Patrick Pellegrini
NHL
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Another busy day in the NHL awaits as 22 teams are scheduled to faceoff on Saturday. Our hockey expert has identified the best bets of the night and included them in a mega parlay. But be sure to also check out our picks for all eleven of Saturday’s NHL matchups here.
But right now, let’s break down our four-team mega parlay:
New York Rangers -1.5 (+100)
Florida Panthers -1.5 (+165)
Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+100)
New York Islanders (-165)
Parlay odds: +1600
New York Rangers -1.5 over Buffalo Sabres (+100)
The Buffalo Sabres have lost 19 of their last 20 games and are starting to be compared to some of the worst teams in league history. The Rangers have been trending upwards and are gaining belief that they can make the playoffs thanks to the struggling Flyers and Bruins. The Rangers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have themselves just three points out of the playoffs. New York should be well aware that letting these two points get away from them would be a huge missed opportunity.
Igor Shesterkin has won five of his last six starts and hasn’t allowed more than three goals in over a month. He’s posting an impressive 2.29 GAA and .924 SVP which should provide a huge advantage for the Rangers in this one. Buffalo is scoring the least number of goals in the league, allowing the third most, and have only won three games at home all year. Following a close call on Thursday where NY won in overtime, they should be looking for a more dominant performance on Saturday.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres.
Florida Panthers -1.5 over Columbus Blue Jackets (+165)
The Florida Panthers picked up their fourth straight win on Thursday despite being short some key roster players. They are now tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for first in the Central Division. The Panthers will look to improve their impressive record of 12-4-3 on home ice as they host the struggling Blue Jackets on Saturday. Florida has won three of the four games vs the Blue Jackets so far this year.
Columbus has not been playing very strong hockey of late, losing five of their last six games. Patrik Laine has been invisible for the Blue Jackets with just two assists and zero goals in his last ten games. Conversely, Jonathan Huberdeau extended his point streak to four games on Thursday to help fill the void for the shorthanded Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky is another player who has elevated his game for the Panthers and should provide a Florida with a significant edge in goaltending.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Florida Panthers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets.
Colorado Avalanche -1.5 over St. Louis Blues (+100)
The Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Friday night to further illustrate that these two teams are heading in completely opposite directions right now. Colorado has points in 11 straight games and has picked up nine wins over that stretch. Conversely, the Blues has just two wins in their last 11 games and are in danger of falling out of the playoffs. Nathan MacKinnon picked up two goals on Friday night, including the game-winner and now has 19 points in his past 11 games.
Colorado is averaging over five goals per game in their last 10 games while the Blues are averaging 1.8 goals per game over their last ten. Defensively Colorado’s edge is just as significant. On the year the Avalanche are allowing just 2.25 goals per game while the Blues are surrendering 3.16. The Avalanche have a goal differential of +48 while the Blues are -14. The Avalanche will also have a significant advantage in net on Saturday as Colorado saved Philipp Grubauer for the second leg of the back-to-back. Grubauer has an impressive 22-7-1 record on the season to go along with a 1.78 GAA, a .928 SV% and five shutouts.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues.
New York Islanders over Philadelphia Flyers (-165)
The New York Islanders continued their impressive play as they doubled up the Washington Capitals to win 8-4 on Thursday. The Islanders now sit just two points behind the Capitals for first place in the East Division so you can be sure they will want to take two points from the lowly Flyers.
The Flyers were the unfortunate team to put an end to the Sabres historic losing streak as they get embarrassed 6-1 on Thursday. This result is a clear illustration of the current status of the Flyers right now. They are the league’s second-worst defensive team allowing an average of 3.63 goals against per game. There seems to be a divide in their locker room as they continually fail to show any consistency on the defensive side of the play. The Islanders are a well-structured team that will focus on preventing high danger scoring chances and wait to capitalize off the Flyers mistakes.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Islanders.
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