Monday brings six games to the NHL schedule, with a bunch of bubble teams taking the ice in hopes of gaining ground in their quest for a playoff spot. Read on for our NHL best bets for Monday based on the best NHL odds.
Every game on Monday's NHL schedule features playoff stakes of varying degrees.
The Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals are all within three points of the second spot in a crowded Eastern Conference wild card battle.
In the West, the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames may be more theoretical playoff contenders, as they sit six and seven points out, respectively, in the playoff race.
They're chasing the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, the teams holding the two wild card playoff spots in the conference. Both the OIlers and Jets are in action Monday.
Here are our best NHL picks for Monday (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, and PointsBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
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Monday's NHL schedule and odds
(odds via FanDuel)
- Edmonton Oilers (-162) vs. Buffalo Sabres (+134)
- San Jose Sharks (+168) vs. Winnipeg Jets (-205)
- Calgary Flames (+112) vs. Dallas Stars (-134)
- Ottawa Senators (-275) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (+220)
- Washington Capitals (+128) vs. Los Angeles Kings (-154)
- Nashville Predators (-108) vs. Vancouver Canucks (-111)
Monday's NHL best bets
- Moneyline: Kings (-145 via DraftKings) vs. Capitals ???
- Spread: Senators -1.5 (-105 via Caesars) < b>vs. Blackhawks ????
- Total: Predators-Canucks Under 6 (-104 via FanDuel) ???
- Prop: Mikael Backlund Over 3.5 Shots on Goal (+120 via DraftKings) ????
Monday's NHL top picks
Goals have started to flow for the Kings – and an improved attack will be too much for the declining Capitals to handle.
The Kings are a sizzling 8-2-1 in their past 11 games, climbing to second place in the Pacific Division. In that time, the Kings have scored 3.84 goals per 60 minutes, which ranks sixth.
The Kings also bolstered their roster at the trade deadline, acquiring defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. Gavrikov has looked solid in his first two games with L.A., while Korpisalo (who will back up Pheonix Copley on Monday) won his first start with the Kings, stopping 24 of 26 shot s in a 4-2 triumph over St. Louis.
The Capitals, on the other hand, are 3-7 in their past 10 games, allowing 3.89 goals against per 60 minutes, which ranks 28th.
While the Kings added pieces at the deadline, the Capitals moved out veterans Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson, and Erik Gustafsson with an eye to the future.
This leaves the Capitals fighting uphill the rest of the way, providing the surging Kings with a prime opportunity to pick up another two points.
DraftKings, Caesars and PointsBet all have the Kings at -145 on the moneyline, which is better than the offerings from BetMGM (-149) and FanDuel (-154).
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In an unexpected twist, the Senators are surging toward a playoff spot.
Since boasting a 20-23-3 mark on Jan. 21, the resurgent Senators are 12-3-1 and have dominant numbers to back up their run. Ottawa has scored 4.02 goals while allowing 2.54 goals per 60 minutes in that span, producing the second-best goal differential in the NHL since Jan. 25.
The Blackhawks, on the other hand, are making a concerted push for the worst record in the league. They've strung together four straight losses and boast the NHL's second-worst mark entering the new week.
With Max Domi and Patrick Kane shipped out prior to the NHL trade deadline and Jonathan Toews injured, the top scoring forward on the Blackhawks' active roster is Taylor Raddysh, who has 26 points in 62 games.
Chicago's lack of firepower is why the Sens should earn a comfortable win in Chicago.
Caesars and BetMGM are both offering the Senators on the puck line at -105 and that pr ovides an edge relative to FanDuel (-110), PointsBet (-115), and DraftKings (-120).
The Vancouver Canucks are no longer the red-hot Over play they had been earlier in the season – and the team's recent shade toward the Under has a great shot at continuing Monday.
The Canucks have hit the Over in 63.6% of their games, the second-highest rate in the league, but have landed on a total of five goals or fewer in four of their past five. Great goaltending has been at the core, with Vancouver allowing two or fewer goals three times in that span.
It might not even take a great effort in goal Monday to rein in a Nashville team that is averaging a total of 5.72 goals (for plus against) per 60 minutes on the road.
Similar to the Blackhawks (a phrase you definitely don't want said about your team right now), the Predators have been gutted offensively. After dealing Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter before the trade deadline and with Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen out due to injury, Matt Duchene is the only active Nashville forward with more than 25 points.
There tends to be agreement among our best sportsbooks when it comes to the Under 6 total, with FanDuel carrying the best price at -104. DraftKings, BetMGM, and PointsBet are close behind at -105 while Caesars sits at -110.
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Whether he finds the net or not, Backlund has suddenly become an elite shooter.
The Calgary Flames forward has gone four straight games without a point, but has put at least four shots on goal in each of his past nine games. His shot total has now shifted to 3.5 at plus money after regularly sitting at 2.5.
On a dominant line, Backlund is the one driving the results.
According to Evolving Hockey, the Flames' trio of Backlund with wingers Andrew Mangiapane and Blake Coleman is controlling 67.8% of shots, easily the best rate among 62 line combos that have played together for more than 200 five-on-five minutes. It's the only trio over 63%.
With the recent change in Backlund's output, there is more variance in pricing. DraftKings is at +120, which is best among the top-rated sportsbooks. FanDuel (+112) and BetMGM (+110) are lagging behind while PointsBet (-105) is not competitive in this market.
NHL best bets made 3/6/2023 at 1 p.m. ET.
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- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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