NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions and best bets
Montreal Canadiens (44-21-10) at New Jersey Devils (39-34-2)
Canadiens (-120) at Devils (+100) – Total 6.5 (Under, -120)
7 p.m. ET
The Devils have owned the Canadiens recently, winning five straight and 10 of 13, including a 4-3 overtime win back in November. Four of the last five meetings have had a combined seven goals or more. Tonight is the front end of a home-and-home between the two teams as Montreal wraps up their five-game road trip. The two will meet again on Sunday at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Habs are riding a seven-game winning streak and the Devils are coming off a 7-3 pounding of the Caps but have traded wins and losses over their past four games.
I am staying away from picking a winner in this game. I will pass on the total as well. This is Saturday Night, and that means it’s all about “Mr. Saturday Night,” Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs forward is one shy of becoming the first Montreal Canadiens to score 50 goals since Stephane Richer (1989-90). Caufield has goals in four straight overall, goals in seven of the last eight Saturdays.
Caufield has found the back of the net on 12 of the 21 Saturdays this season. He has scored two goals or more six times on Saturdays, including two hat-tricks. Of the twelve Saturdays that he has scored, six times he scored the Montreal Canadiens’ first goal of the game. Lastly, Caufield has registered three shots on goal or more in 14 of the 21 Saturdays. He has registered at least four shots on goal on only nine Saturdays this season. Juraj Slafkovsky is one goal shy of 30.
The Devils’ Jack Hughes has points in four straight versus the Canadiens and seven of the last nine games against Montreal. Six of the seven games were multi-point games. Hughes has four shots on goal or more in four consecutive home games against the Canadiens.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Cole Caufield anytime goal (+132) – 2 units
Cole Caufield 1st Montreal goal (+450) – .05
Cole Caufield 2+ goals (+750) – .05
Cole Caufield 3+ goals (+3500) – .05
Caufield/Suzuki/Slafkovsky point parlay (+108) – 1 unit
Juraj Slafkovsky anytime goal (+195) – .10
J.Hughes/Caufield/Celebrini (SJ) each Over 2.5 SOG (+154) – 2 units
Buffalo Sabres (46-22-8) at Washington Capitals (38-29-9)
Sabres (-110) at Capitals (-110) – Total 6 (Over, -130)
7 p.m. ET
Buffalo is coming off a disappointing 4-1 loss to an Ottawa Senators team that was without half their blueline. The Sabres have lost four of the last six and are tied with Tampa for top spot in the Atlantic Division, with the Tampa Bay Lightning who own the tiebreaker. The Caps have won three of their last four, and all four of those games have flown over the full game total. Seventeen of the last 20 head-to-head meetings have had six goals or more. The Sabers’ Tage Thompson has points in eight of his last 10 games versus Washington, and the Capitals’ Tom Wilson has points in seven of the last eight meetings with the Sabres.
Alexander Ovechkin has four goals in six games against Sabres expected starting goalie, Alex Lyon. Dylan Strome has four goals in five games versus the Sabres netminder. Alex Tuch is one goal shy of 30 on the season. It appears that Josh Doan will get a bump to the top line and has great value for an anytime goal.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Buffalo Sabres ML (-110) – 1 unit
Alexander Ovechkin anytime goal (+160) – .05
Dylan Strome anytime goal (+320) – .05
Wilson/Thompson point parlay (+143) – 1 unit
Alex Tuch anytime goal (+245) – .05
Josh Doan anytime goal (+320) – .10
New York Islanders (42-30-5) at Carolina Hurricanes (48-21-6)
Islanders (+205) at Hurricanes (-255) – Total 6 (Over, -125)
7 p.m.
The Islanders are coming off a 4-1 loss at home on Friday to the Philadelphia Flyers and have seen their lead over the Flyers and Blue Jackets for third place in the Metro shrink to a single point. Interesting trend: the Islanders who are (5-10) on the front end of back-to-backs, but 9-5 on the back end. Ilya Sorkin got the start on Friday but did not play the final 7:30 as Patrick Roy pulled his netminder for the extra attacker. Somehow, the Flyers couldn’t score in the empty net.
The Canes have won three of their last four meetings overall against the Islanders and three straight on home ice. Carolina has covered the puck line in each of their last four wins over the Islanders. My one concern in backing the Canes is that they have the Division wrapped up; where is the motivation to win today? There is no question the Islanders should be the hungrier team and are in more of a “must-win” situation. Must win, though, doesn’t mean they will win.
There are some player props that interest me. Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov has goals in three straight and four goals in seven games against the projected starting goalie, David Rittich. Sebastian Aho is riding a four-game assist streak, and Nikolaj Ehlers has points in seven of his last 10 games. On the Islanders’ side, Matt Barzal is on a three-game assist streak and has 14 assists in 23 career games versus Carolina. Bo Horvat has 23 points in 25 games against the Canes.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Andrei Svechnikov anytime goal (+220) – .10
Aho assist, Ehlers point, Svechnikov point parlay (+249) – .50
Horvat/Barzal point parlay (+146) – .25
Jordan Staal anytime goal (+350) – .05
Utah Mammoth (39-30-6) at Vancouver Canucks (22-45-8)
Mammoth (-220) at Canucks (+180) – Total 6 (Over, -125)
7 p.m. ET
Utah/Arizona have won six straight over the Canucks. Vancouver returns home from a four-game road trip, and although they won just once, it was a huge upset win over the Colorado Avalanche. The Mammoth are coming off back-to-back wins over the Kings and the Kraken, putting up a six-spot in both wins.
