What: Best bets and picks for NHL games
When: Friday, November 8, 2024
There are four games on tap on the NHL schedule for Friday. We’ve checked the current NHL odds and selected the NHL bets worth taking. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump right into our betting predictions.
The Wild are playing the second game of back to backs. Minnesota were easy 5-2 winners at San Jose over the Sharks on Thursday.
Minnesota has also been living the high life in this series. The Wild have won 15 of the last 16 meetings with the Ducks. At Anaheim, the Wild have won eight in a row straight up and were victorious in 10 of their last 11 visits there.
Overall Minnesota is 4-1 in the past five games and 6-1 over the club’s last seven road games.
If you’re looking at player prop possibilities, Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov is on fire. With three assists in Thursday’s win Kaprizov was extending his road game multi-point streak to seven games. He’s two games shy of equaling Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of nine games, set in 1990-91.
The best bet for this game, though, is the Wild in the puck line at -1.5. Minnesota is 5-1 against the spread in the team’s last six games at Anaheim. Take the Wild in the puckline in Friday’s NHL picks.
Toronto captain Auston Matthews (upper-body injury) is an uncertain starter. On the surface, that should matter. He has scored 17 goals in 24 games against Detroit, The underlying numbers suggest dismissing this notion, however. The Leafs are a solid 36-19-2 without Matthews in the lineup. They blanked Boston 4-0 without Matthews earlier this week.
Toronto forward William Nylander leads the NHL with 10 goals. Detroit captain Dylan Larkin leads the NHL with five power-play goals.
Detroit has won two in a row while allowing just one goal against in each game. The Red Wings have also won three in a row SU at Scotiabank Centre. However, prior to that run of success, Detroit dropped 10 in a row at Toronto. With or without Matthews, go for the Leafs in the moneyline in your Friday NHL picks.
It’s the 70th career meeting between the opposing captains – Sidney Crosby of the Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals. If you’re keeping score at home, Sid leads Ovi 40-25-4 in the all-time series.
 | Puck Line | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +1.5 (-160) | +158 | O 6.5 (-112) |
| Washington Capitals | -1.5 (+135) | -183 | U 6.5 (-108) |
While Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky’s NHL career goals record of 894 appears to have fired up the Capitals, Crosby and the Penguins are looking like a tired, old bunch. Pittsburgh was whipped 5-1 on the road by the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
Pittsburgh has netted a meager seven goals over the club’s past four road games. At the same time, the Penguins have given up at least four goals in six successive away contests, all of them losses.
Overall, Washington is 4-1 SU in the past five games. At home, the Capitals are even more dominant, with seven successive victories on their current streak. Go with Washington in the moneyline for your Friday NHL picks.
A top contender in the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup odds, Vegas is atop the Pacific Division standings. The Golden Knights are coming to Seattle off their first road win of the season, a solid 4-2 verdict over the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers.
Vegas has won six of the past seven games. Golden Knights captain Mark Stone has seven points over his past five games. He’s tied for fourth in the NHL in scoring with 21 points.
The Golden Knights suit up the NHL’s No. 3 power play unit, tallying at a 33.3% rate. On the other hand, Seattle is 18th on the penalty kill at 77.8%. Overall, Vegas is second in the NHL with a goals per game average of 4.46. Seattle (2.79) ranks 21st in this category, as well as 19th (3.21) in goals against per game.
| Puck Line | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas Golden Knights | -1.5 (+178) | -140 | O 6.0 (-120) |
| Seattle Kraken | +1.5 (-215) | +120 | U 6.0 (EVEN) |
Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour has five points in the past four games. That includes his first career NHL hat-trick. The Kraken have lost four in a row. Seattle was shutout twice in that span and held to one goal in another of the losses.
The Golden Knights have won five of six from Seatle. Vegas is 5-1 in the last six games at Seattle. The only loss came in 2024 when the two clubs met outdoors at T-Mobile Park in the NHL’s Winter Classic. The best on this game in your Friday NHL picks is Vegas in the moneyline.
NHL betting doesn’t get much better than one of the bookmakers in the table below. Why? Because any of these sites offers the full gamut of hockey bets under one roof — and at Vegas-like prices too. You don’t have to jump from site to site to get action at the best odds.
In case you’re on the fence about betting online over, say, in-person, then we can assure you these betting sites are as safe as they come. We’ve reviewed each (links are in the table), and each of these five check out in the trustworthiness department.
