NHL Picks

The Detroit Red Wings are in the middle of a heated playoff race in the Eastern Conference, and they enter Saturday’s matchup against the Rangers in desperate need of a win. Detroit is coming off a 4-2 win against Philadelphia in their last outing, but they had dropped 4 of their previous 5 games before that. The Red Wings have seen their offensive success plummet in recent weeks, and they have a tough assignment going up against New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The 30-year-old netminder isn’t having a Vezina-type season, but he still owns impressive numbers with a .912 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average through 48 games.

The Rangers have struggled to score goals all season long – especially at home. New York is scoring a measly 2.34 goals per game on home ice this season, which is the lowest mark in the NHL. These teams have played twice so far this season, and both games have produced low-scoring results. New York won 4-1 on November 7 and Detroit won 2-1 a few weeks later on November 16. These teams know each other well, and neither offense is in any sort of groove right now. With that in mind, look to the under.

Red Wings vs Rangers prediction: Under 6 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Any Central Division matchup between the top three teams is must-watch television, and the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are facing off on a Saturday afternoon in a possible second-round playoff preview. Both teams have been struggling over their past 10 games, but that’s what happens when the top three of that division have been decided for most of the season. I think both teams will show up to deliver a great game on Saturday.

The Avalanche will be extra motivated to put forth a good effort in this game, as their last game was an 8-6 loss to the league’s worst team, the Vancouver Canucks. The Avalanche put themselves in a hole early, rallied for a three-goal comeback in the third, and then gave it right back to lose in a high-scoring affair. The goaltending has been a massive question mark over the past couple of weeks, and shutting down the Stars would go a long way to ending those fears.

The Stars might be coming off a win, but they’ve been struggling as of late with an injury-depleted group. Tyler Seguin, Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz, Sam Steel, Michael Bunting, and Tyler Myers are all solid pieces of the lineup, and Myers is the only one who might be available for this game. Dallas needs to get a few of these bodies back before their suspected first-round matchup with the Minnesota Wild.

The Avalanche have Cale Makar out for Saturday’s game, but the rest of Colorado’s lineup will find a way to bounce back from their most recent loss. There aren’t many more times this year you’ll be able to get the Avalanche at such a favorable number.

Avalanche vs Stars prediction: Avalanche ML (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number. 

The Boston Bruins have one of the most confusing runs of the season, going through the middle of their toughest stretch. The Bruins have some big wins during that time, beating six teams that are either Stanley Cup contenders or on the cusp of stealing a playoff spot. When people looked at Boston’s upcoming stretch before these games, it looked like the team might be out of the playoffs, but the massive victories only further solidified its spot. The problem is that two of the winnable games in that eight-game stretch against the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers ended as losses, which might’ve stopped any chance of them getting into the top three in the Atlantic Division.

The reason they’ve been performing so well is their goaltending, which still only allowed two goals in their most recent loss to the Panthers. The Bruins’ offense is a bit unreliable, and Sergei Bobrovsky shut the door against them on Thursday night. Boston will run it back with Jeremy Swayman on Saturday, and they hope the offense will give him a bit more support against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The problem is that Andrei Vasilevskiy is going to be the goalie standing across from Swayman. Not only are they former fighting partners on this year’s Stadium Series, but they are also two of the top goaltenders in the league and known for peaking at the right time. Vasilevskiy has been struggling over his last five starts, allowing 14 goals with a .880 save percentage, but a matchup with the Bruins’ offense might be just what the doctor ordered.

Boston had a couple of breakout offensive games before the Panthers loss, but what we saw against Florida might be closer to what we can expect from them. Normally, when the offense goes quiet, they stay quiet for a few games, and we could see another low-scoring Jeremy Swayman masterclass on Saturday.

Bruins vs Lightning prediction: Under 6.0 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number. 

The Buffalo Sabres are set for a road matchup in the nation’s capital on Saturday night when they take on the Washington Capitals. These teams met a few weeks ago on March 12, and Washington walked away with a 2-1 victory. However, this matchup could yield a higher-scoring result. The Capitals are coming off a game in which they allowed a whopping 7 goals to the Devils, and Washington has now allowed 4 or more goals in 4 straight games. The good news is that the Washington offense is firing on all cylinders, scoring 5.25 goals per game over that span.

The Buffalo offense is also in a groove, and the Sabres now rank 7th in the NHL scoring 3.41 goals per game on the season. Tage Thompson leads the charge for Buffalo with 38 goals and 78 points on the season, but it’s the depth scoring that has taken Buffalo to a new level in recent months. Players like Alex Tuch, Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn, and Josh Doan are all steadily chipping in, and all of them now boast at least 47 points on the season. When 2nd and 3rd line players are contributing like that, the Sabres are a tough team to slow down. The over has cashed in 7 of the previous 10 meetings between these teams going back to 2023, and I expect that trend to continue in this one.

Sabres vs Capitals prediction: Over 6.5 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Nashville Predators will take on the San Jose Sharks Saturday night. Both of these teams have 79 points and sit at 8^th and 9^th in the Western Conference. The Predators were one of the hottest teams in hockey a few weeks ago but have now dropped 3 of their last 4 games. The exact opposite can be said for the Sharks. They were in a slump and have now won 4 straight games while averaging 4 goals per game. In their sole head-to-head this season the Predators won by a score of 6-3, but were outshot 30 to 19 with more penalty minutes. This should be a huge game with serious playoff implications.

In looking at the statistics, the Sharks rank 7^th in shooting percentage this season. The Sharks also average slightly more goals per game compared to the Predators. The Predators also give up more power play opportunities which could play a major role against a rolling Sharks team. The Sharks also come into this one with the second best for in the Western Conference over their last 5 games. Overall, I am rolling with the Sharks to extend the streak and get the win.

Predators vs. Sharks Prediction: Sharks ML (-115) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.