There is less than a month of regular season games to play in this already epic year of NHL! With a season high 15 games on the agenda today, we have hand picked the 5 which we feel are the most likely to line your pockets. Have a read below for all our NHL picks.
Buffalo Sabres @ Boston Bruins – 1.00 PM EDT
The Sabres and Bruins wrap up their series in Boston today, it will be the 5th time the teams have met from their last 7 games played, and as things stand it doesn’t look too good for the Sabres.
Their most recent match was on Thursday and ended in a comfortable 5-2 win for the Bruins, their 6th win from 7 games against the Sabres this season.
Back to work today in Boston. 🏒#LetsGoBuffalo | @1LECOM pic.twitter.com/859K6l0ROm
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 30, 2021
The game was quite even for the majority, with the Bruins taking a 1 goal lead early only for the Sabres to pull one back. At the end of the first term the Bruins scored again, this time on a powerplay, and after a goalless second term the Sabres drew level early in the final term.
However, it didn’t last long as the Bruins went on to put 3 unanswered goals past the Sabres to blow the scoreline out to 5-2.
David Krejci and Brad Marchand scored as well as an assist in the win, finishing the game on 2 points a piece alongside Craig Smith who had 2 assists.
With the best record over the last 10 games in the East, and 6 wins from 7 games so far against the Sabres, it is hard to imagine the Bruins don’t finish strong with another win in this series
NHL Pick – Boston Bruins (-420)
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Columbus Blue Jackets @ Carolina Hurricanes – .7.00 PM EDT
With the pressure of losing a 10th straight game on their shoulders, the Blue Jackets narrowly scraped through in a shootout against the Red Wings on Tuesday to end their losing ways.
After playing their previous 6 games on the road against some of the division’s strongest teams it was a good return home for the struggling Blue Jackets.
The match finished 0-0 in regulation time, with neither side finding the back of the net despite taking 74 shots between them. This is something that the Blue Jackets have consistently struggled with this season, since the start of March they have never scored more than 4 goals, and have only scored 4 goals on 5 occasions.
While they will be happy to see their loss streak put to bed, the Blue Jackets now have to hit the road once again to face the division leaders.
Similarly to the Columbus side, the Canes are coming into this game following a most recent victory over the Red Wings, coming in the form of a 3-1 home win on Thursday.
The scoreline was tight, but it was a dominant performance from the Canes, restricting the Red Wings to a measly 17 shots while attempting nearly double.
Sebastian Aho bagged 2 assists in the win, and Teuvo Teravainen notched a goal and assist, ending a 2 month long point drought in the process.
The Canes have booked their place in the playoffs and currently sit 2 points ahead of the second place Panthers, with a good run of fixtures to see out the season they look like good value to finish as division champions.
NHL Pick – Carolina Hurricanes (-330)
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New York Rangers @ New York Islanders – 7.00 PM EDT
The Rangers and Islanders meet again today for the final Battle of New York for the 2021 season. The Islanders have so far had the better of their cross town rivals, leading the head to head by 5 games to 2 ahead of today’s match.
Their most recent game on Thursday once again went the way of the Islanders, shutting out the Rangers 4-0 for just their 4th win over the last 10 games.
While they haven’t been in the best form of late, the shutout victory was an impressive ninth for the Islanders for the season, 3 more than any other team in the competition.
The two sides were very even statistically, taking nearly the same amount of shots and hits, and gave up the same amount of penalties.
The Islanders were more clinical than the Rangers, and thanks to a solid performance from Semyon Varlamov in net, they were able to keep their opponents goalless.
“Both of our goalies have just been phenomenal. You feel so comfortable back there with them, it’s the way they come to the rink every day. They want a lot of shots and they’re tough to score on in practice. They’ve really helped us.”
Wahlstrom ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Wsbnn9EpNK
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 30, 2021
Scott Mayfield finished the game with 2 assists for the Islanders, as did Brock Nelson, who took a break from scoring the goals himself, Nelson leads the Islanders for goals this season with 16.
The Islanders now sit just 1 point above the Bruins in 4th place, however, they have an ideal set of fixtures ahead of them which sees them play the Sabres and Devils after today’s match.
NHL Pick – New York Islanders (-146)
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Vancouver Canucks @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 7.00 PM EDT
The Canucks and the Maple Leafs are set to play the final match of their 2 game set in Toronto tonight, and after their match on Thursday it is clear that there is a lot of work for the Canucks to do in this one.
The 4-1 defeat was the third straight for the Vancouver side, and their 7th over the last 10 games, putting them in last place on the North Division table, 1 point behind the Senators.
However, the Canucks have played 6 less games than the Senators, and 5 less than the Canadiens who currently sit in 4th, meaning the Canucks still have a chance of making playoffs, but their current form is far from inspiring.
The Maple Leafs notched their 4th straight win and look to be back at their best following their poor run of form in the middle of April.
The scoresheet on Thursday was largely unsurprising for the Maple Leafs, with William Nylander and Auston Matthews both scoring an all too familiar goal, while Mitch Marner buried a goal and assist for his 62nd point of the campaign.
After keeping the Canucks to just 16 shots for the game we are expecting to see the Maple Leafs put on another classy performance today and extend their streak to 5 games.
NHL Pick – Toronto Maple Leafs (-330)
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Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers – 10.00 PM EDT
The Oilers get their chance to get some revenge over the Flames today for their 3-1 loss to them on Thursday. The Oilers were in the unfavourable position of playing 2 games in 2 days against a well rested Flames side, and they didn’t look at their best with the effects of fatigue playing a role.
The Flames scored a goal in each term of the match, with Elias Lindholm responsible for their first 2, both of which were assisted by Matthew Tkachuk.
The Oilers did attempt more shots than the Flames, but didn’t look as well oiled as usual when trying to finish. James Neal scored their only goal with his effort midway through the opening term.
#Flames head coach Darryl Sutter discusses his team’s play vs. the Oilers and how they match up with their forward group. pic.twitter.com/ZFtOXYTQfS
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 30, 2021
The win was not solely attributed to the Oilers being tired, the Flames set up extremely well on defense, with Rasmus Andersson putting in a strong shift, even picking up 2 assists. Jakub Markstrom allowed just 1 goal from the Oilers’ 31 attempts to keep his side ahead.
The two sides have already played 9 games this season, and as things stand the scores are tight. The Oilers are leading by 5-4 on the head to head, and will be looking to redeem themselves today and take away the bragging rights.
NHL Pick – Edmonton Oilers (-138)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
