NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Buffalo Sabres (+140) at Montreal Canadiens (-165)
Total 6 (Over, -120)
Canadiens lead series 3-2
8 p.m. ET
There is no better place to be on a Saturday night in the Stanley Cup playoffs than the Bell Centre in Montreal. A win tonight for the Canadiens will earn them a trip to the Eastern Conference Final and a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. Tonight marks the first Saturday game for the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup playoffs, who played on every Saturday during the regular season, and no Canadiens player enjoyed more success on Saturday than Cole Caufield, who earned the nickname, “Mr. Saturday Night”. The Habs leading goal scorer with 51 goals this season scored 21 of them on Saturdays (you can view a chart of Caufield’s Saturday night success here). After scoring just one goal in the first nine playoff games, Caufield has found the back of the net in each of the last three games. He does have a two-goal game against the Sabres this season that came on a Saturday (January 31).
Game Five in Buffalo on Thursday had a wild opening 20 minutes that saw the teams combine for five first period goals, including three goals in 83 seconds and two goals in nine seconds. But after struggling through the first period, Montreal’s Jakub Dobes shut the door for the final two periods, turning back all 27 Buffalo shots that came his way. At the other end of the ice, Buffalo goalie Ukka-Pekka Luukkonnen, who was solid in the Sabres’ Game Four victory, struggled in Game Five and was chased out of the net after giving up five goals on 23 shots. Alex Lyon, who started the first three games of the series, played the final 20 minutes of game three and is expected to start tonight’s game six.
I am going to stay away from picking a winner, but I will grab the Canadiens team total Over 3.5 goals. I do think the Canadiens win tonight, but instead of playing them on the money line, I will play their team total Over 3.5. Montreal has scored five goals or more in each of their three wins in this series, and we are getting a better price on their team total as opposed to playing them to win the game outright. I will once again be on the full game Over 6 (cashed in 12 of the last 13 meetings) and the first period Over 1.5 (cashed in all five games of the series).
On to the player props. As I mentioned, the Canadiens Cole Caufield loves playing on Saturday night, and I will be on his anytime goal prop as well as sprinkling on Caufield to score two goals and three or more goals. His teammates, Jake Evans and Alex Newhook, have scored points in four consecutive games. Newhook had gone four consecutive games with four or more shots on goal, but was held without a shot on goal in Game Five. His three-game goal streak also came to an end. The Sabres’ Josh Doan (two goals and five assists) leads the Sabres in points in this series and is riding a six-game points streak. Rasmus Dahlin has an assist in each of the last three games and has had at least three shots on goal in eight of his last 10 games. Rookie Konsta Helenius has been a presence since being inserted into the lineup in game four. He scored a goal in Game Five and has had a combined five shots on goal in the two games.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Sabres/Canadiens Over 6 (-120) – 2 units
1st Period Over 1.5 (-132) – 1 unit
Konsta Helenius anytime goal (+625) – ¼ unit
Konsta Helenius Over ½ assist (+425) – ¼ unit
Doan point/Dahlin assist (+216) – ½ unit
Rasmus Dahlin 3+ shots/Caufield 3+ shots (+128) – 2 units
Cole Caufield anytime goal (+135) – 1 unit
Cole Caufield 2+ goals (+800) – ¼ unit
Cole Caufield 3+ goals (+4500) – .10 units
Alex Newhook Over ½ point (+120) – ¼ unit
Jake Evans Over ½ point (+180) – ¼ unit
