Monday’s NHL schedule features six games, half of which feature big favorites. I don’t currently have any best bets to report, but read on for today’s odds, a breakdown of the schedule, and some analysis on each game.
Today’s NHL Odds
- Montreal Canadiens (+170) at Buffalo Sabres (-200)
- Florida Panthers (-135) at Ottawa Senators (+115)
- New Jersey Devils (-130) at New York Islanders (+110)
- Seattle Kraken (+110) at Minnesota Wild (-130)
- Colorado Avalanche (-250) at Anaheim Ducks (+210)
- Edmonton Oilers (-315) at Arizona Coyotes (+260)
Visit VSiN NHL Odds to see the full board.
NHL Schedule Breakdown
The following table highlights tired spots and/or days’ rest.
|
Rest
|
Visitor
|
Home
|
Rest
|
|
3/4
|
NJD
|
NYI
|
3/4
|
|
1
|
MTL
|
BUF
|
3/4
|
|
1
|
FLA
|
OTT
|
1
|
|
1
|
SEA
|
MIN
|
1
|
|
0
|
COL
|
ANA
|
1
|
|
1
|
EDM
|
ARI
|
5/7
|
Today's Games
When the Islanders acquired Bo Horvat ahead of the trade deadline, they envisioned having Mat Barzal in the lineup down the stretch. However, the forward has missed the last 15 games due to a lower body injury and, according to the team, he is not currently skating. Reading between the lines, it looks like there’s a good chance that Barzal will miss the remainder of the regular season.
At first glance, it looks as if the Islanders have improved, even without Barzal in the lineup, but I wouldn’t go that far because New York has had one of the easiest schedules in the league. The Islanders have only played five Eastern Conference playoff teams since Jan. 27th and the Devils are the toughest team they’ve played (on the road) since losing to Boston on February 18th by a score of 6-2.
New Jersey should be priced around -120 assuming the starting goaltenders are Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Sorokin. The latter has been confirmed as the starter for the home team.
- Florida Panthers at Ottawa Senators
Ottawa created some false hope for the playoffs by winning six of seven games between February 25th and March 9th, but they’ve lost seven of their last nine games and their big trade deadline acquisition, defenseman Jakob Chychrun, is sidelined for the next few weeks due to a lower body injury.
Similarly, Florida has started to slide. The Panthers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, but they’ve lost three in a row and their playoff chances have taken a hit as a result. Florida sits three points back of Pittsburgh for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ll pick up two points on Monday in Ottawa more often than not, but not enough to lay -135.
- Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres picked up back-to-back wins over the Devils and Islanders last week, but they’ve won just four of their last 14 games dating back to February 28th. Montreal is a bad hockey team, and the Sabres deserve to be a sizable favorite, but you won’t catch me laying -200 on Buffalo at this point in the season. The Sabres made a good push, but it’s clear they were playing over their heads.
News: Sabres’ forward Tage Thompson is not expected to play on Monday. Thompson leads the Sabres in goals (44) and points (89).
- Seattle Kraken at Minnesota Wild
Minnesota was the seventh-worst offensive team in the league prior to March 8th (the day that star forward Kirill Kaprizov suffered an injury) but they have been the fifth-best team on offense since then. It’s weird, but the team has had an easy schedule outside of a couple of games against Eastern Conference powerhouses. The Kraken are a weak defensive team, and Minnesota’s goaltending is much better than theirs, but without Kaprizov in the lineup, the Wild should be priced somewhere in the range of -110 to -125 depending on which goaltenders start.
- Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks
With both Troy Terry and Frank Vatrano possibly out Monday due to personal reasons, a weak Ducks’ offense could be even weaker when they host the Avalanche. Anaheim ranks 26th on offense in the month of March (Colorado ranks sixth) and even with Joonas Johansen in goal, the Avalanche are still very likely to come out on top. That said, I think a fair price for the road team, who are playing the second on the half of a back-to-back, is around -260, which isn’t enough to justify a bet.
- Edmonton Oilers at Arizona Coyotes
Arizona gave another good team a scare at Mullet Arena on Sunday when they took the Avalanche to overtime, but whatever home ice advantage they have likely isn’t going to be as powerful on the second half of a back-to-back versus Connor McDavid and the Oilers. Edmonton is the best team in the Western Conference.
However, this is the first half of a back-to-back for the Oilers, who will be in Vegas on Tuesday, and that means there’s a good chance that Jack Campbell will make his third start in the month of March. Campbell has the third-worst save percentage among goaltenders who have faced at least 1,000 unblocked shot attempts and only two goaltenders been worse through the lens of goals saved above expected (GSAx).
The Coyotes haven’t defeated the Oilers since February of 2020, but Edmonton has yet to play at Mullet Arena. I have the Oilers winning this game around 72 percent of the time if Campbell is goal, though, so I don’t think there’s much value on the home team regardless.