NHL Top Pick for Today
NHL Pick: Maple Leafs Puck Line -1.5 (-115) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
Picks Summary:
- Canadiens ML (+246)
- Maple Leafs Puck Line -1.5 (-115)
- Stars ML (-125)
The Maple Leafs have already defeated the Sabres twice this season and Monday night will make it three times in a row!
Let’s review the NHL odds in this contest, as well as two more of our best bets, and keep cashing in our NHL picks!
Remember, fans from the Empire State who want to wager on this game should check out our top-rated New York betting sites.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Montreal Canadiens
Monday, March 13, 2023 – 07:30 PM EDT at Bell Centre
Colorado is fresh off of a 3-2 overtime victory against the Coyotes in Mile High and outshot their opponents by a whopping 44-20 margin.
Denis Malgin (8) and Nathan MacKinnon (28) scored in regulation but it was defensive stalwart, Cale Makar, who decided to carry the puck over center ice, break around the defense, and backhand a low shot past the stick hand side of Arizona goalie Connor Ingram.
But the Avs will have to leave the cozy confines of Ball Arena for a four-game northern road trip beginning on Monday night with a date in Montreal when they take on the Canadiens.
Speaking of which, Montreal has been a hard-luck loser over its last six games, dropping five of six by one-goal margins with the other being a 3-1 loss to the high-flying Devils on Saturday.
The public will auto-fade the Habs and lay whatever the oddsmakers want on the Avs. But that’s just reflexive betting and I believe we should consider the inherent value in every wager we make.
These teams have met only once before, a 3-2 overtime win by the Avs in Denver, but I’m going to grab the juice at the current NHL odds with what I believe is a live home dog in this one.
NHL Pick: Canadiens ML (+246) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Buffalo Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Monday, March 13, 2023 - 07:30 PM EDT at Scotiabank Arena
The Sabres have dropped their last four, and six of their last seven, including a 2-1 overtime loss to the Rangers on Saturday. At least Buffalo put on a gritty display in that one as opposed to their 10-4 blowout loss to Dallas two nights earlier.
On the other side of the ice, the Maple Leafs have won their last two, and six of their last eight contests, including a 7-4 win over the Oilers on Saturday. John Tavares and Noel Acciari had two goals apiece while forward Mitchell Marner had a goal and three assists to cop the #1 star of the game.
Toronto has already beaten their divisional rivals from Buffalo twice this season, a 5-2 win in November followed by a 6-3 victory in February.
As we can see in the stats above, the Leafs are a much more balanced team than Buffalo and will enjoy a huge advantage when on the power play as evidenced by their No. 3 power play unit versus the Sabres’ 31st-ranked penalty-killing unit.
I suspect Toronto will handle Buffalo in the same manner in which they have before, in dominating fashion. And because of that we will lay the 1.5 and look for another big win by the Maple Leafs.
NHL Pick: Maple Leafs -1.5 Puck Line (-115) at Heritage Sports
Dallas Stars vs. Seattle Kraken
Monday, March 13, 2023 - 10:00 PM EDT at Climate Pledge Arena
This is a rematch from Saturday in which the Stars eked out a 4-3 overtime victory in hostile territory. Not only are the teams the same but so too is the venue. But whether the outcome will be different is the big question.
Perhaps the first thing that sticks out is how good Dallas is on the road. Boasting a 19-8-5 record on the highway, the Stars are one of the best in the league when playing in an opponent’s barn.
Ironically, Seattle is even better on the road as evidenced by their 21-9-3 mark, but as we all know this game will be held at the Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Kraken, where they are a middling 16-13-4.
In other words, the venue appears to be much more advantageous for the road team than the home club.
In the last game, the Stars managed a late goal by Joe Pavelski to knot the game at three apiece and send it into extra innings. Miro Heiskanen one-timed a saucer pass by Max Domi to seal the overtime win and give the Stars the extra point.
So, what will be different about this game? Perhaps the penalties won’t be as one-sided this time around, as Dallas had eight penalty minutes while Seattle had only two minutes in the sin bin on Saturday. I won’t try and reinvent the wheel.
The Stars are the better team due primarily to their defense and that will tell the tale again on Monday night.
NHL Pick: Stars ML (-125) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
