Here are tonight’s NHL predictions and best bets
Dallas Stars (44-18-12) at Boston Bruins (42-24-8)
Embed from Getty ImagesStars (-125) at Bruins (+105) – Total 6 (-110)
7 p.m. ET
The Stars come into tonight’s game having lost five of their past six games and scored two goals or fewer in four of the six. The Bruins are coming off a 4-3 shootout win over Columbus on Sunday as they rallied from a 3-0 deficit entering the third period and tied the game with 11 seconds left in regulation.
Joonas Korpisalo is getting the start for Boston after Jeremy Swayman started both games over the weekend. I was originally going to jump on the B’s, but I can’t trust Korpisalo to get the win. I do have faith that we will see goals tonight. Each of Korpisalo’s last four starts has had at least seven total goals.
A couple of player props have my interest. The Stars’ Wyatt Johnston has four goals in seven games against the Stars, and Mikko Rantanen has three goals in six games against Korpisalo. Boston’s Pavel Zacha has goals (five total) in three consecutive games. In addition, he has points in eight of his last nine and 13 of his last 16 games. David Pastrnak is one goal shy of his fifth consecutive season with at least 30 goals (30+ in eight of the past nine seasons). He has four goals in the seven games he has gone head-to-head with Stars goalie Jake Oettinger. Charlie McAvoy has a point in 29 of his last 34 games.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:Dallas Stars/Boston Bruins Over 6 (-124) – 1 unitWyatt Johnston anytime goal (+165) – .25David Pastrnak anytime goal (+140) – .25Charlie McAvoy/Pavel Zacha point parlay (+142) – .25Pavel Zacha anytime goal (+320) – .25
New York Islanders (42-28-5) at Buffalo Sabres (45-21-8)
Islanders (+165) at Sabres (-200) – Total 6 (Over, -118)
7 p.m. ET
The Islanders are coming off an 8-3 pounding at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night and have a chance to get that bad taste out of their mouth as they head into Buffalo. The Isles have lost both meetings with Buffalo this season (David Rittich started both games) and have come up short in eight of their last nine trips to western New York.
Buffalo came out of the Olympic break winning eight straight and 13 of 14 before losing three consecutive games for the first time since early December. They put a halt to the losing streak on Saturday, rallying from down a pair of goals to beat Seattle 3-2 in a shootout. Slow starts have plagued the Sabres of late as they have not led after the opening 20 minutes in any of their past six games (0-3-3). I expect Buffalo to jump out to an early lead against the Islanders. Buffalo has scored the first goal in the first period in both meetings this season and three of the last four against the Islanders.
Buffalo’s Alex Tuch is one goal shy of his second consecutive 30-goal season and hitting the mark for the third time in the past four seasons. He has three goals in the nine games he has faced Rittich, the expected Islanders starting goalie. Jason Zucker is one of three Sabres with a pair of goals against the Islanders this season and has four goals in four games against Rittich (two in the previous meeting).
Rasmus Dahlin has goals in back-to-back games, four of the past six and in both games against the Islanders this season. New York’s Brayden Schenn is fitting nicely on the Islanders’ second line. He has goals in each of the last two games and in four of the last eight games since coming over from St. Louis in a deadline deal. He has five goals in six games against Sabres starting goal Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. We cashed with the Schenn, Barzal, Ritchie line on Monday night, so why not come back with them tonight?
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:Buffalo Sabres first goal/first period (+100) – .25Buffalo Sabres Team Total Over 3.5 (-110) – .25Brayden Schenn anytime goal (+425) – .25Brayden Schenn/Mathew Barzal/Calum Ritchie point parlay (+375) – .25Jason Zucker anytime goal (+265) – .25Alex Tuch anytime goal (+190) – .25Rasmus Dahlin anytime goal (+425) – .25
Montreal Canadiens (42-21-10) at Tampa Bay Lightning (46-21-6)
Canadiens (+145) at Lightning (-170) – Total 6 (Over, -120)
7 p.m. ET
The Habs come into Tampa winners of five straight, including a pair of wins over the Carolina Hurricanes as well as holding off the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. The Lightning have been rude hosts to the Canadiens of late, winning five of the last six meetings in the Sunshine State. These teams have not met since December, when Tampa won both games (5-4 shootout and 6-1). The Lightning have now won 16 of the last 20 meetings with the Canadiens. The Bolts have scored at least four goals in each of their last 11 wins over Montreal. So, if you want to bet on Tampa tonight, I would look at their team total of Over 3.5 (-116). For the season, the Lightning have scored four goals or more in 36 of their 46 victories (78%). The full-game Over is one of my favorite plays in this game. From the great Steve Makinen, Canadiens games are 12-0 to the Over when facing teams that give up less than 2.90 goals per game (Tampa is at 2.75).
