NHL Best Bets for Saturday: Expert Hockey Predictions for Today's Games - Devils protect home ice

Connor Grootenhuis

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Connor has been covering the sports betting industry in a wide variety of roles for almost five years, and most enjoys writing about MLB, NHL, and college football. He is an avid supporter of #MACtion, and his favorite professional teams are the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings. When it comes to his sports bets, Connor is a firm believer that every loss is a bad beat and every win is easy money.

NHL best bet: Devils ML over Kings (-148)

The Kings are playing the second leg of a back-to-back situation when they visit the Devils in this matchup. Los Angeles’ No. 1 goaltender Darcy Kuemper was in net on Friday, which means the likely starter against the Devils will be Anton Forsberg. Forsberg’s season save percentage of .904 is nothing special and he has allowed 4 or more goals in 4 of his last 6 outings, and 3 or more goals in 5 of those 6. The New Jersey offense is in groove, and has lit the lamp 4 or more times in 4 of their last 5 games. Jack Hughes and company should be able to give Forsberg some issues.

Along with having the rest advantage over the Kings in this one, the Devils are playing their 6th straight home game. On the other side, the Kings are playing their 4th straight road game having played last night against the Islanders. The Devils are hungry to avenge a 5-4 loss to the lowly Flames in their last outing, so I expect New Jersey to come out firing against a Los Angeles team that may be dealing with some fatigue. Back the Devils at home.

Read our full Kings vs Devils prediction

NHL best bet: Red Wings vs Stars Under 5.5 (-105)

The Stars have been rolling offensively of late, but are still playing without Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz. Dallas still has plenty of strong scoring depth to lean on, but not having Rantanen, Hintz and Tyler Seguin in the lineup due to their respective injuries makes it difficult to expect the Stars to keep scoring at such a high clip. Detroit’s John Gibson has been a steady force in the net, and he has been spectacular on the road all season long. Gibson’s save percentage jumps from .876 at home to .932 on the road and his goals-against average goes down over a whole goal from 3.09 to 2.01.this season. He is more than capable of limiting the damage from Dallas’ offensive attack.

Dylan Larkin’s injury is a significant for Detroit in this one. Larkin will be out at least two weeks after suffering a lower-body injury on March 6 against the Panthers, and his absence is a crucial one. Larkin is second on the Red Wings with 28 goals and 3rd with 55 points this season. That kind of production will certainly loom large against a Dallas team that is solid defensively. This has the makings of a lower-scoring game, which makes the under the play.

Read our full Red Wings vs Stars prediction

NHL best bet: Kraken ML over Canucks (-130)

This matchup against the Canucks is essentially a must-win for the Kraken. After losing 4 games in a row, the Kraken desperately need to get back on track. Luckily for Lane Lambert’s team, the Canucks present a tremendous opportunity to do just that. Vancouver owns the fewest points in the NHL with 48, and seems to be in for a long final stretch of the regular season. The Canucks are also just 7-20-5 on home ice this season, which Seattle needs to be sure to take advantage of.

Lambert’s team plays a stingy defensive-focused game, which should be able to give the Vancouver offensive attack some problems. The Canucks rank 31st in the NHL scoring just 2.52 goals per game, and their goal differential of minus-72 is by far and away the worst in the league. The Kraken defeated the Canucks 5-1 in their last meeting on February 28, and I expect them to take care of business against a lesser opponent and get back on track in this matchup.

Read our full Kraken vs Canucks prediction