NHL Predictions: Odds, predictions and best bets for Saturday, April 8th

Friday is an off day for the NHL, but the league is back on Saturday with all 32 teams playing in 16 games. The regular season is winding down, but teams continue to fight for seeding, and a few are still fighting to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

NHL Schedule Breakdown

The following table highlights tired spots and/or days’ rest for Saturday's games:

Rest	Visitor	Home	Rest
1	CHI	SEA	4/6
4/6	NSH	WPG	2
4/6	VGK	DAL	1
3/4	NYR	CBJ	1
3/4	TBL	OTT	1
2	EDM	SJS	1
2	ANA	ARI	1
2	CGY	VAN	1
1	CAR	BUF	1
1	STL	MIN	1
1	FLA	WSH	1
1	MTL	TOR	1
1	NJD	BOS	1
1	PIT	DET	1
1	PHI	NYI	1
1	COL	LAK	1

There are only two games on Sunday, so I thought I’d also include them here to add more context to this weekend’s schedule.

Rest	Visitor	Home	Rest
0	BOS	PHI	6/9
0	COL	ANA	0

Saturday’s NHL Odds

• Carolina Hurricanes (-155) at Buffalo Sabres (+135)
• Pittsburgh Penguins (-170) at Detroit Red Wings (+145)
• Vegas Golden Knights (+115) at Dallas Stars (-135)
• Edmonton Oilers (-260) at San Jose Sharks (+220)
• Anaheim Ducks (+125) at Arizona Coyotes (-145)
• Nashville Predators (+135) at Winnipeg Jets (-155)
• New York Rangers (-255) at Columbus Blue Jackets (+215)
• Tampa Bay Lightning (-155) at Ottawa Senators (+130)
• Montreal Canadiens (+310) at Toronto Maple Leafs (-380)
• Florida Panthers (-150) at Washington Capitals (+130)
• Philadelphia Flyers (+210) at New York Islanders (-250)
• New Jersey Devils (+115) at Boston Bruins (-135)
• St. Louis Blues (+170) at Minnesota Wild (-200)
• Chicago Blackhawks (+310) at Seattle Kraken (-380)
• Calgary Flames (-155) at Vancouver Canucks (+135)
• Colorado Avalanche (-125) at Los Angeles Kings (+105)

Visit VSiN NHL Odds to see the full board.

NHL Predictions and Best Bets for Saturday

Here are my three best bets versus the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. I’ve included my prediction in both percentage form and American odds. Shop around and compare prices versus odds at different sportsbooks as odds can vary.

Best Bets:

Carolina Hurricanes (Moneyline) -155 at DraftKings

Edmonton Oilers (Puck Line) -115 at BetMGM

Vancouver Canucks (Moneyline) +135 at DraftKings

Carolina Hurricanes (-155) at Buffalo Sabres (+130)

After being shut out by the Nashville Predators on Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes have a chance to put some breathing room between them and the New Jersey Devils in the standings, and at the same time, end the Sabres’ playoff hopes. Tage Thompson is back in the Sabres lineup, but the Hurricanes are being shorted here by oddsmakers in my opinion. There was a bit of a dip in their play after the Svechnikov injury, and their offense has taken a hit, but they’ve been trending in the right direction and, by my estimation, should be priced closer to -175 as you can see below.

Prediction: Carolina – 63.3 percent (-173)

Pittsburgh Penguins (-170) at Detroit Red Wings (+145)

Pittsburgh has slipped out of the playoff picture, and even if they win this game, the Islanders and/or Panthers will stay ahead of them if they win as well. As you can see below, I believe Pittsburgh will win the game almost 60 percent of the time, but the Red Wings and Penguins rank 21^st and 20^th on defense over the last month and I’m not laying -170 on the latter.

Prediction: Pittsburgh – 59.8 percent (-149)

Vegas Golden Knights (+115) at Dallas Stars (-135)

Dallas hasn’t gotten the results they’ve probably deserved at home this season, going 20-19 straight up, and while they have won four out of their last five games in somewhat dominant fashion, their underlying metrics have dipped in recent weeks. Vegas, meanwhile, has slowly improved their underlying play over the last couple of weeks and it looks like my prediction is in line with what sportsbooks have set the line at.

