Expert NHL Best Bets and Predictions for Saturday, March 9

NHL Best Bets

Now that the trade deadline is behind us, it’ll get a little bit easier to have a feel for each team going into the playoffs. That said, sometimes it takes a couple of games for the new players to acclimate to their new surroundings, so don’t put a ton of stock into teams that made big moves immediately. There are 13 games today, so it should be a fun and exciting Saturday of hockey. Let’s get into my NHL best bets.

Pittsburgh at Boston (-198, 6)

The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading towards rock bottom. They traded away one of their best scorers, Jake Guentzel, and this team hasn’t been able to figure it out. 

The Boston Bruins have won two out of their last three games and are just one point back of the Florida Panthers for first place in the division. The Bruins took the season’s first meeting between these two teams, winning by the score of 6-5 back in January. 

Boston is a very difficult team to score goals considering that they have arguably the best goaltending tandem in the entire NHL between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. Ullmark hasn’t been at his best lately. Today is an opportunity to get back on track. He will be facing a Penguins team that has lost four out of their last five games and is coming off a 6-0 loss. Pittsburgh is averaging less than three goals per game. Their power play is only converting at 15.1%. Ullmark should be able to handle them. 

David Pastrnak is leading the way for Boston with five goals and seven assists in his last 10 games. He should be able to lead the charge for the Bruins, who have scored nine goals in their last three games. Pastrnak is fourth in the league in scoring with 91 points. He has had at least four shots on goal in his last three games.

Tristan Jarry is expected to be in goal. His numbers haven’t been great lately. In his last eight starts, Jarry is 4-4-0 with a 3.37 goals against average and a .889 save percentage. 

I think today’s game will be all Boston. 

NHL Best Bet(s): Boston Bruins to win in regulation -125 (play to -135) | David Pastrnak over 4.5 shots on goal +100 (play to -110)

Winnipeg at Vancouver (-142, 6)

The Vancouver Canucks are happy to be back home tonight after their successful three-game road trip. The Canucks went 3-0-0 and only gave up one goal against in each of those three games. 

Tonight, they’re going against one of the best goalies in the NHL in Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets. They will need Thatcher Demko to be as good as he’s been lately. 

While Vancouver has been able to defend very well during this win streak, they’ve struggled to score goals, which is very uncharacteristic for this group. In the same span, they’re averaging 2.33 goals per game while their power play is at just 14.3%. 

In the Jets’ last three games, they’ve been pretty solid defensively, even though Laurent Brossoit, who deserves a ton of praise for how well he’s played, has been in goal. Brossoit had a shutout in the team’s last game, which made the group feel confident. The Jets have been one of the league’s best defensive teams all season. 

This should be a great goaltending battle between Demko and Hellebuyck. While both teams are defending well, this should have a playoff feel. 

Bet: Under 6 -120 (play to -130)

March Record: 6-10 (-6.91 units)

2023-24 record: 106–121 (-40.17 units)