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NHL and College football odds recap for Tuesday, November 3, 2026: what the lines got right and wrong

Published November 4, 2026

Five NHL underdogs won outright on Tuesday night, and the favorites had an even rougher time on the puck line. That's hockey's version of the point spread, almost always set at 1.5 goals. A team "covers" when it beats that margin. A favorite at -1.5 has to win by two or more, and an underdog at +1.5 covers if it wins or loses by just one. Favorites went 6-5 in games they simply had to win, but only 3-8 against the puck line. Over in the MAC, Buffalo pulled off the day's least likely single result. A college game that was expected to be low-scoring finished 19.5 points over the line.

NHL

Most games came with a moneyline, which is a straight bet on who wins with no margin involved. The biggest upset by that measure was Nashville's 4-1 win over Carolina. The Predators closed at +164, which works out to a 36.3% chance once the book's cut is removed. Carolina was a -198 favorite and scored once. Nashville won by three as a +1.5 underdog, so it covered by 4.5 goals.

Winnipeg was the next longest shot to win. The Jets closed at +145 (39.1%) and won 5-4 in Montreal. The Canadiens had been laying 1.5 goals as -175 favorites, so Winnipeg covered by 2.5.

Columbus produced the night's most lopsided cover. The Blue Jackets closed as +105 underdogs at home to Colorado (46.8%), then won 7-2. Taking 1.5 goals and winning by five meant they covered by 6.5, the widest margin on the board. Dallas (-102, 48.3%) and Vegas (-105, 48.9%) also won as underdogs. Both games were close to coin flips, with the favorite barely priced ahead.

The Vegas-Pittsburgh game had the night's only puck line move. A line move is a change in the number between when betting opens and when the game starts. Pittsburgh opened as a +1.5 underdog and closed as a -1.5 favorite, a full three-goal swing toward the Penguins, and the moneyline favorite flipped with it. It didn't work out for that side. Vegas won 3-2, covering by 2.5, so the side the line moved toward lost. The total moved once in hockey, in St. Louis-New York, and that one was right. The total is the combined score the book sets, and you bet over or under it. It dropped from 6.5 to 5.5, and the Rangers won 3-1. Those four goals finished 1.5 under the closing number. New York won as a -120 favorite and covered by 0.5.

The other favorites mostly won without covering. Utah beat Toronto 3-2, Anaheim beat Vancouver 5-4 and New Jersey beat Edmonton 4-3. Each was a one-goal game, so the underdog covered every time. Tampa Bay (4-2 over Detroit at -290, the night's shortest price) and Minnesota (4-2 at Philadelphia) each won by two and covered by half a goal.

The biggest miss on totals was Dallas at Washington. The total was 5.5, and the Stars' 6-5 win produced 11 goals, 5.5 over. Winnipeg-Montreal went over by 3.5 with nine goals against a 5.5 total. Colorado-Columbus and Anaheim-Vancouver each finished 2.5 over. Overs edged unders 6-5, and home teams went 6-5 against the puck line.

College football

Only two games had lines, and the favorites went 0-2 against the spread. Buffalo beat Miami (Ohio) 34-31 as a +215 underdog, a 30.4% chance at the close. The RedHawks were 6.5-point favorites at -265, so the Bulls covered by 9.5. Bettors who expected a defensive game were wrong. The total was 45.5 and never moved, and the teams scored 65, 19.5 over. That was the biggest miss on any total Tuesday, in either sport.

Ohio beat Akron 28-20 as a -485 favorite, a 79.6% chance and the day's heaviest price. But the Bobcats were laying 12.5 points and won by eight, so Akron covered by 4.5. That total did move. It climbed from 49.5 to 52.5, and the teams scored 48, under even the opening number. The line moved the wrong way by 4.5 points.

The long shots

Buffalo was the least likely single winner of the day at 30.4%, just under Nashville's 36.3%. What makes the night stand out is how many upsets came together. The closing lines gave all five NHL underdog winners together about a 1 in 64 chance of winning. As a hypothetical parlay, which is a single bet that needs every leg to hit, those five would have paid +5,027, roughly 50 times the stake. That figure is just to show scale.

Picking the moneyline winner of all 11 hockey games, favorites and underdogs alike, had about a 1 in 1,285 chance. Several of the night's games were priced near coin flips, and enough of them went to the underdog that the full board was very hard to call.

By the numbers

NHL favorites went 3-8 against the puck line, and only Tampa Bay, New York and Minnesota covered.

Columbus covered by 6.5 goals as a home underdog, the widest cover of the night.

Buffalo-Miami (Ohio) went 19.5 points over its total, the day's biggest totals miss.

Pittsburgh's puck line moved three goals in its favor, and the Penguins lost to Vegas anyway.

Five NHL underdogs won, a hypothetical parlay paying +5,027.

I couldn't use web searches for this one, so the story has no outside reporting on injuries, lineups or reactions, and every figure comes from the lines and results you sent.

NHL: every game against the line

Favorites 6-5 straight up, 3-8 against the puck line. Overs-unders 6-5. DraftKings open → close.

College football: every game against the line

Favorites 1-1 straight up, 0-2 against the spread. Overs-unders 1-1. DraftKings open → close.

Lines are DraftKings' opening and closing numbers. Chance is the closing moneyline with the sportsbook's cut removed. Past results don't predict future ones.