Saturday is a phenomenal day on the sports calendar. The NHL is a significant contributor with a whopping 14-game slate. It all begins at 1 PM ET with an Original Six matchup between the Rangers and Bruins on ABC. The action then goes all afternoon, evening, and night coast to coast. Try to knock out whatever obligations you have and get to your favorite viewing spot for an excellent day and night of hockey.
If you will be tuning in and want to have some action, here are a few betting markets that may be worth considering — with lines and odds courtesy of DraftKings at the time of writing. Also be sure to check out all of our NHL predictions for every game throughout the season, including all 10 matchups in this one.
NHL best bet: Avalanche -1.5 (-120) over Blue Jackets
If taking any Avalanche in a home game feels repetitive, that’s because it is. It is also always for good reason as the Avs have continued to show and prove bettors right. As good as Colorado is as a whole, they are that much better at home. They are now 18-0-2 at home with an average final of 4.70-1.90. After doubling their season regulation loss total with consecutive regulation losses this week, which followed a 10-game winning streak, the Avalanche promptly responded with an 8-2 beat down of the Senators. They look to have bounced back.
Any advantage the Avalanche have is amplified by the poor form in which the Blue Jackets enter this game. Columbus has lost 3 straight games, giving up 5 goals in each loss. If they cannot clean things up in terms of their goal prevention, this could get ugly early. These teams have already met once this year in a game which Colorado won 4-1. This one has a good chance to be yield a similar result on Colorado’s home ice.
Read our full analysis of Saturday’s NHL slate.
NHL best bet: Sabres 3-way ML (+100) over Ducks
Save for perhaps only the team from Colorado discussed above, the Sabres may just be the hottest team in hockey in the past month. Buffalo went on a scorching 10-game winning streak before getting it snapped by a 5-1 loss last weekend. The Sabres flexed some resilience as a team not letting things spiral. Since that loss, they have won their 2 games played by a combined score of 10-5. This team is clicking on both sides of the puck and have picked up right where they left off last week.
It has been nearly the exact inverse for the Ducks. Anaheim has dropped 8 consecutive games and is just 2-10-2 in their last 14 games. They have lost by a score of 5-2 in 3 out of their last 4 games, and allowed 7 goals in the other loss during that stretch. With that, they have allowed an average of 5.1 goals over their last 10 games, and scored just 2.6 goals per game. Buffalo has scored 4+ goals in 5 out of their last 6 games. The pure matchup and recent trends bode very well for the Sabres to stay hot and collect a regulation win in this one.
NHL best bet: Golden Knights -1.5 (+105) over Blues
The Blues beat the Golden Knights last week in a result that is, for all intents and purposes, the outlier considering the strength and pedigree of these teams. Vegas beat St. Louis by a score of 4-1 back in November, and has a good chance to repeat that result. The Blues have become a bit of a soap opera with poor play and some team drama. It has been a tumultuous season for them to say the least. They enter this game having just been run out of the building in Chicago by a score of 7-3.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights sit atop the Pacific over halfway through the season. That is a position to which Vegas is not unfamiliar. They have been one of the more dominant and consistent teams over the past decade. This year is no exception. The Golden Knights hit a recent rut, but have since snapped out of it with consecutive wins entering this one. Vegas gets home-ice advantage in a game which St. Louis will be playing the second of road back-to-backs. This one should be all Vegas and the plus money is great value.
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