Check out our NHL best bets tonight for Tuesday, February 27 – our top hockey picks and predictions.
The Action Network's NHL experts have notched their picks and predictions for tonight's big 12-game slate on ESPN+, which we've also covered extensively with our individual NHL game previews.
For our NHL best bets tonight, we're targeting five games with three moneyline bets and two player props – and two picks have very juicy odds.
Below, check out and tail along with our experts' NHL best bets tonight.
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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. | |
  | 8 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. | ||
Sabres vs. Panthers
By Tony Sartori
There is an Atlantic Division tilt in the early window of Tuesday's NHL slate with the Florida Panthers hosting the Buffalo Sabres. Florida is a massive favorite, priced north of two dollars on the moneyline.
One of the reasons for this long line is that goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is slated to guard the cage for Florida. Bobrovsky is flying under the radar in the Vezina Trophy conversation, but this guy is 28-11-2 this season with a .916 SV% and 2.36 GAA.
He enters this game in particularly dominant form, allowing two or fewer goals in each of his past eight starts. Over that stretch, Bobrovsky is 7-1 with a commanding .947 SV% and 1.61 GAA.
Now, his job is certainly made easier considering that the Panthers are one of the most efficient two-way teams in the league. At 5-on-5, Florida ranks third in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60).
With this combination of strong defensive play and stellar goaltending, the Panthers rank second in goals allowed per game and shots on goal allowed per game. That does not bode well for Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, whom we are fading in this contest.
This really is not too much against Dahlin, who is an exceptional talent, but rather the generous price tag of +150 on his "Under 0.5 Points" prop at DraftKings. With that said, Dahlin has failed to record a point in each of his past two games and in four of his past six.
He has also failed to record a point in 11 of his 16 career games against Florida. Finally, nearly 40% of Dahlin's point production this season has come on the power play.
The Panthers rank sixth in penalty kill percentage.
Pick: Rasmus Dahlin Under 0.5 Points (+140 at DraftKings)
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Hurricanes vs. Wild
By Ryan Dadoun
Carolina is a great team but not a strong road squad, posting just a 15-11-2 record outside of PNC Arena this season. However, my prediction that the Wild will come out ahead tonight is more about Minnesota’s superb recent play than it is about the Hurricanes’ middling showing on the road.
The Wild have won nine of their last 13 contests thanks in large part to their offense coming alive with an average of 4.07 goals over that stretch. They’re led by the hottest top line in the league with Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy supplying 18, 15 and 14 points, respectively, over their last eight games alone.
It is worth noting that Eriksson Ek exited Saturday’s 5-2 victory over Seattle in the third period due to an undisclosed injury, but coach John Hynes said after the contest that the issue isn’t serious, so there’s reason for optimism when it comes to his availability for tonight’s game. With Minnesota still behind the curve in the wild-card race, I believe Eriksson Ek will stay in the lineup if at all possible.
(Hockey fans: Check out the latest developments on the coming launch of sports betting in North Carolina.)
Which leads to another factor worth considering: This is not an important night for Carolina in the grand scheme of things. Meanwhile, the Wild are fighting to squeeze into the playoffs, and the players are aware that there isn’t much time left before the March 8 trade deadline to convince the front office that this year is worth sticking with.
Marc-Andre Fleury, who saved 30 of 32 shots Saturday to earn his fourth win over his past five appearances, will likely be among those dealt away if Minnesota falters over the coming days.
It also helps that Mats Zuccarello has been on fire as well, supplying two goals and 10 points in the last four games, so for as important as Eriksson Ek is, Minnesota has enough hot forwards to be a serious threat without him if put in that position.
BetRivers has the best Wild moneyline odds at +125. We'll take the bet down to +110.
Pick: Wild (+125 at BetRivers)
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Blues vs. Jets
By Greg Liodice
The St. Louis Blues are getting cold at the worst possible time, and they have a daunting test against the strong Winnipeg Jets tonight.
Luckily for the Blues, Winnipeg’s penalty kill has been abysmal in the last 10 games. It’s succeeding at only a 71.4% rate, which is fifth-worst in that period. St. Louis’ power play, on the other hand, is rolling and converting at a 25.6% clip.