Prediction: Dallas - 55.7 percent (-126)

Edmonton Oilers (-260) at San Jose Sharks (+220)

Winners of six in a row, the Oilers have come back to life in terms of their chances of winning the Pacific Division and Saturday’s game against San Jose is one they should win easily. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Stuart Skinner in goal instead of Jack Campbell given that the latter started on April 5^th and Skinner has only played one game since the beginning of the month. The Oilers don’t play again until April 11^th.

The Sharks just played two games in a row against the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche, and while the Avalanche were missing some key players, the difference between how Edmonton is priced both on the moneyline and on the puck line is telling. You could bet on Colorado at as high as +114 to cover the puck line (-1.5) on Thursday in San Jose. The best you’ll find on the Oilers is around -115 but I’m still willing to bet it. San Jose is being gifted far too much home ice advantage.

Prediction: Edmonton Oilers - 77.1 percent (-337)

Anaheim Ducks (+125) at Arizona Coyotes (-145)

For a while it looked like the Coyotes would find themselves outside of the bottom-five, but after losing nine in a row they find themselves ranked 28^th overall. The Ducks have also lost nine in a row, and the loser of this game will be the winning franchise in the eyes of the fans, as both organizations would like to draft sure-fire No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Prediction: Arizona - 58.4 percent (-141)

Nashville Predators (+135) at Winnipeg Jets (-155)

Predators’ defenseman Roman Josi is expected to be back in the Nashville lineup in time for Saturday’s huge game against the Winnipeg Jets. The Predators are just one point back of the Jets for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference so getting Josi back is big. Unfortunately, forward Filip Forsberg is not back in the lineup.

The opening price on the home team at DraftKings is oddly off market, as the Predators are a much bigger underdog elsewhere, but because I think the game should be priced around -160 in favor of the Jets (assuming Josi is back for the Predators) I can’t justify taking advantage of it. Someone with a different opinion on the game would be able to, though. Winnipeg has been just too hit and miss for my liking.

Prediction: Winnipeg – 61.5 percent (-160)

Florida Panthers (-150) at Washington Capitals (+135)

Florida continues to push for the playoffs, while the Capitals are playing out the remainder of their games with no real purpose and my prediction for the game is in line with what’s available at most sportsbooks.

Prediction: Florida – 60.9 percent (-156)

Montreal Canadiens (+300) at Toronto Maple Leafs (-385)

Toronto beat Montreal 5-1 back on February 18^th, it was the most lopsided matchup in the season series since November of 2017. Typically, these two teams come to play when they meet up, regardless of where either is in the standings, but Montreal is next-level bad right now and the Maple Leafs will win this game around 80 percent of the time.

Prediction: Toronto – 79.4 percent (-386)

New York Rangers (-265) at Columbus Blue Jackets (+215)

Forward Patrick Kane last played on April 2^nd, but the Rangers has had defenseman Ryan Lindgren in the lineup for a couple of games and that’s a positive. Jacob Trouba was also in the lineup on Thursday after getting banged up in Wednesday’s game.

It’s still unclear who the Rangers will play in the first round. The Devils are their most likely opponent, but if the Carolina Hurricanes stumble, and the Devils leapfrog them in the standings, things could flip before the end of the season.

The Rangers don’t really have a say in the matter, as they’re four points back of New Jersey with the same number of games remaining, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kane sat out longer.

Prediction: New York – 72.8 percent (-267)

Tampa Bay Lightning (-155) at Ottawa Senators (+130)

Injuries are piling up for the Tampa Bay Lightning at the wrong time as Anthony Cirelli, Erik Cernak, Brandon Hagel, Tanner Jeannot, and Pat Maroon are all listed day-to-day. The Senators can’t capitalize on it in any meaningful way after being eliminated from playoff contention in Thursday’s blow-out loss to the Panthers in Florida, but it does level the playing field a bit assuming Ottawa still shows up looking to win a hockey game.

The Senators have strong underlying metrics, but with injuries to important players (Jakob Chychrun and Thomas Chabot) it’s tough for a bad defensive club to make good on any strong offensive play, and Ottawa lacks scoring talent. They did beat Tampa Bay 7-2 back on March 23^rd, though, but as mentioned, they’ve suffered some injuries since then and their season is all but over.

