Thursday night in the NHL is a busy one with 18 teams hitting the ice, including a rare slate of five 10:00 PM EST games. This night marks two weeks into the 2021-22 NHL Season, which means we are starting to get more details and betting trends on each team – although we still cannot believe how much a few teams are overachieving. Get into the action on Thursday with our NHL betting picks for October 28.
| To Win the Game |  | | To Win the Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | +110 | -130 | Carolina |
| Colorado | -120 | +100 | St. Louis |
| Minnesota | -120 | +100 | Seattle |
| Buffalo | +110 | -130 | Anaheim |
The best game of the night features two Stanley Cup hopefuls clashing in Raleigh. The Hurricanes are following a strong 2021 season with great results early in 2021-22. Boston is once again one of the best-built rosters in the NHL – even if their stars are getting up there in age.
This game is the second part of a back-to-back for Boston. They lost the first leg to – arguably the best team in the NHL the Florida Panthers. Still, there is not too much mileage on Boston yet, as that loss was just their fifth game of the season.
Historically, Boston dominates the Hurricanes. The Bruins are 9-1-0 in their last ten against Carolina – having last played in the first round of the 2020 NHL Playoffs (Boston won 4-1 in the Toronto bubble). Carolina is a better team since their last encounter.
Carolina has won four of five games this season by at least three goals – making Carolina arguably the other best team in the league. Tough two-game, two-day series for the Boston Bruins. Take the great NHL odds and bet Carolina at home.
The Buffalo Sabres are one of the big stories early in the 2021-22 NHL Season, sitting second in the Atlantic with a 4-1-1 record and a +8 goal differential. We like them to improve that record on the road against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.
The Ducks are not a great defensive team this season. They rank 24th in goals allowed and 30th in shots allowed. Buffalo’s offensive is aggressive. The team fires 33.00 shots per game this season and has a power-play scoring rate of 27.78%.
This game is also the first time the Ducks have been favoured all season. As an underdog, the Ducks are 2-5 this season straight-up and 6-1 against the spread. The Ducks are not pushovers but they are also not a great team.
The Sabres also got some news on Jack Eichel. The Golden Knights have expressed interest in the forward. While Eichel is an excellent player, his injury history and relationship with the team may mean it is best for both parties to move on. How does this affect the game?
It seems the coaching is doing a great job focusing on the players they have on the ice and how to maximize their production – which the Sabres are doing well in October. We like the Sabres and their early returns this season.
After a bumpy start to the season – with five straight road games – Seattle is finally at home, losing to the Canucks in the franchise’s first game followed by a Montreal Canadiens beatdown. They will try to hit 2-1 for the home crowd against one of the best road teams in the NHL – the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild are 3-0 on the road this season and 4-1 dating back to last season. Their road defence has been stellar in 2021, ranking fifth in goals and third in shots. However, we are not sure we agree with making the best NHL betting sites making Minnesota road favourites.
We do not think Minnesota’s early-season results are sustainable. Minnesota has won all five of its games this season by one goal. Two of their wins came in overtime.
It is difficult to win consistently on the road, it is nearly impossible to remain undefeated in one-goal games. Last season, the Stanley Cup champs (Tampa Bay) were 12-2-3 in one-goal goals. Minnesota was 15-5-5. We like Seattle as home underdogs in this game.
One of the biggest surprises early in the 2021-22 NHL Season is the St. Louis Blues atop the Central Division and undefeated five games into the season. Their run to 5-0-0 started with a win against the Colorado Avalanche – the prohibitive favourites in the preseason to win the Central.
The Blues host Colorado in their second meeting this season – but even with home-ice on Thursday, we like Colorado to end the Blues streak.
For one, in the Blues’ victory to start the season, the Avalanche were without their best player – Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado is a much better team with MacKinnon in their lineup (what team wouldn’t be).
While the record has yet to reflect his return (Colorado has only one win in four games with MacKinnon), he is rounding back into form with six points in four games. Look for the Colorado Avalanche to outplay the Blues this time with MacKinnon in the lineup.
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