Tag: NHL betting odds lines picks best bets against the spread over-under

Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers odds, picks and best bets

NHL betting analysis around the Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers Thursday matchup, with NHL odds, spreads and betting lines to exploit.

The Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers reignite their Metropolitan Division rivalry Thursday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto for a 4 p.m. ET puck drop. Top seed in Round 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs is back on the line after the Boston Bruins took another loss Wednesday, against the Tampa Bay Lightning. We analyze the Capitals-Flyers NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Capitals vs. Flyers: Projected starting goalies

Braden Holtby vs. Brian Elliott

Holtby was strong in a shootout loss to the Lightning Monday, stopping 26 of 28 shots faced. He and the Caps went 1-3 against the Flyers in the regular season. He stopped 30 of 31 shots in his one win in the series but gave up a total of 15 goals in the other three games.

Elliott will draw the start in net over Game 1 starter Carter Hart. It’s an odd pivot for the Flyers after Hart’s dominant playoff debut and his play against the Caps in the regular season. Elliott played to a .899 SV% and 2.87 GAA in 27 regular-season starts and four relief appearances. He went 2-0 against Washington with 50 saves on 54 shots.

Place a legal NHL bet on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet now!

Capitals vs. Flyers: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Thursday at 3:50 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Flyers 4, Capitals 3

Moneyline (ML)

Take the value with the FLYERS (+105) against a Capitals (-125) team they dominated through the regular season. Elliott struggled for parts of the year, but he played two of his best games against these division rivals.

The Flyers got past the Bruins without any major contributions on the offensive end from Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux or Jakub Voracek. The emergence of the depth forwards was a promising sign, but expect to see more of the Big 3 against the Caps’ top trio of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Flyers to win in regulation or overtime returns a profit of $10.50.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Though I like the Flyers to win this game outright, the CAPITALS -1 (+135) are worth a small bet against the spread due to the nature of the line.

There’s no value in backing the Flyers +1 (-167). If they lose by a single goal, the bet will result in a push and the wager will be refunded. If they lose by two or more goals, the bet will be lost. Back the Flyers on the monyeline for the outright win, and hedge with a smaller wager on the Capitals to win by at least two at +135.

Over/Under (O/U)

The Caps and Flyers ranked seventh and ninth, respectively, by Corsi For Percentage (rate of total shot attempts, including blocked and missed shots) in the regular season. The Caps also outscored the Flyers 240-232 through 69 games.

The final two regular-season meetings featured a total of 16 goals. Take the OVER 6 (-121) with the safety of a push in a potential 4-2 win for either team.

Esten’s NHL betting record: 12-9

Get some action on this NHL matchup in CO, IN, NJ and WV. Place a legal sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.

Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens odds, picks and best bets

NHL betting analysis around the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens Wednesday matchup, with NHL odds, spreads and betting lines to exploit.

The Eastern Conference’s fifth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins will look for a second straight win and the qualification round series lead against the 12th-seeded Montreal Canadiens Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET. We analyze the Penguins-Canadiens NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Penguins-Canadiens: Projected starting goalies

Matt Murray vs. Carey Price

Murray allowed just four goals on 62 shots in the first two postseason games for a .935 save percentage and 1.79 goals against average. The two-time Stanley Cup winner has improved his postseason career numbers to a .922 SV% and 2.14 GAA, and he has held off backup Tristan Jarry.

Price is nearly single-handedly keeping the Canadiens in this series. He has stopped 74 of 78 shots faced through two games, with both of those numbers being league highs early in this 24-team postseason. His career .915 SV% and 2.51 GAA are weighed down by his lackluster early-career numbers, as he has been dramatically better in more recent trips to the playoffs.

Place a legal NHL bet on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet now!

Penguins vs. Canadiens: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Penguins 3, Canadiens 1

Moneyline (ML)

I like the script from the PENGUINS’ (-167) Game 2 victory to remain consistent for the rest of this series following their shocking loss in the opener to the Canadiens (+140).

Penguins C Sidney Crosby opened the scoring sooner than five minutes into Game 2. W Jason Zucker doubled the lead with just over five minutes remaining in the third before Canadiens W Jesperi Kotkaniemi made it 2-1. LW Jake Guentzel then potted a late empty-netter for the Penguins to seal it.

Back the PENGUINS (-167) to take their first lead of the best-of-five series.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Penguins to win in regulation or overtime would return a profit of $6.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Take PITTSBURGH -1 (+100) at even-money on the puck line. It might not come without a late sweat, but the Penguins should win by 2 goals again in Game 3. They’ve dominated both the true shot count and shot attempts through two games, and are a much better-rounded team up front.

Over/Under (O/U)

The UNDER 5.5 (-143) remains the simple play with both goaltenders in top form out of the long midseason break. Two straight Unders to open this series should have dropped this line to an even 5 goals. Take the value and safety with the half-goal hook for as long as it lasts.

