NHL Betting Guide: Lines, Trends & Picks For Tuesday, Jan. 3

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

I hope everyone had a great New Year's, and welcome to 2023! We're making serious bank this year, so either get on board or get out of the way. Today, we have a huge, 11-game NHL slate, 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'll start things off in Los Angeles, where the Kings will be playing host to the Dallas Stars. This is probably the best game of the night, as both teams are pretty evenly matched. Dallas has 52 points in the standings, while L.A. is sitting at 48. The Stars have gotten some excellent goaltending this season, but that was to be expected with Jake Oettinger in net. He's allowing just 2.36 GA/G with a .921 SV%. The offense is doing their part as well, scoring 3.58 goals per game.

The Kings have also had a great season up to this point. They have been an all-around good team, with their offense and defense equally contributing to their record. The offense is scoring 3.2 goals per game and getting 32.5 shots on goal per game; the defense is allowing just 29.0 shots per game. Goaltending has been an issue, with Jonathan Quick not being as quick as he was in his prime, but he's gotten better from the start of the season.

MY PICK: This is another situation where we are going to take the Kings at plus-money. These teams are very even, and I'll take the value with L.A. The Kings are at home, and they can certainly get the job done. You can find them at +110 on the ML at BetRivers at the time of this writing.

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Here is my play for today, using the strategy of taking both teams to go under their maximum goal total in the 1st period (gimmie legs), taking the favorite at their maximum spread, and adding the most likely goal scorer; you can apply this strategy to any game, any night: 

Robertson Anytime Goal
Kings Under 2.5 1P
Stars Under 3.5 1P
Stars +2.5
(OGP odds: +140)

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Next up, we'll head up to Winnipeg, where the Calgary Flames will travel to take on the home Jets. I've talked quite a bit recently about how I love the Flames, and I think they could be in store for a big second half of the season. This is a team that is getting 34.8 shots on goal per game and only allowing 28.0 against. They dominate puck possession, and they have been great in net as well. Calgary allows just 2.95 goals per game while scoring 3.03 themselves. All the signs are there that this is a really good team, they just haven't shown it in the W/L column.

The Jets are a team that I have been fading when I can. I'm not a real believer in them, and there are a couple of reasons why. First off, they are taking 30.1 shots on goal per game but allowing 31.2 per game on their own net. That doesn't play well for the future of the team, and they need to stop relying on their goalies to save them so much. They are allowing just 2.57 goals per game, so they have been getting outstanding play there.

MY PICK: Take the Flames in this one. You can get them right now at -132 on BetRivers. Anything longer than -135 I think is a play on the Flames.

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