NHL Tuesday best bets: Flames to heat up vs. Blues

We have a juicy 10-game slate on Tuesday. Let's dive into our best bets as we look to rebound following a disappointing start to the week.

The Flames took some heat - no pun intended - for a disappointing overtime loss to the bottom-feeding Blackhawks. The frustration is understandable for a team that hasn't lived up to expectations thus far, barely holding onto a wild-card spot in an underwhelming Western Conference.

They know they can't afford to squander opportunities against lesser opponents - as they did Sunday - and I expect that to show in their effort against the Blues on Tuesday night.

St. Louis has struggled mightily to create offense over the last 10 games, ranking 30th in high-danger chance generation at five-on-five. Recent injuries to Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly, and Torey Krug will only make life more difficult offensively - especially against this Flames team.

For all their faults, the Flames are a very strong defensive side. Their blue line is rock solid on paper, and the underlying metrics reflect that. Only six teams have done a better job preventing high-danger chances at five-on-five.

The Flames should be able to bottle up the Blues' offense while generating plenty of chances of their own. At times, the Flames have struggled to generate quality chances with a large number of shots. That has changed of late. In fact, the Flames have been the sixth-most efficient team at creating high-danger chances in the past 10 games.

With more depth and a better process at both ends of the rink, I expect the Flames to bounce back with a win inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Flames in regulation (+100)

The Panthers have real problems. Their offense isn't as potent as it should be, and the team's defensive play continues to get progressively worse.

At five-on-five, only four teams have given up high-danger chances at a higher rate than the Panthers over the past 10 games. The Ducks, Canadiens, and Blue Jackets are among that group; not exactly the company you want to keep.

While the Avalanche have struggled to put the puck in the net at times, generating opportunities is never an issue when healthy. With superstar center Nathan MacKinnon and the underrated Evan Rodrigues recently returning to the lineup, the Avalanche are now much better equipped to make good on their chances.

I don't envision them having too much trouble doing that against Sergei Bobrovsky. His play has really fallen off since leaving Columbus; he just can't seem to find his footing.

Bobrovsky owns a porous .895 save percentage this season. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know poor goaltending, mixed with a lot of chances against, is a recipe for disaster.

I think Florida's undisciplined play is going to be a factor in this game as well. No team has spent more time killing penalties this season, and the Avalanche have a top-tier power play every single year.

I expect that unit to do its part en route to a much-needed victory on home soil.

Bet: Avalanche (-135)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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