This Thursday’s slate has eight games on the schedule. With March fast approaching we’re also approaching the home stretch of the NHL season so every start will be vital for playoff positioning from here on out. As of writing, the Carolina Hurricanes are the largest favorite tonight by a wide margin at -410 on the Moneyline in their matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. The Calgary Flames at -245 are the second-largest favorite on the slate. There are five games with puck totals of 6.5 and only one game (Boston at Nashville) has a total of under 6.0 goals.
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Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals
Panthers Moneyline -120
The Panthers are coming off an embarrassing 6-2 loss to the Blues two days ago but are in a good rebound spot today. Florida was on the back end of back-to-back games against St. Louis and hasn’t performed well in that kind of rest spot all season. What Florida has done well this season is bounce back after bad losses. They’re now 8-3 straight up after allowing five or more goals in their previous game and are also 4-0 straight up against Washington in the last four meetings between these teams.
Despite the bad loss to the Blues, the Panthers are still 4-2 over their last six and had looked great recently in grabbing wins over powerhouses like Tampa Bay and Boston. The record isn’t what it was last year but they’re still ranked seventh in xGF% and creating scoring chances at an elite rate. They’re also facing a Capitals team still without their best player in Alex Ovechkin (personal) and who are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. At anything above -140, the Panthers look like a solid back tonight.
New Jersey Devils at St. Louis Blues
Devils Puck Line (-1.5) +160
The Devils may or may not be getting back Jack Hughes (questionable) back for this game, but regardless of his status, this looks like a solid spot to back the Devils for a big win. The Blues are just 2-5 in their last seven games, a stretch that includes two losses to the Coyotes. St. Louis recently waved the white flag on its season by trading away Vladimir Tarasenko. They will likely be hard-pressed to put together another spirited effort against an even bigger Eastern Conference powerhouse in New Jersey.
The Devils have had issues of late creating chances and their abundance of one-goal wins over the past few weeks is likely why the puck line in this one is still hovering above +150 in odds. The Devils offense is overdue for an outburst and faces a Blues defense that has allowed the 10th most high-danger scoring chances on the season. Get on this line early as any Hughes announcement could send these odds plummeting down.
Nashville Predators vs Boston Bruins
Predators Moneyline +150
The Bruins have endured a bit of a tough stretch of late. They’re just 2-3-1 over their last six games and needed overtime to take care of Dallas, another Western Conference team, in their last outing. The Predators are trying to stay relevant in the playoff race and are a strong home team (14-9-3) who have also done well against the Eastern Conference this season. The Predators have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games against Eastern Conference opponents and have also gone 8-3 in their last 11 meetings against the Bruins, in Nashville.
Long story short, Boston’s offense isn’t creating chances like it was at the start of the season and it’ll be up against a more formidable defensive team in Nashville whose goaltender Jusse Saros is coming off a great game — and has a 13-7-3 record and .921 save percentage at home this season. It’s a solid spot to back the Predators as home underdogs today.
Sam Reinhart to score a goal +210
If we like the Panthers to bounce back today, there’s no harm in looking down their lineup for a little value in the player prop department as well. Reinhart has five goals now in his last 10 games played and has played over 21 minutes in each of the Panthers last three games. He’s currently skating alongside Aleksander Barkov on the Panthers first line so the opportunities and ice time should stay in that high-volume area until something else in the lineup shifts. The Capitals have allowed three or more goals against now in four of their last five games and have been a great opponent for Reinhart, who has four goals against them in his last five meetings. At very solid +210 odds it’s a good time to back him in this market
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