On to the player props. The Canadiens’ Cole Caufield is not just “Mr. Saturday Night” (20 of his 46 goals on Saturday) when it comes to finding the back of the net. He has goals in back-to-back games and seven of his last nine games. Caufield has also registered three shots on goal or more in eight of his last nine games and 14 of the last 18 games. Tampa’s Darren Raddysh has had three or more shots on goal in seven of his last eight games. His volume has increased with the injury to Victor Hedman. Jake Guentzel has goals in four consecutive games and 11 goals in 20 career games versus Montreal.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:Cole Caulfield anytime goal (+160) – .25Jake Guentzel anytime goal (+150) – .25Cole Caufield/Darren Raddysh each Over 2.5 SOG (+126) – 1 unitMontreal Canadiens/Tampa Bay Lightning Over 6 (-125) – 1 unitCharle-Edouard D’Astous Over ½ point (+205) – .25Nikita Kucherov Over 1.5 pts (-104) – .50
Ottawa Senators (38-25-10) at Florida Panthers (35-35-3)
Senators (-170) at Panthers (+140) – Total 6 (-110)
7 p.m. ET
The Senators will look to avoid their first three-game losing streak since early January. Ottawa has lost both meetings to Florida this season and eight of the past 10. The Sens, though, have been a great bet this season as a road favorite, winning 14 of 20 in this spot. If you like Ottawa to win, I would consider the Florida team total Under 2.5. The Panthers have scored two goals or fewer in each of their last eight losses.
A few player props will make my card. Brady Tkachuk has registered at least three shots on goal in 19 of his last 22 games, and his brother Matthew has three or more shots on goal in 16 of his last 21 games. I will parlay the Tkachuk brothers’ shots on goal and add Alexander Ovechkin, who has had three or more shots on goal in six of his last nine. Jordan Spence has points in five of his last six games.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:Tkachuk brothers and Alexander Ovechkin, all Over 2.5 shots on goal (+194) – 1 unitJordan Spence Over ½ point (+158) – .25
New Jersey Devils (38-33-2) at New York Rangers (30-35-9)
Devils (-120) at Rangers (+100) – Total 6 (Over, -124)
7 p.m. ET
The Devils have doubled up the Rangers twice this season by identical 6-3 scores, with Jack Hughes leading the way with four goals and three assists in the two games. He had at least three points in each game. Hughes has put up multi-point games in eight of his last 13 and five of his last six versus the Rangers. He also has 20 goals in 25 games versus the Rangers and four goals in the two games this season. Rangers rookie Adam Sykora has goals in back-to-back games.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets: Jack Hughes Over 1.5 points (+140) – 1 unitJack Hughes anytime goal (+150) – 1 unitNew Jersey Devils Team Total Over 3 (-127) – 1 unitAdam Sykora anytime goal (+500) – .05
Seattle Kraken (32-29-11) at Edmonton Oilers (37-28-9)
Kraken (+150) at Oilers (-180) – Total 6.5 (-110)
9 p.m. ET
Tonight is the final stop on the Kraken’s six-game road trip. They have lost four of the first five, with each of the last three going past regulation. With a win tonight, the Kraken would move into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Standing in their way are the Edmonton Oilers, who have defeated the Kraken in 14 of their 18 meetings, including seven of eight on home ice. Tonight is the fourth and final meeting of the season. Edmonton has won the last two matchups by a combined score of 13-4 (9-4, 4-0).
Connor McDavid has 12 goals and 25 points in 16 games against the Kraken. Evan Bouchard has 12 assists in 18 games versus Seattle and Mattias Ekholm has 11 in 15 games and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 18 assists in 17 games against the Kraken. As long as Matt Savoie is going to ride shotgun with McDavid, I will ride with him. Savoie has goals in three straight and scored twice in the previous meeting with Seattle. The Kraken’s Bobby McMann has goals in three straight and six of his eight games with Seattle. He has six goals in six career games against the Oilers.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets: Connor McDavid Over 1.5 points/Evan Bouchard assist/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins assist (+305) – .50Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/Evan Bouchard/Mattias Ekholm assist parlay (+571) – .25Mattias Ekholm Over ½ assist (+176) – .25Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Over ½ assist (+134) – .25Matt Savoie anytime goal (+290) – .25Bobby McMann anytime goal (+240) – .25
Best of the Rest:Detroit Red Wings/Pittsburgh Penguins both teams to score 2+ goals, Edmonton Oilers Money Line, Buffalo Sabres Money Line (+244) – 1 unit
The post NHL Predictions: Expert Picks on Tuesday, March 31 appeared first on VSiN.
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