The Lightning have been propped up by Andrei Vasilevskiy as of late, and while they do deserve to be the favorite, I certainly wouldn’t be laying -155 on them if their lacking in the depth department. The team is already top heavy, and they could very well be outplayed by the Senators in this one.

Prediction: Tampa Bay – 55.7 percent (-126)

Philadelphia Flyers (+215) at New York Islanders (-270)

New York is fighting for a playoff spot, and they will likely win this game regardless of who starts in goal. The Flyers are in action again on Sunday when they host the Boston Bruins, so it’s possible Carter Hart will be rested for the home start against the league’s best team. Philadelphia has lost five games in a row after winning five of six prior to that.

Prediction: New York – 69.1 percent (-224)

St. Louis Blues (+170) at Minnesota Wild (-200)

Kirill Kaprizov will return to the Minnesota Wild lineup on Saturday evening in St. Louis. The Wild’s star player has been out since March 8^th. Meanwhile, Blues’ forward Robert Thomas is listed day-to-day. It matters whether Thomas plays or not, but even if he does, the Blues will be a big underdog in this game. St. Louis has had a strong offense as of late, though, ranking among the top-five teams in goals per game since the start of March. Prior to that, the Blues ranked 22^nd on offense. This is another game that is off market quite a bit but not in the way that I can suggest taking advantage of.

Prediction: Minnesota – 66.7 percent (-200)

New Jersey Devils (+115) at Boston Bruins (-135)

Boston has clinched everything there is to clinch, but the team does still have a chance to put themselves in the history books by finishing with the most points and most wins of all time. Boston rallied to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime on Thursday and they are now just one win away from tying the record for the most regular season wins (62) held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bruins are within five points of tying the record for most points in an NHL regular season set by the Montreal Canadiens way back in 1976-77. Boston will play the Canadiens in their final game of the regular season on April 13^th.

Boston has more important things to worry about than chasing regular season records, but with four games to go and the Devils being their last worthy opponent, it looks like the Bruins will accomplish both feats regardless of whether they win on Saturday or not and they might be without two of their best players.

David Krejci hasn’t played since April 1^st, and defenseman Charlie McAvoy was injured in Thursday’s game. I could see McAvoy being held out for precautionary reasons, even if his injury isn’t serious and that, of course, impacts my prediction. Not to mention, the Bruins have been resting players sporadically and this is the first half of a back-to-back which means there’s a little more uncertainty than there usually is when projecting a lineup.

Prediction: Boston – 58.3 percent (-140)

Calgary Flames (-160) at Vancouver Canucks (+135)

Calgary’s playoff hopes are still alive, albeit barely, and I’m hoping the Canucks can play spoiler on Saturday. Vancouver ranks among the top-10 teams in expected goals over the last month and they’ve been a whole lot better than the Flames on defense as of late. The Flames have underperformed all season long, with their most recent game against the Blackhawks being a shining example of that. Why would that change now when there is more pressure on them than ever before? The Canucks haven’t fared well versus Calgary this season, but it hasn’t been so lopsided that I wouldn’t consider betting on them at the current odds. In fact, given the recent form of the two teams, I think there’s value betting on the Canucks, even if they are going to lose more often than they win.

Prediction: Calgary – 55.1 percent (-123)

Chicago Blackhawks (+310) at Seattle Kraken (-400)

Yikes. Not much to say here. This one could get ugly. In fact, it probably will.

Prediction: Seattle – 76.9 percent (-332)

Colorado Avalanche (-130) at Los Angeles Kings (+110)

Colorado has only lost three games in their last 16, following a three-game skid but they learned that Cale Makar is out indefinitely, according to Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Gazette, so the vibes aren’t as good now, as they head into Saturday’s game versus Los Angeles. This game is a coin flip, according to my betting model. Los Angeles is a strong team, but their numbers have dipped a bit over the last few weeks and that’s concerning. They’ve had a lot of success recently, but I don’t see enough value in +105 to consider betting on them in this spot.

Prediction: Colorado – 50.2 percent (-101)

All bets tracked via third part app Betstamp.