A busy Saturday in the National Hockey League gets underway with a pair of afternoon contests, with another eight games scheduled for 7 p.m. eastern.
We continue to shake our heads at what has happened to the Dallas Stars. A few weeks ago, Dallas looked like a pretty legit darkhorse in the West, sitting comfortably in playoff position and playing strong hockey at both ends of the ice. But after the Stars blew a 2-0 third-period loss at home to Boston last night (including the winner with 11 seconds left) to fall to 0-5-2 in their last 7, Hockey-Reference now gives Dallas just a 5.7% chance of qualifying for the postseason.
The month of March has not been too friendly to us either, as we’re 19-21 on the month for -3.4 units following a 1-2 night on Thursday. The overall season numbers are still solid (147-120 for +20.4 units) but it’s been a frustrating few weeks, that’s for sure.
We’re on 2 bets tonight, which you can view below along with breakdowns and analysis of every game on the board today. Good luck!
Odds below are at the time we made the pick. Be sure to check out our live odds page for updated odds on today’s games.
Reasons to bet Washington: The Capitals have won 6 of their last 7 games. Montreal has scored 4 goals in its last 4 games, excluding empty netters, and played last night in Buffalo.
Reasons to bet Montreal: The Canadiens have earned points in 25 of their 37 home games (17-12-8). Washington is just 17-15-5 on the road.
Other things to know:
- Montreal beat Washington 3-2 Jan. 19 in Washington
- Washington beat Montreal 6-1 Oct. 7 in Washington
- Montreal is playing its 4th game in 6 days and 8th in 13
- Washington has won 16 of its last 21 visits to Montreal
- The Under is 19-5-4 in the last 28 meetings
Probable goalies: Grubauer (confirmed), Price (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Chicago: The Blackhawks have won 5 of the last 6 meetings. New York has lost 5 of its last 6 home games and 19 of its last 26 overall.
Reasons to bet New York: The Islanders have scored 24 goals in their last 6 games. Chicago’s given up 24 goals in its last 4 road games and 5+ goals in 5 straight overall.
Other things to know:
- Chicago lost 7-3 to New York Jan. 20 in Chicago
- Chicago has scored 2 goals or less in 4 of its last 6 games and 6 of 9, excluding empty netters
- New York has allowed 4+ goals in 4 of its last 5 games
- Chicago has lost 11 of its last 12 road games
- The Over is 45-26 in New York’s games this year
- The Under is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings
Probable goalies: Forsberg (confirmed), Halak (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Vegas: The Golden Knights have allowed 4 regulation time goals in their last 4 games on the road, where they are 21-12-4 on the year. Colorado was whipped 7-1 at home by the Kings Thursday in a game that was critical for both teams’ playoff chances.
Reasons to bet Colorado: The Avalanche desperately needs points while Vegas enjoys a 7-point lead on San Jose in the Pacific Division with 10 games to go. Vegas has scored just 13 regulation time goals in its last 6 road games, excluding empty netters.
Other things to know:
- Colorado has won 16 of its last 21 home games
- The Under is 7-0 in Vegas’ last 7 road games
- Colorado has scored 4+ goals in 6 of its last 8 games
- Colorado has allowed 2 goals or less in 5 of its last 7 games, but has also allowed 4+ goals in 4 of its last 10
- The Over is 6-0-1 in Colorado’s last 7 home games and 39-27 in Colorado’s games this year
Probable goalies: Subban, Varlamov (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Calgary: The Flames have outshot each of their last 10 opponents by an average of nearly 13 shots per game. Calgary is 20-12-6 on the road.
Reasons to bet San Jose: The Sharks have won 6 straight games, scoring at least 4 goals in 5 of those 6 victories. Calgary has lost 4 straight games, including a 4-0 loss to Anaheim Wednesday in Calgary that basically killed the Flames’ postseason chances.
