Welcome to our expert NHL Best Bets today!

While today is the start of March Madness, we have a massive 14-game NHL slate, so let's jump into today's NHL predictions!

 

 

 

NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 3/20

I'll continue to focus my NHL best bets today on teams that are in the playoff hunt and searching for every point they can get since that should give us the highest level of consistency. 

 

 

 

Sabres vs. Utah Hockey Club Prediction: Thursday, March 20th

The Utah Hockey Club is coming off a tough 7-1 loss the other night against the Edmonton Oilers, but they are back at home and have a winnable matchup versus the Buffalo Sabres. 

Utah finds themselves just a few points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot, so let's keep things simple and turn to one of their best players Dylan Guenther. Over the last 10 games, he has a super-strong 42 shots on goal, while seeing time on the second forward line and the first power-play unit. 

Not only has he been firing the puck a ton but the team overall is doing the same thing. Since the start of March, Utah comes in with 67.19 Total Shot Attempts Created per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the second-best in the NHL. That should bode for Guenther and Utah since the Sabres have allowed 3.3 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations since the start of March, which is the worst in the league. 

Utah has been shooting a ton; Buffalo has a terrible defense and has been allowing a ton of goals. Guenther has nine shots over his last three games but no goals. For NHL best bets, I love looking for a player to get on the right side of variance when he has an easy matchup and that's what Guenther brings us tonight. 

 

 

 

Kings vs. Blackhawks Prediction: Thursday, March 20th

The Los Angeles Kings are one of the streakiest teams in the league, but they have an easy matchup tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. 

The Kings are coming off a loss, and prior to that they had five straight wins, and prior to that they had five straight losses. It's all over the place for the Kings when it comes to wins and losses, but one thing that isn't all over the place are shots. 

Since the start of March, the Kings have generated 64.48 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-best in the league. Over that same time and in the same situations, the Blackhawks have allowed the sixth-most (60.29) Shot Attempts. 

This is a matchup of two teams at opposite ends of the shot spectrum and it brings me to Alex Laferriere, who comes in with 25 shots on goal over the last 10 games. He brings a strong level of consistency to the table, and he's also had success against Chicago this season with eight shots on goal in two games. 

The Kings need as many points as they can get right now, and this isn't a matchup they should be losing. Operate normally and pile up the shots – a recipe for NHL best bets success. 

 

 

 

Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 3/20