NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are today’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Boston Bruins (11-8-0) at Montreal Canadiens (10-5-2)
Betting Line: Boston (+135) at Montreal (-160) – Total: 6 Over (-120)
7 p.m. ET
The Montreal Canadiens have lost back-to-back games and four of their last five games (given up 21 goals in the losses), including Thursday’s 7-0 thumping from the Dallas Stars. The 7-0 setback was the most goals given up by the Canadiens when being shut out by the opposition at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens not only lost the game but lost center Alex Newhook for the next four months. The Habs center suffered a fractured ankle in Thursday’s game.
The Bruins will look to rebound from Thursday’s loss at Ottawa that put a halt to their seven-game winning streak and come to the Bell Centre tied atop the Atlantic Division with Montreal and Ottawa. After facing the Leafs and Senators twice each in their last four games, I am sure it will be nice for the Bruins to play against a different team. If history means anything, this is a game that favors the Bruins. The B’s have won five of the last six, eight of the last ten meetings with Montreal.
The Habs have scored four goals or more in seven of their 10 wins and surrendered four goals or more in all seven losses this season. High-scoring games have also been commonplace in Bruins games with eight of their last 11 games going Over the full game total. Boston is 13-6 to the first period Over 1.5 goals. Morgan Geekie has scored the Bruins’ first goal in five of the last nine games, has points in five straight games and nine of the last 10 overall.
Boston’s David Pastrnak has goals in three straight games (four) and assists in back-to-back games (two). He has 20 goals and 22 assists in 32 career games against the Habs. Nikita Zadorov has two goals in the three games he has gone head-to-head with Canadiens’ starting goalie, Samuel Montembeault.
Caufield has three goals in five games vs. Korpisalo and four in seven games vs Swayman. Kirby Dach has three goals in five games on nine shots vs Swayman. He has gone the last two Montreal games w/o a goal after scoring in three straight (four)
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Bruins/Canadiens Over 6 (-120) – 2 units
Regulation Draw (+340) – .10 units
David Pastrnak anytime goal (+130) – .10 units
Morgan Geekie anytime goal (+180) – .10 units
Morgan Geekie to score Bruins 1st goal (+550) – .05 units
Nikita Zadorov anytime goal (+1700) -.10 units
Morgan Geekie point/Charlie McAvoy assist (+176) – .10 units
Cole Caufield anytime goal (+140) – .10 units
Kirby Dach anytime goal (+320) -.10 units
Los Angeles Kings (9-5-4) at Ottawa Senators (9-5-4)
Betting Lines: LA Kings (+100) at Ottawa (-120) – Total 5.5 Over (-115)
7 p.m. ET
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings extended their win streak to three (all on the road), rallying from down 2-0 and 3-2 before Quinton Byfield scored the overtime winner for a 4-3 victory. It was Byfield’s team leading sixth multi-point game of the season and the second consecutive game with a goal and an assist. LA’s 8-1-2 road record trails only the Rangers (8-1-1).
Ottawa is coming off a 5-3 win at home over Boston on Thursday, putting an end to the Bruins seven-game win streak. The Senators have won three of their past four games, and five of their past seven games (two wins, three losses) have gone past regulation. Six of the last nine Senators games have had a combined six goals or more. Ottawa has scored four or more goals in all but two of their nine wins and given up at least four goals in six of their nine losses.
Former LA Kings forward, Michael Amadio, is on a six-game point streak (four goals, two assists. He has four goals in 11 games against his former team. Claude Giroux has recorded points and assists in four of his last five games and has 17 assists and 24 points in 27 games against LA.
The Kings have surrendered four goals or more in eight of their nine losses. Ottawa has flourished in the role as home favorite this season, winning six of nine games in this spot. Tim Stutzle has eight assists in eight games against the Kings. One Senators player who would like to find himself on the scoresheet today is former Kings defenseman Jordan Spence, who was traded to Ottawa in the summer. Spence has one goal and seven points in nine games this season.
