Saturday's 13-game NHL slate gets underway this afternoon and includes several marquee matchups. Read on for our top NHL best bets for Saturday based on the best NHL odds.
Saturday features a jam-packed slate of NHL action, beginning with early afternoon affairs in St. Louis and Nashville, and concluding with a Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Vegas Golden Knights late-night showdown.
Other top matchups include the New York Rangers shooting for their eighth straight victory when they visit the Calgary Flames, and the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Washington Capitals in the latest edition of the NHL's Stadium Series.
Here are our best NHL picks for tonight's 13-game board (odds via DraftKings and FanDuel; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our NHL picks.
Saturday's NHL schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Colorado Avalanche (-170) vs. St. Louis Blues (+145)
- Florida Panthers (-130) vs. Nashville Predators (+110)
- New York Islanders (+200) vs. Boston Bruins (-240)
- New Jersey Devils (-115) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (-105)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (+225) vs. Dallas Stars (-265)
- Montreal Canadiens (+340) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-425)
- Washington Capitals (+160) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (-190)
- New York Rangers (+120) vs. Calgary Flames (-140)
- Philadelphia Flyers (+100) vs. Vancouver Canucks (-120)
- Detroit Red Wings (+145) vs. Seattle Kraken (-170)
- Buffalo Sabres (-125) vs. San Jose Sharks (+105)
- Arizona Coyotes (+195) vs. Los Angeles Kings (-230)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (-125) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (+105)
Saturday's NHL best bets
- Regulation win: Panthers (+125 via DraftKings) vs. Predators ???
- Moneyline: Devils (-115 via DraftKings) vs. Penguins ???
- Total: Rangers-Flames Over 6.5 (-112 via FanDuel) ????
- Team total: Sabres Over 3.5 (-109 via FanDuel) vs. Sharks ???
Saturday's NHL top picks
The Predators are struggling at both ends of the ice right now, getting outscored 9-2 in back-to-back home losses this week to the Bruins and Coyotes. Nashville has given up at least four goals in each of its last four games at home, and the Preds have been held to two goals or less in eight of their last 10 overall.
Now they host one of the NHL's highest-scoring teams in the Panthers, who are coming off a 6-3 win at Washington, which moved them to 5-2 in their last seven games.
Florida has also won six of its last seven visits to Nashville, scoring at least four goals in five of those contests. Given the potential for the Cats to light the lamp regularly Saturday afternoon in the Music City, I'm comfortable laying a half-puck in regulation and grabbing a plus-price with Florida down to +120.
We successfully faded the Penguins Friday in New York, even if the game didn't go the way we anticipated. Pittsburgh's offense struck for four goals against the Islanders and the Pens outshot their hosts 44-28, but Pittsburgh allowed the final three goals of the game – including the winner late in regulation – to fall 5-4.
Just like Friday night, when the Penguins were playing their fourth straight road game and had just returned from a west coast trip, Pittsburgh's in a tough scheduling spot playing for the second straight night.
The Pens are 2-9 in their last 11 in that situation, and they've also had trouble generating offense in recent meetings with the Devils, collecting just four goals in their last three vs. New Jersey.
The Devils' 20-4-3 road record is one of the best in hockey, and they've had a day to regroup after a 4-2 loss Thursday in St. Louis that snapped a five-game point streak. At -125 or less, the price is right to back the Devils to get back on track with a victory in Pittsburgh.
The Rangers won their seventh straight game Friday night in Edmonton, battling back from a 4-1 first-period deficit to edge the Oilers 5-4 in a shootout. New York has scored at least four goals in each of those seven victories, but the Rangers have also given up at least three goals in five of their last six, going 6-0 to the Over during that stretch.
With backup Jaroslav Halk in net, expect the Rangers' recent defensive issues to get exposed Saturday as they play for the second straight night in the high altitude of Calgary.
The Flames aren't lacking any motivation, as they look to pull out of a 1-2-2 skid that includes a 5-4 overtime loss when these teams met earlier this month in New York. However, Calgary's vulnerable in its own end right now, as well, having allowed three-plus goals in five straight at home and seven of 10 overall.
With such strong potential for both teams to put up big numbers tonight, I'm fine to make this a four-star play up to -120 juice and a three-star up to -130.
After scoring just 10 goals in its previous five games, the Sabres' offense broke out Wednesday with a seven-goal effort in Anaheim. Buffalo should be poised to build on that momentum against the Sharks, who are a dismal 5-13-7 on home ice this season. Poor defensive play is a big reason for San Jose's struggles at SAP Center, where the Sharks have allowed at least four goals in nine of their last 13.
Buffalo's own recent defensive struggles (the Sabres have given up 20 goals in their last four) are enough to keep me off the Sabres Moneyline, but I'll happily take nearly even odds to back them to score at least four goals Saturday. Play this one with confidence up to -115.
NHL best bets made 2/18/2023 at 10:25 a.m. ET.
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