Check out our NHL odds with our expert picks and predictions for the Canadian Thanksgiving slate on Monday, October 14.
With today's holiday, the NHL action kicks off early with games beginning at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT). However, for our NHL best bets today, we're targeting some of the action later in the evening.
Our hockey pros dove into the NHL odds today for their top picks and predictions for Penguins vs. Canadiens (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+) and Islanders vs. Avalanche (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
Below, check out the latest NHL odds and best bets, including a player prop and a game prop, for today's games.
NHL Odds & 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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:30 p.m. | |
  | 9 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. | ||
Penguins vs. Canadiens
By Greg Liodice
After setting career highs in every category last season, Nick Suzuki has been held goalless through three games.
The Montreal Canadiens captain is going to get his fair share, but he’s a little snakebitten. He’s averaged 2.6 shots per game so far, which is fine, but he’s currently not ranking favorably analytically.
Suzuki is having a hard time generating pucks on net, ranking bottom five on the Canadiens in attempted shots, and his expected goals of 0.99 is seventh worst.
His partner in crime, Cole Caufield, isn’t much better at either of those categories, but Caufield – armed with a deadly shot – has scored in each game played.
Here’s the thing, though: Suzuki’s due for some positive regression. He, Caufield and linemate Juraj Slafkovsky rank among the highest among Montreal forwards in PDO at over 1.16. It’s obviously a small sample size, but the time will come for Suzuki.
Tonight, the Canadiens (+120) will play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins (-140), who haven’t been the benefactor of a whole lot of good fortune lately. They got smoked against the Rangers, won in Detroit, and then suffered against Toronto.
They also come into town wielding a third-worst 4.04 xGA/60 and have a team save percentage of .881, which is a recipe for disaster for players looking to get out of a slump.
I wonder if we see Tristan Jarry, who hasn’t seen the ice since the opening night throttling in New York. Either him, or we see Joel Blomqvist, who gave Pittsburgh its first win last week.
Either way, with the state of the Penguins, I can see a player such as Suzuki taking advantage of their vulnerabilities.
Greg's Pick: Nick Suzuki Anytime Goalscorer (+210 at ESPN BET)
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Islanders vs. Avalanche
It goes against the DNA of the Colorado Avalanche to play a safe, structured style of hockey, but sometimes it behooves a team to abandon its identity, even if it's for just one game. You could argue the time has come for the Avs to do just that on Monday.
Colorado is 0-2 on the season and has shipped 14 goals already. Colorado has scored eight themselves, but even that hasn't been enough to make up for some shoddy goaltending from Alexandar Georgiev.
Already a mercurial netminder, Georgiev has conceded eight goals on the first 25 shots he's faced this season and has been pulled in both contests. His replacement in both contests, Justus Annunen, hasn't been great either and has played just 20 NHL games in his career. The Avs could also turn to journeyman Kaapo Kahkonen, but his career numbers paint him as a backup at best.
In other words, the goaltending situation in Colorado is murky at best right now, and you'd imagine that the Avs want to do everything in their power to protect whoever is in the blue paint on Monday and try to build their confidence.
So perhaps it's fair to expect the Avs (-155) to shift down a couple of gears – especially out of the gates – against the New York Islanders (+135) in tonight's matchup.
That would be music to the Isles' ears; they know their best chance in this game is for it to be an ugly, low-event affair.
All of this adds up to a decent recipe to take a shot on the first period to end nil-nil at a solid price.
Michael's Pick: 1st Period – Under 0.5 Goals (+370 at DraftKings)
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