Here are my NHL Best Bets for Saturday, Jan. 13 – my expert predictions and picks.
It's one of the NHL's super Saturday slates. The day offers a massive NHL slate with 16 hockey games featuring all 32 teams in action.
However, I've narrowed in on three games and three picks, including two underdog plays, for the daylong hockey marathon on ESPN+.
Check out all of the picks and analysis with my favorite plays below.
NHL 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. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 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. | ||
Kings vs. Red Wings
Despite the Los Angeles Kings entering this matchup amid a seven-game losing skid, their recent play has been considerably better than that of the Detroit Red Wings.
This game sets up as a great spot for the Kings to get right as a result – and for bettors to buy low an elite roster that has proven itself consistently over the last two regular seasons.
The Kings' skid has featured only one multi-goal loss, and four coming past regulation in the novelty settlements, including a shootout loss to the Red Wings on Jan. 4 in which they were clearly the better side.
Close losses to high-quality teams such as Vegas, Florida and Edmonton have also helped make their recent play seem way worse than it is.
Often, when we see this kind of a slump from a proven roster playing at full health, it coincides with a shooting slump. After all, hockey is a very high-variance sport, and even relatively uncompetitive games can come down to whether or not a few key chances are finished.
The Kings have shot at just 5.95% over the last 10 games, which is a completely unsustainable mark.
They have not suppressed the opposition defensively at quite the same level we have traditionally seen, particularly off the rush. However, if they were finishing at simply a league-average rate, we probably would not even be discussing their small drop-off in form defensively. The talent on the Kings roster – and a larger sample of play – suggest this is merely a hiccup for an elite side.
While the Kings look like a legitimately good team scuffling through a tough stretch, the Red Wings appear to be just a legitimate non-playoff team that managed to run with some good luck early on this year. Since the Red Wings suffered through a tough roster situation recently and are now playing at full strength, I will include a larger sample of their play to get a picture of what they are at full health.
In the last 20 games, they own an expected goal differential of 45.93%, with a goal differential of -8. They have put up a record of 9-9-2 in that time.
The Kings deserve to be a bigger favorite in this Saturday-night spot, and anything better than -160 is a play for me.
Pick: Los Angeles Kings ML (-170)
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Penguins vs. Hurricanes
Throughout coach Rod Brind'Amour's tenure, the Carolina Hurricanes have won at a greater-than-100-point pace each season, and they've been a picture of consistency.
Considering Brind'Amour has been afforded arguably the best roster of his tenure this season, it's no surprise that his side has consistently controlled play at an elite level.
The problem is, the Hurricanes have received some of the league's worst goaltending this season. Over the entirety of the season, only the Devils own a lower team save percentage than the Hurricanes' mark of .882.
As goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov's play stabilized of late, the Hurricanes went on a tear with wins in five of six games. Unfortunately, Kochetkov was injured Thursday against Anaheim, which adds a significant layer of volatility to this game since Antti Raanta will likely make the start.
(North Carolina sports betting will soon be here. Learn more about how hockey fans can wager in The Tar Heel State.)
Raanta has struggled to an .862 save % this season with a GSAx rating of -9.1 across ten appearances.
The Penguins, meanwhile, have been playing at a high level, and they have more than earned their 8-3-2 record over the last 30 days.
In those matchups, the Pens own an expected goals rating of 58.62%, which ranks fourth league-wide. They have been particularly strong in their ability to generate quality chances, with a 4.02 xGF/60.
The Penguins' high-powered offense should offer some tough questions for Raanta, who has been one of the league's worst netminders this season. Even if Raanta can build upon his strong outing versus St. Louis, though, I expect the Penguins to own enough of the play to be live at +130.
Backing the Pens at anything better than +120 provides value in this spot.
Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins ML (+130)
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Kraken vs. Blue Jackets
This is the definition of a sell-high spot for the Seattle Kraken, who have received unsustainably strong goaltending from Joey Daccord over their eight-game winning streak.
They own a team save % of .967 in those wins, which has helped hide a relatively modest control of the overall play.
The reality is the Kraken were never as bad as they looked early on, and they aren't as good as they look right now when Daccord is saving essentially every puck coming at him. Looking away from the analytics, it's plain to see that the Kraken are not blowing teams out of the water right now.
Analytically speaking, that take is even less debatable as the Kraken own just a 47.7% expected goals rating over their eight-game winning streak.
No one is trying to tell you the Blue Jackets are playing overly well, but they are playing well enough to make this game competitive on home ice. Since the start of December, Columbus has battled through a nightmare schedule, and they have quietly played close in a ton of tough spots while collecting wins in the more manageable outings.
The Blue Jackets could actually be a team that posts surprisingly reasonable play in an easier scheduling stretch in the season's back half. Cole Sillinger is finally playing to his potential, and the team is finally finding a little more consistency with its even-strength lines.
I'll bet the Blue Jackets surprise some people and make this matchup more competitive than this matchup suggests, and +135 is a good price to sell high on the Kraken.
Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets (+140)
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