Mark Lammey
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After the relaxing 2-game Friday night, we have a massive slate of action today. Per usual for Saturdays, we have early afternoon action as well. In fact, the first puck drops even earlier than most weekends. We’ll be targeting that first game for our NHL mega parlay, along with 2 of the evening games. There’s no waiting around for the night games, so let’s get right into things.
Along with our NHL mega parlay, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for today’s action.
Buffalo Sabres -1.5 (+105) over Anaheim Ducks
As mentioned, we’re getting things started with the first puck drop of the day. This play jumped off the page, and not just because it was the first one. The Sabres have been the most explosive offense all season, while the Ducks have allowed the most goals per game throughout the entire season. Anaheim recently had a miraculous comeback win on Thursday night, but we aren’t reading too much into that. It came against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
The Ducks also fell behind 3-0 in the 1st period of that game and looked lifeless. Meanwhile, the Sabres were able to take down the New York Islanders. One could argue the Isles were on the 2nd night of a back-to-back, but they actually saved starting goaltender Ilya Sorokin for the Sabres game. That in itself speaks volumes to Buffalo’s high-flying offense. With the Ducks being the only team in the NHL allowing more than 4 goals per game on the road (4.29), we’ll back the 2nd-highest scoring team in the Sabres.
Minnesota Wild ML (-105) over Florida Panthers
Let’s transition from this season’s most explosive offense to 2 of last seasons’. The Panthers are certainly not on pace to win the Presidents’ Trophy again this season as they sit at just 22-20-5. They’re certainly still a solid team, but so are the Wild. Florida had the luxury of beating up on the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night, but fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs the game prior. It’s clear that they aren’t quite as intimidating when facing competition of equal caliber.
The Wild are coming off a loss, but facing the Hurricanes in Carolina has been a tough task for any team this season. Either way, Kirill Kaprizov was actually the one to open the scoring of that game. Not only has he led Minnesota to a solid 25-15-4 record, it’s actually been their goaltending keeping things together. Specifically, their goaltending on the road has been great. The Wild are a team that was known for lighting up the scoreboard at home, but they’re also allowing just 2.59 goals per game outside of Minnesota. That’s the 5th-best road mark in the NHL, so we’ll support that strength for a bounce-back game.
Winnipeg Jets -1.5 (+185) over Ottawa Senators
Wrapping things up is our most valuable play of the 3. That’s because we’re backing a puck line for a road team. However, these odds are severely underestimating the Jets. Winnipeg has been battling the Dallas Stars for supremacy of the Central Division and the Western Conference overall. They’re being undervalued after their loss on Thursday night, but going down to the Leafs is nothing to be ashamed of.
Toronto is a great defensive team, and now the Jets get to face a Senators team on the 2nd night of a back-to-back. Winnipeg had no issues scoring against them earlier in the season, beating Ottawa 5-1. Now the Sens will be playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, with the first 2 being against a veteran Pittsburgh Penguins squad. They’ll be fatigued while the Jets will have a rested Connor Hellebuyck in net. Winnipeg will likely be the ones waiting for the Sens to get to their own arena, so we’ll support a Jets bounce-back game tonight.
Be sure to check out our Ottawa Senators vs Winnipeg Jets prediction
Saturday’s NHL mega parlay (1/21)
Sabres -1.5 (+105)
Wild ML (-105)
Jets -1.5 (+185)
Parlay odds +1040
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