There are just five games on Sunday’s NHL schedule after a jam-packed Saturday card where 30 of the leagues 32 teams were in action.
Today’s NHL Odds
- Colorado Avalanche (-305) at Arizona Coyotes (+255)
- Boston Bruins (EVEN) at Carolina Hurricanes (-120)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (-180) at Nashville Predators (+155)
- Vancouver Canucks (-170) at Chicago Blackhawks (+145)
- St. Louis Blues (+190) at Los Angeles Kings (-225)
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
|
|
0
|
TOR
|
NSH
|
6/9
|
|
1
|
COL
|
ARI
|
4/6
|
|
6/9
|
BOS
|
CAR
|
0
|
|
6/9
|
VAN
|
CHI
|
0
|
|
0
|
STL
|
LAK
|
0
|
- Colorado Avalanche at Arizona Coyotes
The Avalanche have beaten the Coyotes twice this season otherwise, including their most recent win (3-1) on Friday in Colorado. However, Arizona is 20-11-3 at home this season, including a 6-3 win back in December.
Arizona ranks 32nd in expected goals percentage over the last month, but former NHL players Shane O’Brien and Scottie Upshall were guests on a recent episode of the VSiN Hockey Betting Podcast and talked about why it’s so tough to play in Tempe at Mullet Arena.
I think a fair price for this game is around -253 in favor of the Avalanche, but you’ll find differing opinions. For example, Evolving Hockey predicts the Coyotes will only win 27.1 percent of the time (+269) and Moneypuck predicts they will win 31.8 percent (+214) of the time.
- Toronto Maple Leafs at Nashville Predators
Nashville could get their best player, Roman Josi, back in the lineup, which would impact things. Josi is listed day-to-day, having missed three games due to injury, but the fact that the coach is not grouping him with the players that are not going to play (like star forward Filip Forsberg) leaves the door open for him to return on Sunday, even if it is unlikely.
Toronto is .500 (6-6 straight up) in March and their play shouldn’t be inspiring much confidence in bettors. The Maple Leafs aren’t in control right now (50 percent expected goals in March) and haven’t been for a while. They should be able to beat the Predators, who are coming off a 7-2 loss to the Kraken on Saturday, but the Maple Leafs aren’t a good bet at -180.
- Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks
The Canucks have continued to improve under new head coach Rick Tocchet. Vancouver ranks as a top-10 team in expected goals (all situations) in March and goaltender Thatcher Demko has posted a .922 save percentage and a 6.2 GSAx since returning at the end of February. The Canucks have won nine of 11 games so far this month.
Demko was in goal on Saturday against the Dallas Stars, though, and that means Collin Delia might be in goal when the Canucks visit the Blackhawks in Chicago. That’s a big downgrade. The Canucks should beat the Blackhawks, but I’m not interested in laying -170 on this team and that goaltender in this spot.
- St. Louis Blues at Los Angeles Kings
Today’s Best Bets
Update: The Bruins won't have a full lineup after all and it certainly isn't a 'slight deviation' from the original plans. This nixes the original handicap below.
Boston Bruins (Moneyline) EVEN
Originally, I was worried that the Bruins would rest players on Sunday, but it appears as if that will not be the case. Boston clinched the Atlantic Division in Saturday’s win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the team wants to send another message on Sunday before they begin to rest their top players. After all, the Hurricanes are the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season.
Both teams are playing tired, especially Boston, but it sounds like the latter plans on emptying whatever is left in their tank for the regular season with the goal of getting a win over the Hurricanes. By my estimation, the Bruins should be a small favorite (-108) and therefore I think they’re a good bet at even money or better.
Carolina is not the same team since losing forward Andrei Svechnikov to a season-ending injury. In fact, the Hurricanes rank 22nd in expected goals percentage (47.54) in the seven games since (they were outshot 44-28 by Toronto on Saturday) and the rate at which they score goals has begun to drop off as well.
That’s not a good mix against a team like Boston, who has the best goaltending tandem in the league and their own goaltender, Frederik Andersen, has been medicore as of late. Boston’s Jeremy Swayman will be in the crease on Sunday and he’s arguably the hottest goalie in hockey right now and I don’t think that’s being factored in enough.
Bet: Boston Bruins (Moneyline) EVEN
All bets tracked via third part app Betstamp.