Looking at the Blues’ power-play setup, it’s easy to understand why they’ve been so good: They have a ton of firepower. Pavel
Buchnevich is on a tear while Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas continue to register points. However, the one man that I’m looking toward, though, is Jake Neighbours.
The second-year forward is already tied for second in goals with 19 with six of them on the power play. Not only that, but he has led forwards with a 1.077 PDO, and he's sixth in Corsi this month alone.
He’s currently in the middle of a four-game goalless skid, which he’s prone to, but he always finds his way back on the scoresheet. If he continues his play and fires pucks to the net, it won’t be long until Neighbours gets his 20th of the season.
While the Jets are usually pretty good at staying out of the box, no team is perfect. Whether it be on the power play or at 5-on-5 (where they have struggled defensively), I think there’s a good chance Neighbours gets a goal here. Odds of +310 are widely available at the time of this writing.
Pick: Jake Neighbours Anytime Goalscorer (+310 at FanDuel)
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Kings vs. Flames
By Carol Schram
Riding a three-game winning streak and with starter Jacob Markstrom expected back between the pipes, the rested Calgary Flames offer some nice value in a near-pick'em tonight.
Last week, Calgary took down three serious opponents by a combined score of 15-8, beating the Winnipeg Jets and Boston Bruins on home ice and then smacking the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday in the latest installment of the Battle of Alberta. They’ve been off since then while the Kings traveled north and dropped a 4-2 decision in Edmonton on Monday.
Edmonton will be the tired team, and to make matters worse, leading scorer Adrian Kempe left Monday’s game late in the third period after suffering an apparent wrist injury.
The Kings also started their more reliable netminder David Rittich in Edmonton, which means Cam Talbot should draw in against his old team on Tuesday. While he gave up just one goal in each of his last two games – both wins – Talbot’s overall play has slipped after his hot start. Since Dec. 9, he’s 4-9-4 with an .895 save percentage. Over the same period, Markstrom is 13-7-0 and .928.
With trade rumors swirling around Markstrom as well as defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, the Flames have been successfully blocking out the noise.
After the Oilers held a 63% edge over Los Angeles in 5-on-5 expected goals on Monday night, expect the Flames to dish out similar punishment at the Saddledome on Tuesday.
Although the Flames opened as small underdogs, they've now become small favorites as of game day. Still, I think there's value down to -120.
Pick: Flames (-113 at BetRivers)
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Devils vs. Sharks
The Devils looked pretty horrific in both legs of their weekend back-to-back at Prudential Center. There were some audible "Fire Lindy" chants directed at head coach Lindy Ruff, and I can't say I disagree with the Devils faithful.
They now have a perfect get-right spot here against the league's second-worst team, but it might not be as easy as their -260 betting price suggests.
The Devils have scuffled to a 4-6 mark straight up over the last 10 games. A combination of high-end skill and surprisingly strong goaltending has attempted to cover up an overall unsound process, and some "must-win" is definitely being baked into this betting price.
Ruff continues to throw the lines in the blender while hoping something will work out, but everything he has tried of late isn't quite sticking. Some of his key skaters look checked out, and it's probably in part because he has no answers tactically.
Jack Hughes isn't at his best level right now, but more notably, Luke Hughes has fallen into a downright shocking spell of play on the back end.
The Sharks, meanwhile, own a 4-6 mark straight up over the last 10, which actually has made them a profitable bet considering the lofty prices you get to back them. They enter this one off of three fairly ugly losses, but they have still shown enough fight recently that we know they aren't just playing out the season.
I'm pretty shocked that Ruff will remain behind the Devils bench for their California road swing. What won't be surprising is if he's not the coach at the end of it.
Yes, the Devils roster holds elite upside, and they are more likely to win this game than they are to lose it. However, we haven't seen them look like even a marginally organized side recently, and these betting odds revolve way too much around the potential of this roster – and not what it actually is right now.
Pick: Sharks (+225 at Betway)
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