After a wild Saturday in which all 32 teams played on the same day for the first time in history, the NHL is back with just two games on Sunday. Read on for today’s NHL odds and moneyline predictions for Sunday, April 9th.
NHL Schedule Breakdown
The following table highlights tired spots and/or days’ rest.
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Rest
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Visitor
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Home
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Rest
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0
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BOS
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PHI
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6/9
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0
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COL
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ANA
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0
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Saturday’s NHL Odds
- Boston Bruins (-270) at Philadelphia Flyers (+230)
- Colorado Avalanche (-300) at Anaheim Ducks (+240)
Visit VSiN NHL Odds to see the full board.
NHL Predictions for Saturday
There are no best bets currently, but here are my predictions for the two games on Sunday.
Boston Bruins (-270) at Philadelphia Flyers (+230)
Boston is chasing history as they look for their 63rd win of the season to secure the record for most wins all time in the NHL. The Bruins beat the Devils 2-1 on Saturday, and they have three games remaining and all three are against non-playoff teams including Sunday’s matchup versus the Flyers.
Bruins’ head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed that Jeremey Swayman will be between the pipes on Sunday after Linus Ullmark picked up his league-leading 39th victory of the season on Saturday. The Flyers have not confirmed their starting goaltender for this game, but Carter Hart was in goal versus the Islanders, and he hasn’t started back-to-back games all season.
From a betting perspective, it’s obvious that Boston deserves to be a big favorite, and they’ll likely win the game, but the fact that it’s the end of the season – and the second half of a back-to-back – creates a bit more uncertainty. Will any of the top players sit this game out? And, even if they do play, what will the ice time look like?
The Bruins are a deep and they’ll be in good shape whether they rest some players or not, but from a betting perspective, Boston’s -265 odds aren’t enticing enough to justify betting on them in this spot. Boston might blow the Flyers out the way they have in the two previous games, outscoring them 10-1, but nine of Boston’s last 10 games have been decided by one goal and they don’t appear to be as sharp after playing such a gruelling stretch of games over the last five weeks.
Prediction: Boston – 73.3 percent (-275)
Colorado Avalanche (-300) at Anaheim Ducks (+240)
The Avalanche narrowly defeated the Kings (4-3) even though they were badly outplayed for most of the game. Prior to a Los Angeles penalty late in the third period, the Kings owned 66 percent of the expected goals in the game, so the Avalanche can thank Alexandar Georgiev’s 38-save performance.
Meanwhile, Anaheim fell to the Coyotes at Mullet Arena in Tempe, and they are in danger of losing their 11th game in a row on Sunday. The Ducks have been outscored 48-18 in the last 10 games, which also included a 5-1 loss to Colorado at home on March 27th and Colorado ranks as one of the best offensive teams in the league over the last month.
They’re missing key players (most notably Cale Makar), but the Avalanche should still win this game roughly 75 percent of the time. The team is still fighting for the top spot in the Central Division. The goaltending matchup is interesting. I’m a fan of Pavel Francouz, and he’s been good this season, but 22-year-old Lukas Dostal has been decent. Of course, the Ducks rarely turn his efforts into wins.
Predictions: Colorado – 74.9 percent (-298)