Esten’s NHL betting record: 8-8

Get some action on this NHL matchup in CO, IN, NJ and WV. Place a legal sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.

Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars odds, picks and best bets

NHL betting analysis around the Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars Wednesday matchup, with NHL odds, spreads and betting lines to exploit.

The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars renew their rivalry in a Wednesday Western Conference round-robin matchup in Edmonton. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and Round 1 seeding in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is on the line. We analyze the Avalanche-Stars NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Avalanche vs. Stars: Projected starting goalies

Philipp Grubauer vs. Ben Bishop

There’s no reason to expect the Avalanche to pivot to Pavel Francouz after Grubauer stopped 31 of 32 shots in a 2-1 win over the defending champion St. Louis Blues in Colorado’s playoff opener. He improved his career postseason numbers to a .913 save percentage and 2.58 goals against average.

Bishop should also retain the starting job in net even after his team’s third-period collapse against the Vegas Golden Knights Monday. He stopped just 28 of 32 shots on goal but has a career .927 SV% and 2.16 GAA in the playoffs.

Place a legal NHL bet on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet now!

Avalanche vs. Stars: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Wednesday at 1:50 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Stars 3, Avalanche 2

Moneyline (ML)

The STARS (+110) swept the regular-season series against the Avalanche (-129), winning twice in regulation – 2-1 and 4-1 – and twice in extra time – 3-2 in a shootout and 3-2 in overtime.

The Avs put forth an immaculate all-around effort in their postseason opener while the Stars blew a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes to lose 5-3. Look for Bishop to bounce back in a strong fashion and for the Avalanche to slip after a big win over the Western Conference’s top seed.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Stars to win in regulation or overtime would return a profit of $11.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

PASS on the puck line. There just isn’t enough value in the Stars’ line of +1.5 -250 in a game I think they can win outright. With the talent on offense for both teams this could very well be decided by multiple goals in either direction. It would only make sense to eat the chalk if it truly felt like a safer play.

Over/Under (O/U)

Lean to the UNDER 5.5 (-106). All four regular-season meetings played to a total of five or fewer goals and Colorado combined for just three total goals in their win over the Blues.

The Stars should look to play a tighter game after being on the wrong side of the high-scoring affair with the Golden Knights.

Esten’s NHL betting record: 8-8

Get some action on this NHL matchup in CO, IN, NJ and WV. Place a legal sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.

Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins odds, picks and best bets

NHL betting analysis around the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins Wednesday matchup, with NHL odds, spreads and betting lines to exploit.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins continue their Eastern Conference round-robin play Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The puck will drop at 4 p.m. ET as the third of the six Stanley Cup Playoff games on the day’s docket. We analyze the Lightning-Bruins NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Lightning vs. Bruins: Projected starting goalies

Andrei Vasilevskiy vs. Tuukka Rask

Vasilevskiy started much stronger this postseason than he did last year in the Lightning’s surprise first-round exit at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He stopped 31 of 33 shots faced in Tampa Bay’s 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals Monday.

Rask will make his 2019-20 playoff debut after sitting on the bench for backup Jaroslav Halak in Sunday’s shocking 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Rask will now face his fellow Vezina Trophy candidate with a couple extra days of rest on top of the four-month layoff.

Place a legal NHL bet on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet now!

Lightning vs. Bruins: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Wednesday at 1:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Lightning 2, Bruins 1

Moneyline (ML)

These two played twice in their final five games of the regular season. They split those decisions, with the Bruins (-112) winning 2-1 and the LIGHTNING (-106) winning 5-3. The Lightning also earned a 4-3 shootout victory and a 3-2 regulation win earlier in the season to take the Atlantic Division rivalry series 3-1.

The Eastern Conference’s second-seeded Lightning earned the win against a better opponent (the Capitals) in their opening game of round-robin play. This game should truly be a pick ’em, so take the added value on the LIGHTNING (-106).

As seen in Tampa Bay’s first game, these round-robin contests play just a five-minute overtime before a shootout to decide the winner. The Bruins went 0-7 in shootouts in the regular season, while the Lightning were 2-1 and are already 1-0 in this postseason format.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

There’s just enough value on the puck line to take LIGHTNING +1 (-189) in what’s sure to be a tight, low-scoring game between two of the top goaltenders in the NHL.

Should the Lightning lose by a single goal, the investment of the bet will be refunded in full as a push. If the Lightning win outright, as predicted above, then both bets would cash.

Over/Under (O/U)

The best bet on Wednesday’s six-game slate is the UNDER 5.5 (-106). We’re seeing two perennial Vezina Trophy candidates, including a rested Rask.

The four regular-season meetings between the two split 2-2 on this projection, but expect the modified playoff conditions and Boston’s added stress of the opening loss to factor into a true defensive battle.

Esten’s NHL betting record: 8-8

Get some action on this NHL matchup in CO, IN, NJ and WV. Place a legal sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.

Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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