A busy weekend in the NHL continues with nine games on Sunday. Here are today’s odds, predictions and best bets for Sunday, April 2nd.
NHL Schedule Breakdown
The following table highlights tired spots and/or days’ rest.
|
Rest
|
Visitor
|
Home
|
Rest
|
|
6/9
|
BOS
|
STL
|
6/9
|
|
0
|
NYI
|
CAR
|
6/9
|
|
3/4
|
NYR
|
WSH
|
2
|
|
6/9
|
LAK
|
VAN
|
1
|
|
0
|
NJD
|
WPG
|
1
|
|
0
|
ANA
|
CGY
|
1
|
|
3/4
|
DET
|
TOR
|
0
|
|
0
|
OTT
|
CBJ
|
0
|
|
0
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
0
|
Saturday’s NHL Odds and Best Bets via DraftKings
- New York Rangers (-130) at Washington Capitals (+110)
- Boston Bruins (-215) at St. Louis Blues (+185)
- Ottawa Senators (-175) at Columbus Blue Jackets (+!50)
- New York Islanders (+150) at Carolina Hurricanes (-170)
- Philadelphia Flyers (+185) at Pittsburgh Penguins (-215)
- New Jersey Devils (-120) at Winnipeg Jets (EVEN)
- Detroit Red Wings (+250) at Toronto Maple Leafs (-300)
- Anaheim Ducks (+360) at Calgary Flames (-450)
- Los Angeles Kings (-120) at Vancouver Canucks (EVEN)
Visit VSiN NHL Odds to see the full board.
Today’s NHL Predictions and Best Bets
New Jersey Devils (-120) at Winnipeg Jets (EVEN)
The Devils are a better team than the Jets, but after a brutal stretch of games, New Jersey is closer to Winnipeg’s level than usual. The Devils played 16 games in March and over their last 10, they rank 26th on offense. Of course, the Jets haven’t been any better, ranking 31st, but they’ve had some very poor shooting luck against some teams that they should have scored on with more ease.
Defensively, the Jets have been better, but like I said, they’ve played some weak teams as of late. Still, they’ve had decent underlying metrics for a while now, and it’s a lot easier to see them picking up a win over the Devils on Sunday given scheduling and current form.
The Devils have something to play for, being just one point back of Carolina for the top spot in the Metro Division, but Winnipeg is playing for their playoff lives and they’re worth a small bet at even money or better with defenseman Josh Morrisey set to return to the lineup.
Bet: Winnipeg Jets (Moneyline) EVEN (half unit)
New York Islanders (+150) at Carolina Hurricanes (-175)
Things went about as poorly as they possibly could have for the Islanders in Tampa Bay on Saturday, as starting goaltender Ilya Sorokin was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 21 shots. The positive is that Sorokin only played around 30 minutes and he is expected to be back between the pipes on Sunday and, while they are on the second half of a back-to-back, so is Carolina.
The Hurricanes have tougher travel to get home, though, as they just spent two games on the road and played in Canada on Saturday. The positive is that they will likely get Teuvo Teravainen back in the lineup, but, assuming Sorokin does start again, the Islanders qualify as a value bet at +150. The Hurricanes
Bet: New York Islanders +150 (half unit)
Boston Bruins (-215) at St. Louis Blues (+185)
Boston is playing their final games with the No. 1 seed locked up, so expect to see the veterans get a rest down the stretch. Patrice Bergeron did not play in Saturday’s game against the Penguins and won’t be in the lineup on Sunday in St. Louis. Linus Ullmark will be in goal for the Bruins.
Ottawa Senators (-180) at Columbus Blue Jackets (+155)
Columbus allowed over 5 goals per 60 minutes in the month of March, which was 0.5 more goals than any other team and no other team has come close to that mark in any other month this season. The Blue Jackets are tanking hard, and the Senators have been playing well over this recent stretch against some very good competition.
In their last 10 games, Ottawa has played teams like Edmonton, Colorado, Boston, New Jersey, and Toronto. They didn’t beat any of those teams, but they kept it close most of the time. Ottawa has generated more shots than all but six teams in the month of March and the Blue Jackets are one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to supressing shots. There’s might be value on the road team, but it just doesn’t quite meet my threshold.
Anaheim Ducks (+460) at Calgary Flames (-450)
Ducks’ goaltender John Gibson left Saturday’s game against Edmonton in the third period with a lower body injury. Lukas Dostal l is expected to start on Sunday in Calgary and former No. 85 selection in the 2018 NHL draft has posted similar numbers to Gibson. The Ducks did get Trevor Zegras back on Saturday, but Troy Terry and Adam Henrique remain out and won’t play on Sunday. The Flames are two points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, but you know there’s no value betting on Calgary in this spot if you know their recent history.
All bets tracked via third part app Betstamp.