NHL picks: Penguins vs. Red Wings, Lightning vs. Senators odds, prediction

The NHL is going big on the last Saturday of the 2022-23 regular season. 

For the first time in the league’s history, all 32 teams will be in action on the same day to create a smorgasbord of puck that will take us from 12:30 p.m. until after midnight. 

What better way to celebrate the feast of hockey than by plucking out a few underdogs? 

Penguins vs. Red Wings pick

(1 p.m. ET)

This is a must-win game for the Penguins and the betting market will typically respond to that kind of desperation.

Sitting just a point behind the Islanders and Panthers in the race for the wild card spots, Pittsburgh needs to take care of business on the road in Detroit.

As such, it will likely get the overwhelming majority of the betting support in this contest. 

That should drive up the price on the Penguins and offer bettors a good price on the Red Wings. 

It may not seem logical to back a team playing out the string against one playing for its season, but the Penguins have done nothing over the past three months to earn that kind of respect.

Pittsburgh is 20-21-5 since Christmas and has dropped games against Detroit, Montreal and Ottawa. 

Shaky goaltending and a lack of depth make the Penguins a vulnerable favorite on Saturday, even if they have everything on the line. 

Penguins vs. Red Wings prediction

Red Wings (+146, FanDuel)

Lightning vs. Senators pick

(7 p.m. ET)

With the Senators officially eliminated from playoff contention and the Lightning locked into the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division, this is a meaningless game and that should benefit the underdog. 

Tampa Bay is coming off consecutive ugly losses to the Islanders and Rangers, but because the Lightning also are quite banged up and have nothing to play for, they could opt to sit plenty of impact players. 

The Lightning’s No. 1 goal this week will be to get healthy, so it wouldn’t be a shocker to see them go through the motions a bit and for Ottawa to storm them. 

Lightning vs. Senators prediction

Senators (+130, PointsBet)

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs pick

(7 p.m. ET) 

Like the Lightning, the Maple Leafs are locked into their spot in the Atlantic Division (No. 2) and have nothing to gain from this tilt with their eternal rivals. 

With a young, upstart team coming into their building, it seems likely that Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe will opt to rest plenty of his star players on Saturday night in order to keep everyone fresh and healthy for the playoffs, which will begin a week from Monday. 

The Canadiens have been ravaged by injuries and have been out of the playoff picture for months, but they always play hard and seem to step up their game when they get a chance to play the Maple Leafs. 

This is a big number for a reason — the Leafs are still better than the Habs even if they sit some of their best players — but this is nothing but a glorified tune-up game for Toronto, and that should give Montreal a puncher’s chance to pull the upset on Hockey Night in Canada.