We have an absolutely massive slate of NHL games today. Most of these games have some serious playoff implications so it should be a great night of hockey. Instead of my usual article I’m going to try and breakdown as many games as possible. Just a heads up, I may or may not have a play in everyone.
St. Louis Blues @ Buffalo Sabres
The Blues look to be rounding into playoff form going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. They’re currently tied to Minnesota for 2nd place in the Central Division. It’s likely that they’ll end up 2/3 unless one of them falters down the stretch and Nashville can win out. St Louis’ offense has been solid all year ranking 5th but, has been even better in their last 10 averaging 4.40 GF per game. In those games, they’ve been on par defensively so nothing noteworthy there.
The Sabres have also been on an absolute tear as of late knocking off Toronto in their last game 5-2. I’m not sure what Don Granato has done but, it’s something special. This team looks to have life and given all the prospects and three first round draft picks, they’ll definitely be a threat in the next few years. Buffalo is coming off of a tough stretch of games against some of the leagues top teams and faired pretty well despite going 2-3 in their last 5. The Sabres offense has found a spark and their top line of Skinner-Thompson-Tuch has been playing exceptionally well.
The Blues are currently -200 on the money-line while the Sabres are around +175. The total has been set at 6.5 and is slightly juiced to the under at -115. These teams have met once before this season where St. Louis won 5-3. Personally this is a stay away game, the Blues haven’t been as dominant on the road and given how well the Sabres have been playing, anything could happen. I do believe St. Louis will win this game but, I think the Sabres +1.5 (-140) have some value. They’ve covered the puck-line in three of their last four at home against some very top their teams.
Ottawa Senators @ Boston Bruins
I put up a poll on my Instagram (@Gator Sports Betting) to figure out what final game the people wanted me to breakdown and everyone chose BOS/OTT, so here we are.
The Senators have been eliminated from the playoffs but, are a team that does have a nice young core that they can build around in the coming years. They’ve been playing some better hockey as of late going 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. In their most previous game they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1. While the Senators offense hasn’t been great this year ranking 26th in GF per game, they have been averaging 3.50 in their last 10 games. Their defense has also been playing much better only allowing 2.90 GA compared to their season average of 3.22.
The Bruins come into this matchup losing their last two games to St. Louis and Washington. Despite those two losses, they’ve still gone 6-4 in their last 10 games. However, if you’re just looking at their last 5 games, they’ve gone 2-3. The Bruins have been much better at capitalizing on scoring chances which has led to an uptick in offensive production. However, their defense has struggled as they’ve been dealing with some injuries.
Boston is the heavy home favorite in this matchup with the total being set at 6, slightly juiced to the under. Anton Forsberg and Linus Ullmark are the goalies tonight with Forsberg being hit or miss while Ullmark has really been solid in his last few starts. However, despite Boston’s woes as of late they are the better team and I lean Boston -1.5 here.
Washington Capitals @ Toronto Maple Leafs
The Washington Capitals are currently sitting in the 2nd Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with no real threat. It’s likely they’ll face off against the Florida Panthers in the first round. Washington starts a grueling five game road trip tonight in Toronto where they’ll go on to face Montreal, Colorado, Vegas, and Arizona. They come into tonight’s game on a four game winning streak where they’ve beaten some pretty impressive teams. Their offense has been scoring at a higher rate as of late while their defense hasn’t been as solid when compared to their season average of goals against. It looks as though Vanecek will get the start tonight who hasn’t been as impressive as Samsonov.
Despite Toronto’s recent performance against Buffalo, they’ve also been playing some great hockey recently. They’ve gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and have been almost able to score at will during that stretch. Their defense hasn’t been great all year and has taken a turn for the worse in the past ten games. The Maple Leafs are currently in 2nd place in the Atlantic with Tampa Bay breathing down their neck. However, regards of who finishes 2nd or 3rd it looks like they’ll be matched up against each other in the first round.
