NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (3/31)
There are a lot of teams in contention for the NHL playoffs. We've seen that all some teams need to do is get in and make a huge run. Let's break down a couple of today's games and give you our best bets.
Monday’s NHL Best Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Nashville Predators (+102) at Philadelphia Flyers (-122) | O/U 5.5 (-125/+105)
It's been a horrid season for the Flyers, who are limping into the end of the season on a 3-10-1 run. We knew John Tortorella would not be coming back as the head coach, but it looked like he would be there until the end. However, there were rumors of a confrontation with Cam York. That and all the losing led to an early exit for Tortarella.
Sometimes, a team’s change in leadership reinvigorates it. For the Flyers, they tied a season-high with seven goals in a win against the Sabres.
The Predators are another team just trying to make it to the end of the season. The most interesting metric about this team is that they are last in goals scored per game (2.52), but are over 51% in Corsi and Fenwick rates.
They have also been disappointing on the defensive side, especially the goaltending. Juuse Saros has been an All-Star and a Vezina Trophy contender, but it's been a tough year as he has a career-worst 2.89 GAA and .897 save percentage.
The Flyers should continue to ride this moment, especially against another terrible team, and grab a win.
Pick: Flyers Moneyline (-122)
Dallas Stars (-166) at Seattle Kraken (+140) | O/U 6.5 (-102/-118)
The Stars are hot, coming in with a five-game winning streak. One of those games was against the Kraken in Seattle, where they easily took care of them 5-1. The credit needs to go to the goaltending because Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith have been a brick wall, allowing 1.60 goals per game in the last five games, while the blueline is allowing a league-worst 36.8 shots on goal per game.
In the last game, the Kraken got 36 shots on goal, but they could only get one through the pipes. Offensively, they have trouble generating scoring opportunities as they have the fewest high-danger shots per game (1.5) and are 29th in expected goal share (46.32%).
At least last season, they had a formidable defense to keep them in contention. However, this year, their defense has regressed, going from allowing 2.83 goals (ninth) to 3.23 goals per game (23rd).
It’s time to watch this Stars team because this offense and goaltender are good enough to ride them through the playoffs.
Pick: Stars 60-Minute Moneyline (+100)