Other things to know:
- San Jose beat Calgary 7-4 March 16 in Calgary, 3-2 in a shootout Dec. 28 in San Jose and 3-2 Dec. 14 in Calgary
- San Jose is 23-11-3 at home
- San Jose has won 4 straight meetings with the Flames
- Calgary has allowed 4+ goals in 5 of its last 6 games
- San Jose has allowed just 18 goals in its last 8 games
- The Over is 8-3 in Calgary’s last 11 road games
- Calgary has scored 1 power play goal in its last 10 games
- Calgary has allowed 1 power play goal in its last 10 games
Probable goalies: Smith, Jones
Reasons to bet Tampa: The Lightning is 12-2-1 in its last 15 games and 24-11-2 on the road. New Jersey just finished a 6-game road trip last night in Pittsburgh.
Reasons to bet New Jersey: The Devils have won both meetings with the Lightning earlier this season and are fighting for a playoff spot. Tampa has allowed 33 goals in its last 8 road games.
Other things to know:
- New Jersey beat Tampa 4-3 Feb. 17 in Tampa and 5-4 in a shootout Oct. 17 in New Jersey
- New Jersey is 18-14-3 at home
- Tampa has lost 15 of its last 20 visits to New Jersey
- New Jersey has allowed 3+ goals in 8 of its last 10 games
- New Jersey has lost 5 of its last 6 games when playing on 0 days rest
- The Over is 20-6-1 in Tampa’s last 27 games and 16-5-1 in its last 22 road games
Probable goalies: Vasilevskiy, Schneider
Reasons to bet St. Louis: The Blues have won 4 straight games and 6 of 7 as they try to chase down a playoff spot in the West.
Reasons to bet Columbus: The Blue Jackets have won 10 straight, scoring 4+ goals in 8 of those 10 outings. St. Louis played last night at home.
Other things to know:
- St. Louis beat Columbus 4-1 Oct. 28 in St. Louis
- The home team is 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings
- Columbus is 25-11-2 at home
- St. Louis is 18-13-5 on the road
- St. Louis has scored 3+ goals in 5 of its last 7 games
- Columbus has allowed 10 goals in its last 6 home games
- St. Louis has won 24 of its last 30 games when playing on 0 days rest
- The Over is 13-4-3 in the last 20 meetings in Columbus
Probable goalies: Allen, Bobrovsky
Reasons to bet Buffalo: The Sabres are much better on the road (12-16-7) this year than they are at home (11-23-5). The Rangers have lost 5 of 7 at home and 20 of 28 overall.
Reasons to bet New York: The Rangers’ offense has struck for 3+ goals in 7 straight games and 9 of its last 10. Buffalo has lost 16 of the last 21 meetings.
Other things to know:
- New York beat Buffalo 4-3 Jan. 18 in New York and 3-2 in OT Jan.1 (outdoor game)
- New York is 20-14-4 at home
- Buffalo has scored 1 goal or less in 4 of its last 6 games and 6 of 10
- Buffalo has allowed 3+ goals in 5 straight games and 9 of 10
- New York has allowed 3+ goals in 8 straight games
- The Over is 7-0 in New York’s last 7 games
Probable goalies: Lehner, Georgiev (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Carolina: The Hurricanes have scored 13 goals in their last 3 games and 3+ in 6 of their last 7 outings. Ottawa has lost 6 of its last 7 home games.
Reasons to bet Ottawa: The home team is 7-0-1 in the last 8 meetings. Carolina has allowed 31 goals in its last 6 games and has lost 12 of its last 17.
Other things to know:
- Carolina beat Ottawa 2-1 Jan. 30 in Carolina
- There have been 3 goals scored in each of the last 4 meetings
- Ottawa has allowed 13 goals in its last 2 games and 3+ in 4 of its last 6
- The Under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings and 6-2-1 in the last 9 in Ottawa
- The Over is 6-0 in Carolina’s last 6 games
Probable goalies: Ward, Condon (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Arizona: The Coyotes are 13-6-2 in their last 21 games and have scored 4+ goals in 4 of their last 6. Florida is playing its 4th game in 6 days and has scored 2 goals or less in 3 of its last 4.