Toronto is the home favorite in this matchup sitting at -160 on the money-line. The total is set at 6.5 and juiced to over at -120. Of all the top teams in the East, the Leafs have struggled the most against playoff teams. Since returning from injury, Jack Campbell hasn’t been great allowing an average of three goals against in those four starts. Given the goalie matchups and the offensive production from these teams, I like the over in this matchup.
Edmonton Oilers @ Nashville Predators
While Edmonton has gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, they have dropped their two most recent games to Colorado and Minnesota. They wrap up their three game road trip tonight vs a Nashville team that’s in a tight playoff race. The Oilers are currently in 2nd place in the Pacific but only have two points on the 3rd place Kings. Again, like with Tampa and Toronto, we’ll most likely see these two teams matched up against each other in the first round. Edmonton’s offense has been slightly as of late, averaging 3.80 Goals For in their last 10. Their defense, which ranks 18th in goals against, also has been better during that stretch.
Touched on Nashville a little bit before, but they are grinding for points right now. They haven’t been great going 5-4-1 in their most recent 10 games. The Predators are in the middle of five game home stretch. Looking at Nashville’s remaining schedule it is absolutely brutal where they face six playoff teams in their remaining eight games after tonight. This team is solid offensively and defensively when looking at base metrics. They also have a solid goaltender in Saros. However, the issue for them is that their offense and defense have been underperforming as of late. If they want to get in the playoffs, they need to turn things around asap.
Looking at the lines as they stand, its a pick ’em. Nashville has been better at home this season while Edmonton hasn’t been as dominant at home. Both teams need these points as Edmonton wants home ice advantage while Nashville is looking to make the playoffs. This is one of the toughest games on the slate betting wise. I lean Nashville here but I don’t have enough confidence in them to make it an official pick.
Minnesota Wild @ Dallas Stars
The Wild are tied for 2nd place of the Central division with the St. Louis Blues, which I talked about above. Since the addition of Marc-Andre Fleury, Cam Talbot has come to life and it now looks as through Minnesota has one of the best goaltending duos heading into the playoffs. They’ve gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games but did lose to the Blues 4-3 in OT during that stretch. Their offense has been on par during those ten games while their defense has really been clicking. They look to be a complete team and will certainly be a threat in the West.
Dallas has the 2nd Wild Card spot in the Western Conference right now with Vegas right behind them. They’ll actually face the Golden Knights down the road on April 26th. The Stars have gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and enter this game on a two game winning streak. The Stars are a weird team because they aren’t great offensively ranking 19th in Goals For and 15th in Goals Against. However, that system has seemed to work given their current spot in the standings.
Minnesota is -120 on the money line with the total has been set at 6.0. Dallas has been much better at home while Minnesota has been worse on the road. Again, this is a tough game in regards to the side and total. No official play here but I lean the over here given how both goalies have been playing recently.
Vegas Golden Knights @ Calgary Flames
The Golden Knights are on the verge of missing the playoffs despite their loaded roster. They’ve gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and are coming off a tough loss to the Canucks in their most recent game. Offensively, the Golden Knights have been better in their last 10 while their defense hasn’t been as good. Vegas does generate a ton of scoring chances but, they aren’t great at capitalizing on them. If their Shooting % goes up, they could have one of the best offenses in the NHL.
Calgary is sitting a top of the Pacific division and look to be main contender to take down the Avalanche out West. They’ve gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and enter this crucial matchup on a five game winning streak. Looking at their schedule ahead, it does feature a lot of playoff teams but I’m sure Calgary will be the favorite in most of those games, if not all of them. They have one of the most complete teams in the NHL from the top down. The addition of Tyler Toffoli has solidified up their top six and given their recent form, it’s hard to find any negatives.
This game obviously means a lot more for Vegas than Calgary but with that being said, the Flames aren’t going to roll over here. They’ve been extremely dominant at home while Vegas has struggled on the road. The Flames are the home favorite currently listed at -160 on the money-line with the total being set at 6.0. Lehner, who’s the expected starter for Vegas has been hit or miss in his last few starts while Markstrom, the expected starter for Calgary, has remained consistent. The Flames did beat them 6-0 in their most recent matchup and despite the revenge and desperation factors, I think the Flames win this one.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
