With a large slate of games in the NHL, this is a bettor’s dream. Despite three of the teams in this article not being very competitive, there is still a good opportunity to be able to take advantage of the matchups in some of the early games of the night.
Ottawa Senators (-125) vs Seattle Kraken (+105)
This isn’t the matchup that jumps off the page as a must-watch game, but any game is a good game to watch when you place a bet on it. That said, it is a solid opportunity to jump and get some good value with the Senators taking on the Kraken.
For starters, this will be the Kraken’s fourth game of a five-game road trip, and one that has so far been winless. The Kraken have allowed 14 goals over their last three games and have not gotten solid goaltending for most of the season. They head into Ottawa after a hard-fought battle against the Toronto Maple Leafs that probably took a lot of energy out of them. The Kraken sit 28th in the league in goals for and tied for 28th in goals allowed, and despite getting Jaden Schwartz back, their offense is not a force to be reckoned with.
The Senators on the other hand will be without starting goaltender Matt Murray, who has been much better for them as of late, and are likely turn to Anton Forsberg in the crease. Forsberg has allowed just three goals in his last two starts against the Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues, and earned a 4-1 victory against the latter. Josh Norris’ recent return from injury adds another weapon to the team’s forward group and a solid boost to their powerplay unit. The combination of a tired Kraken team, solid Senators goaltending, and return of their top-line center is means to jump on the Ottawa Senators bandwagon.
Florida Panthers (-375) vs Philadelphia Flyers (+290)
It is hard to get excited about these lines because the Panthers are an easy team to get behind in this one despite the low odds they provide. The Flyers are coming off a win and it’s Carter Hart’s first win in the month of March which says something about the team’s play.
The Panthers get home ice in this one, in which they own a 25-6-0 record so far this season — that alone should be reason enough to get you to take the Panthers’ moneyline. The team is the top-ranked team in the league in goals-per-game with 4.12, and does not struggle to put the puck in the net with all the firepower on their roster. Captain Aleksander Barkov is leading the offensive outburst with 11 points in his last six games, with a good chance to add to his totals against the Flyers.
The Panthers are also in a battle for the top spot in the Atlantic division, while the Flyers have nothing to play for but a higher draft pick in 2023. If you want some boosted odds you can take Florida to win by -1.5 goals at -145 as they have won by two or more goals in three of their last four games while also riding a four-game winning streak.
Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM
