Top NHL Odds, Picks, & Predictions: Thursday (3/28)

The NHL is serving up a whopping 14 games for us to bet on and enjoy on Thursday night’s slate. As the regular season draws to a close, teams on the playoff bubble are becoming much more desperate. Five of the league’s 32 teams have already been eliminated from playoff contention, but we’ll start to see more in the coming days.

Last week, we went 2-1 with our NHL best bets, as the New York Rangers won outright to cash +120 moneyline odds in a 5-2 road win over the Boston Bruins. Then, we hit another bet by investing in under 6.5 total goals to be scored between Nashville and Florida, which wound up a surprising 4-0 shutout in the Predators’ favor. Our loss came in a high-octane scoring matchup between Edmonton and Buffalo. The Oilers poured in five third-period goals to rout the Sabres 8-3, so our under 6.5 total goals ticket never stood much of a chance. Overall, it was another profitable night in the NHL for us.

14 NHL games means we have a ton of value to locate within various NHL betting markets on Thursday night. Make sure to follow Matt MacKay on Twitter to get more free plays and NHL best bets.

Our NHL Prop Bet Cheat Sheet assists bettors by comparing lines from leading sportsbooks with our daily projections >>

Thursday's NHL Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Columbus Blue Jackets (+184) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (-225) | O/U 6.5 (-118/-104)

Columbus is the only Eastern Conference team who has already been eliminated from the playoffs, while Pittsburgh finds itself nine points behind the second Wild Card seed. The Penguins are 3-5-2 in their last ten games and have a goal differential of -5, which means this should be another high-scoring affair at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.

Both games played between these two Metropolitan Division opponents have been won 5-3 by Pittsburgh and Columbus has surrendered four to six goals in each of its last five games played. We’re hammering the over 6.5 total goals line at -118 odds with a two-unit wager in this matchup.

Bet: Over 6.5 Total Goals (-118)

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After looking like a dark horse playoff contender, the New York Islanders have been riding a bad slump at the worst time of the season. New York is coming off of a 4-0 loss to New Jersey and hosts the Florida Panthers, who have also been riding a surprising losing slump of their own, going 1-5 SU in their last six games played. Neither of these teams is playing their best hockey right now.

Each of the Islanders’ last four games against the Panthers following a home loss have gone under the total goals line, so at 5.5 total goals, we’ll take plus odds on the under. Their last matchup was in late January, when the Islanders lost 3-2, so I expect another similar low-scoring, physical game between both opponents to cash this under at plus odds.

Bet: Under 5.5 (+116)

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