LA is 5-2 as the road underdog. Former Sens goalie Anton Forsberg will make his sixth start of the season (2-2-1) and has given up four or more goals in five of his six starts. Kevin Fiala has goals in three straight and four of five games overall and four of his last five against the Senators. For his career, Fiala has six goals and 15 points in his 14 games against the Sens. Alex Laferriere has points in three straight and seven of 10. He also has three goals in four games against Ottawa. The Kings are riding a 10-game point streak (7-0-3) against Ottawa, dating back to Nov. 7, 2019. Two of the last three and three of the last six meetings have gone past 60 minutes.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Ottawa Senators Team Total Over 3 (+105) – 1.5 unit – available at BetMGM
Regulation Draw (+320) – .10 units
Kevin Fiala anytime goal (+195) – .10 units
Byfield/Fiala/Laferriere each to record a point (+318) – .10 units
Stutzle point/Giroux assist (+234) – .10 units
Amadio goal (+525) – .10 units
Jordan Spence anytime goal (+1000) – .10 units
Jordan Spence Over ½ assist (+200) – .10 units
Kings/Senators Over 5.5 (-115) – 1 unit
Toronto Maple Leafs (8-8-2) at Chicago Blackhawks (8-5-4)
Betting Line: Maple Leafs (-135) at Blackhawks (+115) – Total 6 (-110)
7 p.m. ET
On Friday, the Maple Leafs announced that Auston Matthews was placed on injured reserve and goalie Joseph Woll was recalled from their top minor league team, the Toronto Marlies. Matthews was injured in Toronto’s 5-3 loss to Boston and missed Thursday’s game versus the Los Angeles Kings, a 4-3 overtime loss, extending their losing streak to four games. Joseph Woll was activated on Friday from a conditioning stint in the minors and will be making his season debut after missing the start of the season due to a personal matter.
Maple Leafs games have cashed the Over in 13 straight and 16 of 18 on the season. The Over run lines up with two other trends. The Leafs have scored four goals or more in seven of their eight wins this season and given up four goals or more in nine of their 10 losses. William Nylander has 21 points as he is riding a 12-game point streak.
The Blackhawks had their three-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Devils on Wednesday night in what was one of the most exciting games of the season. Connor Bedard scored goals in four consecutive games and has eight goals and 11 assists over a nine-game point streak. He has scored the Hawks’ first goal in each of the last two games and has done so four times this season, which leads the team.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Maple Leafs/Blackhawks Over 6 (-110) – 3 units
1st period Over 1.5 (-145) – 1 unit
Regulation Draw (+340) – .10 units
Bedard anytime goal (+155) – .10 units
Bedard to score Hawks first goal (+470) – .05 units
William Nylander assist/Nick Robertson point (+203) – .20 units
Levshunov Over ½ assist (+154) – .10 units
Bertuzzi anytime goal (+250) – .10 units
Bobby McMann anytime goal (+300) – .10 units
Edmonton Oilers (8-7-4) at Carolina Hurricanes
Betting Line: Edmonton Oilers (+100) at Carolina Hurricanes (-125) – Total 6.5 Under (-125)
7 p.m. ET
The Edmonton Oilers sit 19th in scoring, their lowest ranking since finishing 20th in 2018-19. Tonight, the offense gets a boost with the return of Zach Hyman to the lineup who has been out since suffering a fractured wrist in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final last season against Dallas. The Oilers have cashed the full game total in seven of the last 10 and the second period Over is 14-4 on the season. Edmonton has struggled on the road this season with just three wins in eleven games. The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-3 overtime win on Friday against the Vancouver Canucks and have won five of their last six games. The win though came at the expense of an injury to leading goal scorer, Seth Jarvis. Jarvis was hit in the right eye in a scrum along the boards by the stick of teammate Andrei Svechnikov. Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour says he does not expect Jarvis to be out long term but is questionable for tonight’s game.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Regulation Draw (+340) – .10 unit
Edmonton/Carolina Over 6.5 (-125) – 1 unit
Zach Hyman anytime goal (+190) – .10 units
Zach Hyman Over 2.5 shots on goal (-102) – 1 unit
Jack Roslovic anytime goal (+290) – .20 units
Jack Roslovic Over ½ assist (+162) – .20 units
Buffalo Sabres (5-8-4) at Detroit Red Wings (10-7-0)
Betting Line: Buffalo (+145) at Detroit (-170) – Total 6.5 (-110)
7 p.m. ET
The Buffalo Sabres have dropped five straight and eight of their last nine as they head into the Motor City on the final stop on their four-game road trip. After playing five consecutive overtime games (1 win, 4 losses), the Sabres have been outscored in the past four games, 20-8, losing each game by three goals. That helps to explain why the full game Over has cashed in eight of the last 10 Sabres games, though the first period is only 6-4 in that same stretch. Injuries have hit Buffalo hard, especially at center where they are without Josh Norris and Jiri Kulich. They are also missing forwards Jason Zucker and Zach Benson, but they do get captain Rasmus Dahlin back who had left the team to deal with a family matter. The Red Wings put a halt to a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. Coach Todd McLellan did some line juggling and moved Alex DeBrincat to the top line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. DeBrincat rewarded his coach by scoring a pair of goals in the win (1 empty net) and the line combined for six points (3 goals, 3 assists). I gave out DeBrincat on Thursday for an anytime goal as he now has 7 goals in seven games against Ducks goalie, Lucas Dostal and 18 goals in 20 games against the Ducks. Dylan Larkin has goals in back-to-back games and 19 goals and 35 points in 35 games versus Buffalo. Patrick Kane has 36 points in 32 games versus the Sabres. Lucas Raymond has 16 assists in 17 games versus Buffalo.
