head to the Sunshine State to try to hand the host Tampa Bay Lightning their first loss of the 2024-25 season. Each of the last four games between the Golden Knights and the Lightning landed over the sports betting odds total.
to Tampa we go ✈️https://t.co/8SsdlHsDdm
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 16, 2024
Seven of the last 10 meetings have been decided by one goal. The last meeting between the teams appeared to be headed that way as well before an empty-net goal by Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov.
When considering Oct. 17 NHL player prop options, keep in mind that Kucherov had two goals and five assists in two games against Vegas last season with Brayden Point scoring four times. Jack Eichel led the Golden Knights with three assists in the two games with Tampa Bay winning 5-4 and 5-3.
2. No Showdown Between Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini
Just chalk up the matchup between the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks as what might have been.
If not for San Jose rookie forward Macklin Celebrini being sidelined with a lower-body injury, this game would feature the last two No. 1 overall draft picks.
Connor Bedard, the top selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, is tied for the Chicago Blackhawks team lead with four assists and five points. He also has a plus/minus rating of +2 after finishing -44 in 68 games as a rookie.
Celebrini had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut before being injured. Tyler Toffoli leads the Sharks with two goals and three points. San Jose began a three-game trip with a shootout loss to the Dallas Stars. Chicago is priced at -185 by the BetUS Sportsbook to win the game outright as the Blackhawks look to beat San Jose for the fifth time in a row.
Bedard had a goal and two assists against San Jose last season and is priced at +174 to have at least two points.
Bet on Connor Bedard to Have 2+ Points (+174)
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3. NHL Parlay Bet for Thursday
There are some intriguing matchups on Thursday that could be part of a three-legged NHL parlay.
The Florida Panthers began a stretch of four games in six days by winning on the road against the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets. After a day off, the Panthers are back on the prowl and are priced at -110 to beat the visiting Vancouver Canucks.
The Nashville Predators and the Edmonton Oilers are the two lowest-scoring teams in the NHL. That is an NHL trend that is unlikely to continue when looking at the star power available to both teams. However, for right now those offensive struggles make it worth taking Thursday’s matchup to go under 6.5 goals.
The New York Rangers topped the visiting Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Monday and Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin each had three points. The teams meet again, this time in Detroit. Go with the Rangers at -145 to make it two wins in a row against Detroit.
Put these three NHL bet predictions together in a parlay bet for a potentially big win.
Bet on NHL at BetUS Sportsbook Online!
Questions Of The Day
How many winless teams are in action on Thursday, October 17?
The Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks are all going after their first win of the season.
Which of Thursday's games has the lowest total?
The matchup between the Dallas Stars and the Washington Capitals has a 5½-goal total.
Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets
