Mark Lammey
Show Bio
There’s just 4 NHL games on the board tonight, but it’s just an appetizer for tomorrow’s huge 13-game slate. It’s also more than enough action to build our bankroll heading into Saturday. By piecing together our 3 favorite plays, we can make a parlay with mega odds that can cover all of your plays for tomorrow and then some. We’ve got 2 great Eastern Conference clashes early on and 2 Western Conference battles to finish off the night. After breaking down the matchups, our experts have come up with our 3 best plays for tonight’s action. Before we dive in, be sure to check out our NHL picks for today’s action.
Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (+165) over Pittsburgh Penguins
One of those Eastern Conference clashes is between 2 perennial playoff teams. The Penguins head up to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs as they look to work their way out from the bottom of the Metro Division. Pittsburgh has had an ugly start to the season, and just ended a 7-game losing streak on Wednesday night. Although they were able to pull out that win, they still have issues. The first of which is playing on the road. Prior to their recent win, they were 1-6 away from Pittsburgh, with their only win being against the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets.
Their road losses also included some shocking ones like falling to the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Kraken for the second time. One of the reasons the Pens have been struggling is their goaltending. They finally made the executive decision to leave starter Tristan Jarry on the bench and start backup Casey DeSmith on Wednesday. While that led to the win, an inconsistent goalie room is not ideal for any team. The Leafs haven’t been perfect either, but they’re sitting in the top half of the Atlantic Division and have won 3 of their last 4 games. With them having been at home and resting since Tuesday, they can make it 4 of 5 tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals – Under 6.5 (-120)
We’re sticking with the other big Eastern Conference matchup, but transitioning to a total. These are 2 more teams that are perennial playoff teams and have accounted for 3 of the last 5 Stanley Cup winners. The primary leader in the Lightning winning 2 of the last 3 has been goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. He won the Vezina Trophy for the NHL’s best goaltender in 2019 and is the 2nd-betting favorite to win it this season. Despite not winning the award every season, he’s still regarded as the most elite goaltender collectively over the past few seasons. He’s big for a goaltender at 6’4” and 225 pounds, and has the task of taking on Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals tonight.
While that may not sound good for a low-scoring game, Vasilevskiy can slow down even the best goal-scorers. The last time the Lightning were on the ice was against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, and that game finished with just 5 total goals. Regardless, this is also about Ovechkin and his lack of help. The Caps are decimated by injury, including his main assist-man in Nicklas Backstrom. Along with John Carlson and enforcer Tom Wilson on the injured reserve, Washington is almost solely reliant on Ove for any goals. They were just held to a single goal against the struggling Pens, so Vasilevskiy can keep this game low-scoring.
Be sure to check out our Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals predictions
Dallas Stars -1.5 (+120) over San Jose Sharks
Finally, we have a matchup with two teams in the Western Conference. To say they got off to opposite starts to the season would be an understatement. The Sharks began the season 0-5-0 and at 3-8-3, they’re ahead of only the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division. On the flip side, the Stars have been shining bright and are behind only the Winnipeg Jets at the top of the Central Division. Dallas is coming off of a loss to that Jets team, but don’t let that cause any hesitation with this play. They had won 4 of their 5 games prior to that, including a 6-2 road win over McDavid and the Oilers.
That game helps demonstrate with the Stars having been performing so well. Goaltender Jake Oettinger held the high-flying Oilers to just 2 goals, and he even shutout the Caps earlier this season. He’s been standing on his head all season, and is 3rd in terms of goals saved above expected. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Dallas is allowing less than 2.5 goals per game. That spells disaster for a Sharks team that is the 3rd-lowest scoring team in the NHL. Meanwhile, the Stars have increased their goal output this season. With youngster Jason Robertson leading the way, Dallas is now the 4th-highest scoring team in the league. With that type of discrepancy between these teams, expect the Stars to bounce back on home ice.
Friday’s NHL mega parlay (11/11)
Maple Leafs -1.5 (+165)
Lightning vs Capitals – Under 6.5 (-120)
Stars -1.5 (+120)
Parlay odds +968
Pickswise is the home of free NHL Picks and NHL Predictions. Check back for our daily NHL Best Bets, including our favorite NHL Prop Bets.
