NHL Betting Picks & Prediction for the Week – March 26th

In the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins are skating off with the Eastern Conference, with 106 and 104 points respectively. Even the Toronto Maple Leafs, in third in that white-hot Atlantic Division, have more points (97) than the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals (95). In the West, the Nashville Predators have cooled off, losing three in a row, but they are still five points ahead of Winnipeg in the Central Division. Dallas, losers of eight in a row, look to have mailed it in after starting goalie Ben Bishop went down to injury, while San Jose has vaulted the Pacific Division standings, winning seven in a row to sit just six points behind Vegas with nine games to play. Take a look at our NHL betting picks for hockey action for the week ahead.

NHL Betting Picks & Prediction for the Week – March 26th

It’s a 5-team race for the President’s Trophy. The #Predators lead the way, with the #Lightning, #Bruins, #Jets and #GoldenKnights all chasing them. https://t.co/QkKC58i2XB

— CBS Local Sports (@CBSLocalSports) March 26, 2018

Tuesday, March 27

Philadelphia at Dallas (8:30pm ET, CSN / FSSW)

The Philadelphia Flyers are clinging to one of the wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, but they just took another frustrating loss against their in-state rivals, as the Pittsburgh Penguins took the Flyers down in overtime on Sunday, winning 5-4. The Flyers are right in the middle of the league in most statistical measures, ranking 14th in scoring and 15th in both goals permitted per game and on power play conversion. Their penalty kill (75.7%) is near the bottom of the league, and if the Flyers have real postseason ambitions, they’ll need to clean that up. Dallas has fallen off the table in the last three weeks, moving from a team looking to take one of the top two spots in the Central to a team looking for an early end to the season. Their offense has fallen out of the top 10 all the way to 21st, as they showed on Sunday when they only scored once on Sunday in a 4-1 shellacking by a Canucks team 21 points behind them in the standings. The team is relying on Kari Lehtonen in goal with Ben Bishop out, but the defense is still th league’s top ten. NHL Betting Prediction: Philadelphia 4, Dallas 2

Wednesday, March 28

Florida at Toronto (7:30pm ET, FSFL / TSN)

The Florida Panthers are three points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, and this is a big week for them to make some hay in the standings. They took down a dreadful Arizona team at home on Saturday, winning 4-2, and they take on the New York Islanders in Brooklyn before heading north of the border to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. Florida has some troubles on defense, permitting 3.0 goals per game (19th overall), and their problems converting the power play (19.1%, 21st overall) could hurt them against a speedy Leafs team. Toronto’s offense is peaking at just the right time, as their 3.3 goals per game is now second in the league. They knocked off Detroit on Saturday, 4-3, thanks to a game-winning tally from Nazem Kadri, and they host Buffalo on Monday before Florida shows up on Wednesday. Auston Matthew (shoulder) has returned from his injury and continues to contribute for the Leafs. Their penalty kill (82.5%, eighth overall) and power play (23.2%, fourth overall) make them dangerous opponents for a team that can get porous on the back end. NHL Betting Prediction: Toronto 4, Florida 3

Thursday, March 29

Tampa Bay at Boston (7:00pm ET, SUN / NESN / TSN)

No other team in the NHL scores more than the Tampa Bay Lightning, who put up 3.5 goals per game. Their offense did get cooled down in New Jersey on Saturday, as the Lightning fell by a 2-1 margin. However, the Lightning should get a shot in the arm with the Arizona Coyotes showing up on Monday night, and then Tampa Bay has two days off before the Bruins show up in this Atlantic Division showdown. Tampa Bay is also solid on the power play, ranked second overall (24.5%). A weak era is the penalty kill (76.0%, 26th overall). The Bruins are sixth in scoring (3.3 goals per game), but their defense is still elite, permitting just 2.5 goals per game (third overall). They are also in the top ten on the power play and the penalty kill. They beat Minnesota on the road in overtime on Sunday, and they play at Winnipeg on Tuesday before jetting all the way down to Florida for Thursday’s game. I give Tampa Bay a slight edge here on the basis of that jet lag that the B’s may be facing, although the night should feature plenty of scoring. NHL Betting Prediction: Tampa Bay 5, Boston 4.