NHL Predictions – Expert Picks on Thursday, April 10:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions:
Carolina Hurricanes (-150, 5.5) at Washington Capitals
7 p.m. ET
Tonight will be the Capitals and Alexander Ovechkin’s first game since the “Great 8” broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record of 894 goals. It will be interesting to see how the Caps adjust their style of play. There is no debating that the Washington Capitals players have been more focused on helping Ovechkin break the record than on the final score of the game.
The Caps have had first place in the Metro Division locked up for quite some time. Now it’s time to hit the reset button and play a style of hockey more suited to the playoffs. Injuries are starting to mount in Washington with 30-goal scorer Aliaksei Protas still dealing with a lower-body injury. Number one goalie. Logan Thompson was injured last week against these same Carolina Hurricanes and has missed the past two games, in what head coach Spencer Carbery says is not day-to-day.
That leaves Charlie Lindgren taking over the number one duties with recently recalled Hunter Shepard serving as the backup. Lindgren has given up three or more goals in each of his last four starts and five of his last six. The Capitals have given up three or more goals in eight straight games. Maybe the streak ends tonight against a Carolina team that has lost three straight and has scored a combined four goals. The last time the Hurricanes scored three goals or more, it was against these Washington Capitals. It was in their 5-1 win over Washington just before dropping three in a row.
Carolina opened as a (-120) favorite and has been bet up to (-150). With that, their team total at Over 2.5 goals has moved into the (-190) territory. The (-190) is too pricey for me, so I am going to parlay it with the Sabres/Jackets 1st period Over 1.5 goals and get me some plus money. You could also play Over 3.5 at “plus money.” The Canes have scored four or more goals in their last four wins over Washington and in six of the last eight meetings overall. In their 46 wins this season, Carolina has scored four goals or more 34 times (74%).
Two player props, one from each time on my card for tonight. Both Jackson Blake (Carolina) and Taylor Raddysh (Washington) are playing on their teams’ top line. We are getting great prices on both these players to score a goal tonight.
NHL Predictions: Canes TT Over 3.5/Sabres-Jackets 1st period Over 1.5 +158 – 2 units
Jackson Blake anytime goal +300 – .20 units
Taylor Raddysh anytime goal +500 – .20 units
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Jackets (-145, 6.5)
7 p.m. ET
Leave it to the Buffalo Sabres to play their best hockey when they have been eliminated from the playoffs. Maybe the Sabres need to be told when the season starts that they are 0-14 just to get them going. Buffalo has won five straight with four of the five wins against teams that will be in the playoffs (Carolina, Tampa, Ottawa and Washington). The Columbus Blue Jackets, on the other hand, have been in a major funk for over a month and have gone from holding a wild card spot to being on the verge of officially being eliminated from the playoffs. The Jackets erupted for five goals in their previous game after being blanked in each of their previous two games. The scoring woes have gone even deeper. Columbus has been shut out five times in the last 13 games. Much of their scoring woes have taken place on the road. In their last three home games, we have seen a combined seven, 10 and 12 goals.
The Sabres and Jackets have also been two of the best first period teams to go Over the total of 1.5 goals. Buffalo is 25-12 to the first period Over on the road while the Jackets are 26-11 to the first period Over at home.
One player prop that is on my card for today will be a Tage Thompson anytime goal. Thompson has goals in five straight (8 total). Thompson has 11 goals in 12 games against the Jackets in his career. Teammate Alex Tuch has six goals in his last seven games.
NHL Predictions:
Sabres/Jackets 1st period Over 1.5 (-155) – 1 unit
Sabres/Jackets Over 6.5 (-120) – ½ unit
Tage Thompson anytime goal +140 – ½ unit
Tage Thompson 2+ goals +1000 – .10 unit
Alex Tuch anytime goal +210 – .10 units
Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins (-180, 5.5)
7 p.m. ET
This game is all about the player props. The Bruins’ David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie are on quite a run. Pasta has 11 points in his last three games and has reached the 100-point mark for the third consecutive season. What’s been so impressive to me is that Pasta has factored in 47% of the Bruins’ goals this season (100 points/212 goals), which is a greater percentage than Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon, just to name a few. Geekie is on an eight-game point streak (six goals, nine assists). With both these teams out of the playoffs, I am anticipating a high-scoring game.
NHL Predictions:
David Pastrnak anytime goal (-110) – ½ unit
David Pastrnak Over 1.5 pts +126 – ½ unit
David Pastrnak Over 2.5 pts +420 – .10 unit
Morgan Geekie anytime goal +195 – .10 unit
Morgan Geekie Over ½ assist + 154 – .10 unit
Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars (-125, 5.5)
8 p.m. ET
It will be interesting to see how the Dallas Stars respond after the worst collapse in NHL history giving up three goals in the final minute to Vancouver and then losing 6-5 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks. Winnipeg has won two of the three meetings this season. They are 25-8 against teams with winning records. The Stars trail the Jets by four points for the top spot in the Central Division and will need to win in regulation to have a chance to overtake Winnipeg for the top spot in the Division. Each of the last seven meetings between the teams have gone Under the total. The Jets are 17-4 to the Under this season when facing a division opponent.
NHL Predictions:
Under 5.5 (-110) – 1.5 units