Reasons to bet Florida: The Panthers are 22-11-3 at home and have won 16 of their last 21 overall as they make a late-season push for a playoff spot. Arizona is playing its 3rd game in 4 days and 9th in 15.
Other things to know:
- Florida beat Arizona 3-2 Dec. 19 in Arizona
- Arizona is 10-18-7 on the road
- Florida is 22-11-3 at home
- Arizona allowed 6 goals Thursday after allowing 12 in its previous 6 games
- The Under is 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings
- The Under is 10-3-1 in Florida’s last 14 games
Probable goalies: Kuemper (confirmed), Reimer (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Detroit: The Red Wings outshot Washington 39-26 in a 1-0 loss at home to the Capitals on Thursday. Toronto may let down a bit after Thursday’s impressive 5-2 in Nashville.
Reasons to bet Toronto: The Leafs are 25-8-2 at home this season and have won 5 of their last 6 overall. Detroit has lost 11 of its last 12 games and has scored 3 goals or less in 18 of its last 20.
Other things to know:
- Toronto beat Detroit 3-2 Feb. 18 in Detroit and 6-3 Oct. 18 in Toronto
- Detroit beat Toronto 3-1 Dec. 15 in Detroit
- Detroit has 3 regulation time wins since February 2
- Detroit has allowed 4+ goals in 8 of its last 10 games
- Toronto has scored 3+ goals in 7 straight games and 4+ in 5 of its last 6
- Toronto has allowed 2 goals or less in 4 of its last 6 games
- The Under is 13-3 in the last 16 meetings and 6-2 in the last 8 in Toronto
- The Under is 21-8-1 in Detroit’s last 30 games
- The Over is 7-1 in Toronto’s last 8 games
Probable goalies: Howard (confirmed), Andersen
Reasons to bet Nashville: The Wild looks to bounce back from a 5-2 loss Thursday at home to Toronto, the Preds’ first regulation time loss in 16 games. Minnesota hasn’t played since Monday.
Reasons to bet Minnesota: The Wild is 24-6-7 at home and is 10-4-1 in its last 15 overall. The Predators have lost 4 of their last 5 visits to Minnesota, including a pair already this season.
Other things to know:
- Nashville beat Minnesota 3-0 Dec. 30 in Nashville
- Minnesota beat Nashville 4-2 Dec. 29 in Minnesota and 6-4 Nov. 16 in Minnesota
- Nashville is 23-7-6 on the road
- The home team has won 5 straight meetings
- Nashville had allowed 2 regulation time goals or less in 7 straight games before Thursday’s loss to Toronto
- Minnesota has scored 3+ goals in 6 of its last 8 games and 7 of 10
- The Over is 18-7-4 in the last 29 meetings in Minnesota
Probable goalies: Rinne, Dubnyk (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Los Angeles: The Kings are 22-13-4 on the road and are coming off a 7-1 pasting of the Avalanche Thursday in Colorado. Edmonton is playing its first home game following a 4-game eastern road trip.
Reasons to bet Edmonton: The Oilers have allowed just 16 regulation time goals in their last 8 games and are 6-2-1 in their last 9. LA is playing its 4th road game in 6 days.
Other things to know:
- Edmonton beat LA 4-3 Feb. 24 in LA
- LA beat Edmonton 5-2 Feb. 7 in LA and 5-0 Jan. 2 in Edmonton
- LA has alternated wins and losses in its last 10 games, but is 5-2-2 in its last 9
- Edmonton has scored 13 goals in its last 2 games and 3+ goals in 4 of its last 5
- LA has won 20 of the last 27 meetings
- The Under is 14-4-3 in the last 21 meetings in Edmonton
Probable goalies: Quick, Talbot
Good luck!
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