NHL Predictions – Expert Picks on Wednesday, April 9:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions:
Philadelphia Flyers at NY Rangers (-185, 5.5)
7 p.m. ET
The Rangers have been in a free fall for the past month, losing 12 of their last 16 games. They have been all but eliminated from hockey’s second season as they sit eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with just five games left. The Blue Shirts have lost consecutive games and have been outscored 9-1. Tonight’s opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers, have looked like a different team since Brad Shaw took over from the fired John Tortorella. Philadelphia has scored 17 goals in the four games under their new head coach, going 3-1 in the process. The 17 goals scored matched their total from the previous nine games before Shaw took over behind the bench. Jonathan Quick will get the start in goal tonight for the Rangers. Quick has given up three goals or more in each of his last six starts against the Flyers. The Rangers have given up three or more goals in eight of their last 10 games overall.
A couple of Flyers player props that caught my eye for tonight. Travis Konecny is on a four-game assist streak (six total). Noah Cates has two goals in the three games he has faced Jonathan Quick.
NHL Predictions:
Flyers Team Total Over 2.5 (-110) – 1 unit
Travis Konecny Over ½ assist (+132) – .20 units
Noah Cates anytime goal +390 – .20 units
Calgary Flames (-155, 6.5) at Anaheim Ducks
10 p.m. ET
The Calgary Flames have little margin for error to reach their goal of punching a ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Calgary trails the Minnesota Wild by four points with five games remaining on the Flames’ schedule (Minnesota has four games remaining on their schedule). Let me do the math for you. If the Wild earns four of the possible eight points available to them, the Flames will need to win out. Calgary has won all three meetings against the Ducks this season, and all three games have had a combined five goals.
With the expectation that Anaheim will start Ville Husso tonight ahead of Lukas Dostal and John Gibson, the total in this game has gone from 5.5 to 6.5. Husso has a 1-6 record this season and a goals against average of just under four, but he is 3-0 lifetime against the Flames with a 1.80 goals against average and a save percentage of .950. Calgary will counter with rookie sensation, Dustin Wolf. I was on the “Under” when it was at 5.5, and I will gladly take the extra goal and play Under 6.5. I have two trends that support the game going under the total. Of the 23 games Calgary has played within the Division, 19 of them have gone Under the total. The Ducks are coming off a victory over the Oilers on Monday and are 19-9 to the Under after a win this season.
NHL Predictions:
Under 6.5 (-120) – 1.5 unit
St. Louis Blues at Edmonton Oilers (-120, 5.5)
10 p.m. ET
The Blues are getting hit hard by both pros and joes driving the line from Edmonton (-140) down to (-120). According to our NHL betting splits page at VSIN.com, the St. Louis Blues are taking in 64% of the bets and 96% of the money. With the Oilers still without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, I was surprised to see that the Oilers were the betting favorite when the odds were first posted. Minus their two superstars, Edmonton is struggling to produce offense, and they are without top defenseman Mattias Ekholm and goalie Stuart Skinner. This was supposed to be a homecoming for former Oilers Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, but it will only be Broberg who will face his former team with Holloway still out with an injury. The Blues’ Robert Thomas remains on fire with 16 assists and 20 points in his last eight games. Pavel Buchnevich has scored goals in three consecutive games.
NHL Predictions:
Pavel Buchnevich anytime goal +260 – .20 units
Robert Thomas Over 1.5 points +240 – .50 units
Philip Broberg +1100 anytime goal – .10 units
St. Louis Blues ML (-102) – 1.5 units
Jimmy Snuggerud anytime goal +380 – .10 units
