NHL Picks: Hockey Best Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for March 30
The NHL heads into the home stretch with most teams now having less than 10 games remaining on the schedule. This Thursday brings us an 11-game slate and lots of pivotal matchups as a result. The Edmonton Oilers visit the Los Angeles Kings in a potential first-round matchup and, as of writing, is the only game with a 7.0 over/under on the slate.
The New York Rangers will visit the New Jersey Devils in another potential first-round preview and a game where the Rangers currently sit as +115 road underdogs. The largest favorites on the slate are the Boston Bruins who sit as -450 home favorites tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a squad that has allowed an astounding 43 goals against over their last seven games.
Montreal Canadiens vs Florida Panthers
Canadiens Moneyline +185
The Panthers’ season may have been saved for at least a day with their 3-2 OT win against the Leafs yesterday. Their issue this season has been consistency as they’ve had a lot of trouble following up their wins with good play. Florida is also just 15-19 on the road this season and has not done well on short turnarounds or in disadvantaged rest spots. The Panthers are just 2-12 straight up in their last 14 back-to-back situations and will now be asked to perform a short turnaround against another Canadian team in Montreal tonight.
The Canadiens scored eight times against the Blue Jackets in their third-to-last game and have played strong competitive hockey in each of their last three games, as a whole. They should have some revenge on their mind today as well after the Panthers beat them 9-5 just a week or two back. The Panthers deserve to be favorites but given how up and down they have been, the +185 line hardly seems justified — especially with them being on the road. Montreal’s a good underdog to chase and a team that feels like it will have a great shot at pulling off the upset today.
Senators +100 (to win in regulation)
The Senators look like they will fall short of making the playoffs, but the team hasn’t shown any quit down the stretch. Ottawa is just 3-3 in its last six games but that includes close one-goal losses to both Boston and Toronto as well as a massive 7-2 win over Tampa Bay. Ottawa has been a beast at home this year as well as it enters this game with a 22-15 ATS record at home and has now won five of its last seven home games — with all of its wins coming by two goals or more.
The Flyers have won four in a row but all of those games came at home. This game marks the beginning of a road trip for Philadelphia who has nothing to play for and currently has three of its best-scoring forwards on injured reserve. The Senators are healthier and have far more top-end talent. They’re a good bet on the Puck Line at +160 but also make sense as a regulation-only Moneyline bet given how easily they have been winning at home of late.
Golden Knights Puck Line (-1.5) +140
This line feels like an overreaction to the games these two teams played a couple of days ago. The Sharks grabbed a very surprising 3-0 win over the Jets their last time out, which was gained almost solely off the superb play of their goalie James Reimer who stopped 41 shots. A hot goalie aside, the Sharks are a total mismatch for the Golden Knights who will be coming in with wounded pride after getting walloped by the Oilers 7-4 in their last game.
Despite the poor outing, Vegas remains one of the best road teams in the league. As a squad, they’re 24-7 straight up and 23-13 ATS on the season on the road this year. The Golden Knights had been managing quite well before the loss to the Oilers, grabbing three wins in a row against Pacific Division rivals. Now they get a chance to take out their frustration on the Sharks, who are just 14-22 ATS at home this season and who have given up over 40 shots in two of their last three games. The +140 line looks entirely worth taking given both the Golden Knights’ road prowess and the massive gap in skill between these two teams.
While the Canadiens are underdogs for this game, they are catching the Panthers at home and in a bad rest spot. Florida carries the fifth-worst penalty kill in the league, so looking at some of the longer odds from Montreal tonight makes sense for goalscorer props. Rafael Harvey-Pinard has made the most of his elevation to the top line, landing a hat-trick three games ago against Columbus and another goal against Philadelphia in his last game. This is a player trying to carve out a role for next season and is playing heavy minutes in a top-line role. The +250 doesn’t seem to be factoring in any of this — or Florida’s poor road record and penalty kill. It’s a great time to target the former seventh-round draft pick in the scoring odds.
The Senators are solid home favorites and sit with one of the bigger implied team totals on the slate. Alex DeBrincat is a player who seems ripe for a little more positive regression as we head toward the end of the season and makes sense as a target today. The former Blackhawk is still shooting 3-4% below his career average in shooting percentage and has seen 10 of his 24 goals this season come on the power play. With Philadelphia posting the 8th worst efficiency stats in that area, DeBrincat’s +150 odds look fully worth taking tonight.
All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbookand all odds are subject to change.
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