Bowen Byram has points in back-to-back games for Buffalo.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Regulation Draw (+370) – .10 units
Red Wings TT over 3.5 (-118) – 1 unit
Patrick Kane point/Lucas Raymond assist (+183) – .50 units
Dylan Larkin anytime goal (+140) – .10 units
Bowen Byram Over ½ point (+120) – .10 units
New Jersey Devils (12-4-1) at Washington Capitals (8-8-1)
Betting Line: New Jersey (+125) at Washington (-145) – Total 5.5 Over (-120)
7 p.m. ET
The New Jersey Devils will be without their leading goal scorer (10) and point producer (20), Jack Hughes. Hughes suffered a hand injury at a team dinner Thursday night and how long he will be unavailable is unknown. The Devils have won three of their last four games with all four going past 60 minutes. New Jersey is 7-0-1 at home but just 5-4-0 on the road. This is the Capitals first game back at home after four on the road where they dropped three of four and have lost seven of their last nine games after opening up the season with six wins in their first eight games. Caps forward, Brandon Duhaime scored the first goal of the game in each of the last three games to close out the road trip. Duhaime scoring in each game on his only shot of the games. Washington is last in the Metropolitan Division and is just 4-4-0 at home. Seven of the last ten meetings and four of the last five in Washington have gone Over the full game total.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Regulation Draw (+330) – .10 units
Duhaime anytime goal (+750) – .10 units
Duhaime to score 1st Caps goal (+2200) – .05 units
Duhaime 1st goal of the game (+3300) – .05 units
Devils/Capitals Over 5.5 (-120) – .50 units
John Carlson Over 2.5 SOG (+195) – .10 units
Simon Nemec anytime goal (+1000) – .10 units
Winnipeg Jets (10-7-0) at Calgary Flames (5-12-2)
Betting Line: Winnipeg Jets (-135) at Calgary Flames (+115) – Total 5.5 Over (-120)
10 p.m. ET
The Winnipeg Jets come into Calgary as a short road favorite coming off a 5-3 loss at Seattle and have now dropped four of their last five games. It’s just the second time this season in nine road games that the Jets find themselves as an Underdog and they lost that one and only game 3-0 to the LA Kings. The Flames are coming off a dominating 2-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday for just their fifth win in 19 games to start the season. Calgary outshot San Jose, 36-17, and if not for the stellar play of Sharks rookie goalie, Yaroslav Askarov, this game would have been a blowout. Still, the Flames have been challenged to score goals, sitting dead last in the league, averaging 2.05 goals per game. Winnipeg has won three straight and five of the last six meetings against the Calgary Flames, scoring 5 goals in four of the five wins.
The Flames have scored four or more goals just twice in 19 games this season and like I did on Thursday, I will play the Flames alternate Team Total (Under 3.5) with the Bruins Team Total (Over 2.5) in two team parlay for plus money.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Regulation Draw (+330) – .10 units
Bruins TT over 2.5/Flames TT Under 3.5 (+140)
San Jose Sharks (8-7-3) at Seattle Kraken (8-4-5)
Betting Line: San Jose Sharks (+125) at Seattle Kraken (-145)
10 p.m. ET
The San Jose Sharks will look to rebound from Thursday’s 2-0 loss to Calgary, which, if not for their goalie, Yaroslav Askarov, the final score would have looked a lot worse. The Sharks were outshot 36-17 and the Flames’ second goal came after Askarov was pulled for an extra attacker with the Sharks looking to tie the game. I am kicking myself for playing the Sharks on the Money Line on Thursday as I got sucked in by the fact that the Flames were a (-160) home favorite and while the Flames don’t warrant being that big a favorite, it was a classic letdown spot for the Sharks who were coming off wins over Colorado, New Jersey, Minnesota, Florida, Winnipeg and handed the Kraken their only home regulation loss (6-1) as part of their recent run. The Sharks Will Smith has four goals in five games in his career versus Seattle.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Regulation Draw (+330) – .10 units
Will Smith anytime goal (+260) – .10 units
