Saturday in the NHL brings another slate of can’t miss hockey. There are 18 teams in action over 9 games beginning at 1 PM ET. Not one game on this slate is inconsequential as no matchup is made of two teams being out of playoff contention. There are valuable points for grabs in every game, each which will have some impact on the playoff picture come Sunday. This will be a heck of a day and night of hockey.
If you will be tuning in and want to have some action, I’ve picked out my NHL best bets for tonight, 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 9 matchups today.
NHL best bet: Red Wings ML (+110) over Jets
After a recent 11-game skid, the Jets won 4 in a row by a combined score of 20-10 for an average win of 5.0-2.50. Entering this game, Winnipeg has now dropped 3 out of their last 4 with their only win coming against a bad St. Louis team. In their current 4-game stretch, the Jets have gone back to looking for answers as they have scored just 7 goals for an average of 1.75 goals per game. The ceiling of this team is well-documented. But for 2 months now, the Jets have proven they are not a reliable play, as evident by their 8-16-7 record during that span.
It is a different story for the Red Wings. Detroit is 7-1-1 in their last 9 games as part of an 18-5-3 record since the start of December. With that, the Red Wings sit atop the Atlantic and with the 3rd best point percentage in the loaded Eastern Conference. They have played well on the road lately, and have a favorable matchup in this one against an inconsistent team that looks lost right now. The plus-money value for the Red Wings outright gives them even more appeal.
Read our full analysis of Saturday’s 9-game slate.
NHL best bet: Panthers vs Wild over 5.5 (-130)
For a couple of teams as talented as the Panthers and Wild, it has not been very pretty for either of them lately. Florida is 5-5-1 in their last 11 which is not brutal, but they have lost ground in the Eastern Conference and got drummed in those losses. The Panthers lost those 5 regulation games by a combined 22 goals for an average loss of 4.4 goals. This team is leaking a little bit, as is their opponent.
The Wild are 3-2 in their last 5 and 4-4-2 in their last 10. In those 10 games, the over has hit in 9 of them, including in the last 7 straight. Minnesota’s average game total in that span is 7.40 goals. Lately, the Wild have both scored and allowed goals in bunches, in both wins and losses, and both at home and on the road. Head to head trends reinforce individual trends also as the over has hit in 7 out of the last 9 played against one another. The pure matchup, recent form of each team, and their volatility are a good recipe for another over.
NHL best bet: Oilers 3-way ML (-115) over Capitals
What looked like a tough stretch for the Capitals might be an indication that they just may not be a very good team. Entering Friday, Washington is 5-12-3 in their last 20 games since mid-December. They had a great opportunity to get right on Wednesday against a spiraling Canucks team which had lost 11-straight. Instead, Vancouver beat Washington, pushing the Capitals further down in the standings. If they cannot get an important two points from the Canucks, they will have a tough time doing so in Edmonton.
Things have not been excellent for the Oilers either lately. Fortunately for them, things have been much worse for the Capitals. Nonetheless, Edmonton is 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. Their last 2 wins have been by scores of 6-0 and 5-0 over the Canucks and Blues respectively. Their prior 3 wins were over the Predators, Jets, and Blackhawks. The Oilers have gotten the job done against struggling teams lately. The Capitals certainly qualify as a struggling team, and will also be playing the second of road back to backs. Look for Edmonton to take care of business in this one.
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