NHL Betting Picks For Thursday, March 15


Sometimes when you shoot for the better value, you end up costing yourself a winner. That’s what happened last time we posted our free NHL betting picks, passing up on taking the Blue Jackets Moneyline in order to take the Avalanche Team Total Under 2.5 at plus money instead. Columbus, of course, won the game 5-4 in overtime.

That loss dropped us to 32-17 on the year, although we’re still up around 13 units because of consistently making bets that pay close to even money or better. A lot of other NHL betting picks sites like to pick big favourites in order to make their winning percentage look good, but laying -200 every night is a quick road to the poor house in NHL betting.

We’ve got 2 more bets for tonight that pay in those price ranges again. Let’s get to them.

Don’t forget to check out our live odds page if you’re interested in seeing tonight’s NHL betting lines. Otherwise, here’s what we like for tonight:

NHL Betting Picks For Tonight

Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres

The last time the Leafs visited Buffalo, they dropped a 5-3 decision a couple of weeks ago in a game that wasn’t really as close as the final score suggested. The Sabres roared out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and although the Leafs managed to tie the game in the second, Buffalo quickly responded with a couple of more goals and coasted to victory.

That makes us believe the Leafs won’t be taking anything for granted when they visit the Queen City tonight, and they’ll also elevate their focus with backup netminder Curtis McElhinney in net and still playing without Auston Matthews. Meanwhile, the Sabres have cooled off a little bit following a recent hot stretch, scoring just 1 regulation time goal in 5 of their last 8.

Toronto’s at the slight disadvantage of playing for the second straight night, but the commute to Buffalo is the Leafs’ easiest one of the year so travel won’t be a factor. The Sabres might be at more of a disadvantage from a situational standpoint, having not played since Saturday.

We like the Leafs to get the early jump on their hosts tonight and earn a comfortable victory themselves.

NHL Betting Prediction: Toronto Maple Leafs -1 (puck line) +122

Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers

The Bruins have owned the Panthers over the years, going 20-8-2 in their last 30 trips to Florida. But Boston’s not in a great spot tonight, playing in its 4th different city in the last 6 days. The B’s are also leaking oil defensively, allowing at least 3 goals in 8 of their last 10 outings.

Florida’s been putting the puck in the net with regularity during its recent hot streak that has propelled the Panthers back into playoff contention. The Cats have scored at least 3 goals in 10 straight outings, and there’s no real reason to believe their offence will cool off against Boston’s Anton Khudobin.

We’d be all over the Panthers here, but it looks likely that James Reimer is going to get the start in net instead of Roberto Luongo. Instead, since we love Florida’s chances of scoring some goals and also think Boston will get a few on Optimus Reim, let’s play the Over.

NHL Betting Prediction: Bruins/Panthers Over 5.5 -118