Utah’s Logan Cooley has goals in three straight and three of the last five meetings against Vancouver. Dylan Guenther has four goals in nine games against the Canucks. Vancouver’s Jake DeBrusk has goals in back-to-back games, three of the last five and sits two goals shy of his fifth 20-goal season. The Mammoth have cashed the first period Over 1.5 goals in nine straight.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Cooley anytime goal (+185) – .25
Utah Team Total Over 3.5 (-124) – 1 unit
Guenther anytime goal (+140) – .10
Jake DeBrusk anytime goal (+260) – .05
Utah/Vancouver 1st period Over 1.5 (-140) – .50
Toronto Maple Leafs (32-31-13) at Los Angeles Kings (30-26-19)
Maple Leafs (+150) at Kings (-182) – Total 5.5 (Over, -135)
7 p.m. ET
The Los Angeles Kings find themselves out of the playoffs when they hit the ice tonight at home to the Maple Leafs. The Leafs were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday, losing 4-1 to San Jose and ending the longest current NHL playoff streak (nine consecutive seasons). The Kings have been a bet-against team at home this season with just 11 wins in 37 games.
The Maple Leafs have won four of the last six meetings between the two teams, with the Kings winning the only match this season, 4-3 in overtime. LA is coming off a 5-4 shootout loss to Nashville on Thursday, and in the process tied an NHL record with their 30th overtime game of the season. It was the fifth time in the last eight games the Kings have gone past regulation.
Let’s talk about player props. The Leafs’ John Tavares has goals in back-to-back games (both Toronto’s first goal) and five of his last seven games overall and against the Kings. He is also one shy of his fifth consecutive 30-goal season and 10th of his career.
On the Kings side, I will come back with my favorite point parlay with Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar. Kempe has points in 13 of his last 16, and Kopitar has points in three straight and eight of his last 11 games.
Tonight is also the first time former Maple Leaf Scott Laughton will face his former team. I will sprinkle on him for an anytime goal. Trevor Moore has had at least three shots on goal in 14 of his last 17 games, and the Maple Leafs give up more shots on goal than any other team in the NHL
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Over 5.5 (-135) – 1 unit
Draw (+310) – .05
Maple Leafs ML (+150) – .25
Laughton anytime goal (+450) – .05
Tavares anytime goal (+220) – .25
Tavares 1st Leafs goal (+600) – .05
Kempe/Kopitar point parlay (-106) – 1 unit
Trevor Moore Over 2.5 shots on goal (-135) – 1 unit
Nashville Predators (35-31-9) at San Jose Sharks (36-31-7)
Predators (-102) at Sharks (-118) – Total 6 (Over, -130)
10 p.m. ET
The Sharks currently sit in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, tied in points with San Jose and LA but have played one fewer game. The Preds have won 14 straight against the Sharks, and while I do think San Jose is in a good spot, I will look to both teams to score two goals as part of a parlay.
But the best bet for this game is on Filip Forsberg of the Predators. The Nashville forward has goals in back-to-back games and six of his last nine overall but it’s his head-to-head numbers that jump off the stat sheet. Forsberg has goals in six straight and seven of his last eight against the Sharks. He scored in each of his last four meetings at the Shark Tank.
I will also come back with Zachary L’Heureux, who I gave out on Thursday in LA to score a goal. He is on the top line with Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos.
On the San Jose side, I already have Macklin Celebrini in a shots on goal parlay (see Canadiens/Devils game). Give me Adam Gaudette, who has goals in two of his last three games and goals in back-to-back games against the Predators. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov has an assist in four consecutive games.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Gaudette anytime goal (+700) – .05
Orlov Over ½ assist (+158) – .10
Forsberg anytime goal (+155) – 2 units
Vegas Golden Knights (34-26-16) at Edmonton Oilers (39-28-9)
Golden Knights (-110) at Oilers (-110) – Total 6.5 (-110)
10 p.m. ET
The Golden Knights are 2-0 under John Tortorella, but those were wins over a pair of bottom feeders in Vancouver and Calgary. Tonight, they travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers, who have won all three meetings this season against the Knights.
Edmonton will be without Zach Hyman tonight, so Ryan Nugent Hopkins will join Connor McDavid and Matt Savoie on the top line. McDavid had his five-game goal streak snapped earlier this week against the Blackhawks. He has a pair of goals against the Knights this season and has had at least two points in all three games. With Nugent-Hopkins playing alongside McDavid on the top line and the top power play, give me his Over 1.5 points prop as well.
My best bet for this game is the Oilers team total Over 3. The Oilers have scored four goals in all three games this season against Vegas. The Knights Mitch Marner has had two points or more in four of the last five and six of the last eight games he has played against Edmonton.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Oilers Team Total Over 3 (-134) – 2 units
Marner Over 1.5 points (+172) – .25
McDavid anytime goal (+120) – 1 unit
McDavid Over 1.5 pts (-128) – .50
Nugent-Hopkins Over 1.5 pts (+260) – .25
Savoie anytime goal (+260) – .05
Jason Dickinson anytime goal (+550) – .05
Best of the Rest:
Florida, Pittsburgh, Nashville, San Jose, Vegas, Edmonton all 2+ goals (+207) – 1 unit
