NHL Picks: Hockey Best Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for March 23
There are a whopping 12 games on the NHL slate today and plenty of spots to look at for betting. Of the teams who played yesterday, only the Pittsburgh Penguins are in action today and are the only team who will have to deal with back-to-back games for rest purposes. The biggest favorites on the slate by far are the Boston Bruins who sit as -410 home favorites against the Montreal Canadiens (who are fresh off a home upset against the Tampa Bay Lightning). As for scoring, there are currently two games on the slate (as of writing) that sport totals of 7.0 — San Jose at Vancouver and Toronto at Florida. We’ll go over the best Moneyline, Puck Line, over/under total, and player props for the slate below.
Panthers Moneyline -110
The Panthers are fresh off a 6-3 shelling at the hands of the Flyers. However, while the loss was a big setback in its chase for the final playoff spot, Florida was on a solid run before that game. The Panthers are 6-1-1 over their last eight games and were playing the Flyers on the tail end of a back-to-back on the road. They’ll be at home tonight and better rested. Despite some struggles this season, the Panthers have gone 21-10 at home which is the eighth-best home record in the league. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs sport just the 15th-best road record at 17-12 this season and have gone just 7-18 against them in the last 25 meetings between these two teams.
Florida has everything on the line today and has been a dominant home team all season. Toronto hasn’t looked great its last two games and is down numerous key players — especially on the blue line which is likely to get exposed against such a lethal offense like Florida. The -110 on Florida today looks well worth taking.
Senators +125
The Lightning got surprised in their last outing, taking a 3-2 road loss to another Canadian team in Montreal. Two days later, they are back in the same kind of situation but will instead match up against a higher-quality squad in the Senators. Ottawa’s playoff hopes look over but it has proven resilient of late, grabbing a win over Pittsburgh and suffering close one-goal losses to a couple of elite teams in Toronto and Boston. The Senators have also been a solid team to back as home underdogs this season, going 20-15 ATS at home and 19-13 straight up.
The Lightning don’t have a ton to play for in terms of seeding and perhaps have suffered a bit of a mental letdown of late as well. They have been outscored 8-4 in their last two games and also moved to just 17-17 on the road this season after the loss to the Canadiens. The line isn’t huge but I’m not sure if the Lightning deserve to be this big of a favorite. Either way, given the way both teams are trending, the Senators are well worth a shot as home underdogs in this spot.
Under 6.0 goals +100
Seattle and Nashville are both in the hunt for one of the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference, with the Kraken currently seven points up on the Predators but with a game in hand. That’s a long-winded way of saying that this game has big playoff implications and will likely be played with a very “playoff-like” atmosphere and both teams playing a little tighter than usual. The trends also suggest we could see a lower-scoring game as the under is now 18-14 on the season for the Predators at home, while the Kraken have been a surprisingly decent under bet this season as well — with the under hitting in 36 of 70 games played to date.
The total for this game looks small considering these two teams put up a combined 12 goals in their last two games. However, with lots on the line and an elite goaltender in Jusse Saros playing, expect fewer goals in this one.
This game has a strong 7.0 total with Florida’s implied team total pushing around 3.5 goals for the night. The Panthers offense has also produced 25 goals over their last five games (that’s 5.0 goals per game for you math aficionados) so it’s a little shocking that we can get first-line winger Sam Reinhart today at a whopping +200 for an anytime goal. Reinhart isn't just playing big minutes on the top line and PP1 but he’s also been playing great hockey of late and comes into this game having scored five times over the last five games. Reinhart’s odds feel massive compared to what we normally would see on a top-line winger in this situation, so taking advantage with a bet is well warranted.
The Jets Nikolaj Ehlers has started to come alive of late. The winger only has nine goals in 36 games and is shooting nearly three percent under his career goal rate on the season. He’s traditionally been a streaky player throughout his entire career, however, and comes into this game with three goals in his last five games. The Jets have a cake match-up against the Ducks who allow the most shots per game and have also allowed the most high-danger scoring chances in the entire league. Seeing Ehlers continue his hot streak today wouldn't be shocking at all. He’s overdue for a solid run in the puck luck department and, even with the great matchup, can still be had for decent odds at +145 on DraftKings to score a goal.
All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbookand all odds are subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
