Betting Analysis and Predictions for NHL Games, March 31
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Thursday night delivers the usual large slate. This time, the NHL schedule is nine games long. The final night of March is expected to deliver some fireworks as Ontario sports betting draws closer to the horizon next month.
With that spotlight on Canadian teams, the slates require a keen eye and a quicker dive. Let’s get at it.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Winnipeg Jets found a way to win on Wednesday night in Buffalo. It would probably be stretching it to say they have a chance against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. However, it is the Maple Leafs and one never quite knows how this team will perform.
Does Winnipeg have some value?
This is where it gets fun. For Thursday night, we have seen some numbers on sites tail towards the 3.00 range for Winnipeg. That is on the moneyline.
Toronto is one of the better teams at home in the league at 24-7-2. Winnipeg is two games over .500 on the road and has won eight of their previous 11 games. Toronto has gone 7-3-1 in the same span.
Now, the idea is to play with the data a little. Toronto has scored three or more goals in nine of their past 11 games. That includes every home game since the first week of March.
The Maple Leafs, with some goaltending issues, realise they have to score to win. Simply, it’s working.
Some other statistics feed into this, too. Winnipeg is 26th on the penalty kill and it is without Kyle Connor and Nate Schmidt again (both quarantined in the United States). Add in the fact that Winnipeg is unrested and that spells trouble.
The shift heads to the Over. Though the Under unexpectedly hit last night, looking to the team Over of 3.5 goals for Toronto could pay dividends.
After all, Toronto has connected there in eight of the past 12 contests. That has been buoyed by Auston Matthews. Matthews has 49 goals in 61 games this season and has a chance to score his 50th on home ice tonight.
Winnipeg did find a way to manage three goals on Wednesday (via the shootout goal) but has the potential of scoring two or three goals tonight. The Over (16-5 in Toronto-Winnipeg matchups and 4-0 when Winnipeg has no rest) keeps trending in an absurd way. Toronto’s depth with their offense may be too much for a tired Jets team tonight.
There is one more game to look at tonight which focuses on a team north of the 49th parallel.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Calgary Flames
The Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames play one of the late games on Thursday night from the iconic Calgary Saddledome.
There is tons of sports wagering risk with this game but Calgary expects to come in angry. This was after a tough loss to Colorado on Tuesday where the Flames peppered Darcy Kuemper with 45 shots and still lost.
Sports wagering can be akin to a bucking bronco. Most would think the Kings could hang tough here. They know Calgary’s coach Darryl Sutter very well. After all, he won two Stanley Cups with Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014. However, Sutter knows the Kings even.
Honestly, goaltending sides a good deal to Calgary here, especially at home. Jacob Markstrom is 20-6-6 at home while allowing a mere 65 goals.
That seems to tend to the fact that Los Angeles likely will have a tougher time scoring goals (despite an 18-9-6 road mark). Could the puckline be in play?
As we said, the late game has several areas to exploit. The Over is at an even (1.91).
Now, that 6.0 can leave room for a push. Would one consider Calgary for a team Over if their goal total stays at 3.5 goals? That is one avenue.
The other facets are on the puckline and the moneyline. The moneyline seems too far to consider but the puckline is approaching the 1.8 to 1.9 range (even).
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