NHL Betting Guide: Lines, Trends & Picks For Saturday, Jan. 7

NHL Betting Guide: Today's Lines, Trends & Picks

Today we have a decent-sized, nine-game NHL slate on this super Saturday, and it's the perfect one to start us off in the new year with some big winners. So be ready to make some wagers and let's cash. BetQL subscribers can see more betting trends and all of our best bets with star ratings for every pick.

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We've made it to the first weekend of 2023, and we'll start things off with the early game on Saturday in New Jersey. The Devils will be defending their home ice against the New York Rangers tonight in what should be a great game between two solid teams. New York has been hot lately, winning their last three games in a row. The offense has been great, scoring 3.25 goals per game and getting 32.5 shots on goal each night, both top-10 numbers. The defense has done a good job as well, allowing just 2.68 goals per game and 28.9 shots against. The Rangers are a team to back over the second half.

New Jersey has been on an opposite streak as of late. They have lost three of their last five, and have been on a bit of a downward track over the last few weeks. Still, we can't ignore how good this team can be. They still have some great stats to look at. The offense is scoring 3.38 goals per game and getting 34.7 shots on net per game. The defense is allowing just 2.62 goals per game and 27.1 shots per game. While they haven't been great, this is still a good hockey team capable of winning a lot of games.

MY PICK: Rangers +105. This is a game between two great teams in my opinion that will both make the playoffs, so I'll take the team that is getting the better value on the line. Take the plus-money here.

For our second game of the day, we'll head north of the border to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs will take on the Detroit Red Wings in a game between two teams that have been heading in opposite directions over the last week. Detroit has won three of their last five games, but I'm still not a fan of them. The offense is scoring 3.06 goals per game, while the defense is allowing 3.33 goals per game. By my math, that isn't good. They have also been outshot on an average of 29.7 to 31.5 shots per game.

Toronto has lost three of their last five and hasn't looked very good over the last week or so. However, they still have the numbers to back up being a really good team. Their offense is scoring 3.36 goals per game and getting 31.6 shots per contest as well. The defense is allowing just 2.64 goals per game and 28.4 shots against. This is a very good hockey team, but we have seen from them in the past how they can fail to live up to the numbers.

MY PICK: I'll certainly take the Maple Leafs -1.5 here, as Toronto looks to get back on track. I'm very low on the Red Wings, I think they have been very lucky to have the record they do.

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