Expert NHL Handicapping Roundup for 1/31/2025

by Ryan Cobbett - 1/31/2025

Expert NHL handicapping roundup Cale Makar Colorado Avalanche

The trade deadline is approaching fast, and teams have less than 32 games remaining on their schedule. In this article we will take a deep dive into all things’ covers by looking at who the best and worst teams are ATS at home and on the road. Then we will go a step further by looking at which division has the best success ATS while also updating you on the 4 Nations Faceoff odds and the Norris Trophy odds as well. Time to make some money.

Doc’s Sports offers NHL expert picks for every game on our hockey predictions page.

Home Heros and Home Woes

As teams pass the 50-game mark on the season, now is a good time to analyze who the top teams are at defending home ice. The Winnipeg Jets are the league’s best team at home as they have gone 20-5-3. The Carolina Hurricanes are right behind them with a 20-5-1 home record. However, the real money has been made by the teams who are cover darlings in front of their home fans. As of now, the Columbus Blue Jackets are the league’s best team at covering the spread at home. The Blue Jackets have covered 72% of their home games this season. The Detroit Red Wings are right behind Columbus as they have covered 19 of their 28 games at home. Backing Columbus and Detroit at home as been a big money-making combo, but there is more money to be made by fading the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche. The Wild are the worst team ATS on home ice as they have covered in just six of their 24 home games. The Avalanche have covered in just eight of their 26 home games. Combined, the Wild and Avalanche have failed to cover in 72% of their home games. It may be safe to stay away from Central Division teams covering at home.

Road Warriors and Road Peasants

It’s not all bad for the Minnesota Wild. They may be the leagues worst team at covering at home, but they are the league leaders in road covers. The Wild have covered 20 of their 28 road games this season which gives them a league best 71.4% Cover% away from home. The Anaheim Ducks are another team that are cover darling away from home. They have gone 17-9 ATS on the road this season. Combined, the Ducks and Wild are 37-17 ATS on the road this season. On the other side of things, there are three teams that have failed to cover double-digit games. The Boston Bruins are the worst team ATS as they have gone just 8-18 ATS. Right on their heels, the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars have struggled at covering on the road. This trio has combined to go just 24-51 ATS on the road this season.

Division of Covers

Continuing the performance ATS trend, the Western Conference divisions seem to be the division making the most money. The Central Division is the worst division the NHL as they have gone a combined 196-212 ATS this season with the Colorado Avalanche performing the worst ATS going 19-33 and the Winnipeg Jets performing the best going just 28-25. The Pacific Division is the league’s best division ATS as they have gone 214-196 ATS as a division. They have three of the top teams in the league at covering with Vegas, San Jose, and Anaheim combining to go 96-61 ATS this season. The only team that does not carry their weight is the Vancouver Canucks who are a Pacific Division worst 21-29 ATS. As for the Eastern Conference, it is much tighter. The Atlantic Division has combined to go just 204-203 ATS while the Metro Division has gone just 204-207.

Norris Race

The tides of the James Norris Trophy race have quietly changed. Cale Makar was once running away with the award, but he now trails Quinn Hughes with Zach Werenski keeping himself within striking distance of grabbing the award. Hughes now finds himself with the best odds at -130 while Makar follows at +210 and Werenski at +370. Hughes now leads all blueliners in points with 58 on 14 goals and a position best 44 assists. Hughes also has the best +/- rating of the trio with his +15 rating narrowly edging Makar’s +14. Though this is not solely an offensive award, it seems to be moving the needle in this race. Werenski has certainly added a multitude of value to his team through his play this season, but he is still a level behind Hughes and Makar, though he does lead the trio in TOI with nearly 27 minutes on the ice each game. Despite the change in the odds, I still Makar will win this award, and he has the highest ceiling of play and it always helps having the weapons he does in front of him and now with plus value, I am all over Makar at +210.

My Pick: Cale Makar, +210

4 Nations Face-Off

The 4 Nations Face-Off featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the USA is just 12 days away and there have been some odd-altering news throughout the last two weeks that has changed the landscape of this Round Robin. When the odds first opened for this tournament, Canada was the heavy favorites, but that has since changed thanks to the strong goaltending performance by Connor Hellebuyck who will be the starting netminder for USA. In addition to Hellebuyck’s elite level of play, his Winnipeg Jets teammate Kyle Connor has been having an incredible year and Jack Eichel and Quinn Hughes have really elevated the outlook of this USA team. They have since become the odds-on favorites to win the tournament at +145 and Canada is right behind them at +155. Outside of the two favorites in this Round Robin, Sweden and Finland have seen their odds affected by injuries. For Sweden, Jacob Markstrom is set to miss the tournament thanks to a lower body injury. Markstrom’s absence does not totally eliminate the Swedes as they will have Filip Gustavsson and Linus Ullmark in the crease. However, as depth is already a question, losing Markstrom could be big. Sweden has the third best odds at +430. As for Finland, they just lost their best blueliner as Miro Heiskanen has been sidelined with an injury after Mark Stone took an unnecessary dive in Dallas’ recent win against Vegas. Finland’s roster was already thing and now losing Heiskanen is a big blow for the Fins. Despite what the odds say, Canada should take home the crown.

My Pick: Canada, +155

Get NHL picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

Expert NHL Handicapping Roundup for 1/31/2025

Most Recent Hockey Handicapping