NHL Tuesday bets: Games to target for goals

Monday night's circled spots for goals went 2-1, and our lottery ticket parlay fell one leg short. Overall, a good start to the NHL week!
We're back on this fine Tuesday with three spots again to target for team totals, goals and points parlays.

Before we get to the games, I'd like to pose a strategy I am considering. I am taking these team totals straight, but there's some merit to parlaying all of these team totals at one goal less than their listed over.
Together, these three would give you +115 odds on DraftKings to all get over 2.5 goals. Worth a thought moving forward.

Let's get to the spots.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa is in my favorite spot of the night. The Lightning are averaging 4.0 goals per game in their past 10 and their past five road games, a top-three mark in the league.

They'll get New Jersey, who are allowing 4.6 goals per game at home in their past five, the third-most in the NHL.

Finding an intersection of two 4.0+ averages is beautiful to see, and makes Tampa Bay a terrific place to start for points and goals.

I'm willing to take these odds straight, but I understand if -140 is too rich for your blood. By all means, find a parlay addition to bring this juice down, or combine my favorites of the day for a better potential payout.

Best Bet: Over 3.5 goals, excluding OT (-140 DK)

You can SGP on DraftKings, and include Tampa moneyline with this total to bring the odds to -125. Alternatively, if you really like this spot for the Lightning, you could take them to go over 4.5 total goals at +150 on DK.

Favorite Goal-Scorer: Brayden Point

Point is rolling for Tampa Bay, with a goal in three straight road games and six of his last 10. He's constantly involved in the offense, and in a game I expect plenty of goals, I'll load up Point for the evening.

Goal odds: +142 (FD)

Pittsburgh Penguins

This is a fantastic spot for Pittsburgh, back at home where their 3.9 goals per game average is the fourth-best mark in the NHL in the last 10 games.

On the other end is rival Philadelphia, one of the softest targets you'll find. The Flyers are allowing 4.2 goals per game in their past five on the road, the third-highest in the league.

Philly also sees plenty of shots against them, and the Penguins have a power play edge that helps the cause for scoring.

Pittsburgh owns the fifth-best power play success rate in their past ten games, and the Flyers deploy the 8th-worst penalty kill.

The Penguins should pile on goals in this one.

This is another with less-than-ideal odds, so feel free to get creative with how you play this. I'm playing it straight.

Best Bet: Over 3.5 total goals, excluding OT (-140 DK)

Favorite Goal-Scorer: Bryan Rust

You can go with Crosby Tuesday night as he tries for goal 500 in front of the Pittsburgh crowd, which I think is a fine option, currently boosted on FanDuel to +200.

I'm going with Rust, who has four goals in his last two home games and 11 goals in his last 10 at home.

He's also the leading man on the Penguins top power play unit, an edge we discussed above.

Goal odds: +142 (FD)

Calgary Flames

Our final target for Tuesday night is Calgary, a team averaging 4.8 goals per game in their last five home games.

That's the third-highest total in the league, and they'll get Columbus, who are allowing 3.3 goals per game in their last ten on the road.

On the season, only two teams are letting in more goals than the Blue Jackets, and considering they also see the third-most shots against them on the road, I expect the Flames to have plenty of scoring chances.

Best Bet: Over 3.5 total goals, excluding OT (-135 DK)

Favorite Goal-Scorer: Elias Lindholm

Lindholm has a goal in four straight, and three straight at home. With four goals in his last five at home, he brings the steadiest production in a game I expect 4-5 goals from Calgary.

Goal odds: +184 (FD)

Closing Thoughts

As I mentioned at the beginning of this piece, there are a few varying angles and strategies you can deploy against thee circled spots.

On DraftKings, you can parlay all three of these teams to score over 2.5 goals at +115. That feels like a safe floor and a bankroll-builder avenue worth exploring.

I'm okay with these bets up to -140, but we may need to get creative if these games continue to be listed at such poor odds.

This approach has been successful so far, which is exciting! I continue to parlay my favorite goal-scorers on the side for a lottery ticket, but haven't had much success there.

Know that these games offer goal-scoring value, and build your own parlays from your favorite players.

My lotto ticket is +1563 on FanDuel Tuesday.

Enjoy the games!