It’s St Patrick’s Day in the NHL (hence the reason for the early starting times) and we have a big rivalry matchup in the Big Apple, the first matchup on our best bets for March 17, that sees the NY Rangers take on the NY Islanders.
For the first time this season we are targeting a Sharks player to come good for us in our player prop bet and our final selection this St Patrick’s Day has us looking at some early goals in the Pittsburgh and Detroit matchup.
Let’s break down today’s NHL odds at the top sports betting sites.
Picks Summary
- Islanders-Rangers Over 5.5 (-115)
- Fabian Zetterlund Shots Over 2.5 (-120)
- Red Wings-Penguins First Period Over 1.5 (-125)
*All Odds available at Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers
Sunday, March 17, 2024 – 01:00 PM ET at Madison Square Garden
Betting Trends
- The total has gone over in the previous three matchups between these two teams.
- The Rangers are 8-2 on home ice in their previous 10 NHL games, whilst rivals the Islanders have gone 6-4 in their previous 10.
Target Low Total Line
Although there’s a big rivalry game at stake here, we are going to look to bet the over as we believe the line is set at 5.5 is too dam low in this high-scoring era of the NHL.
These two teams combined are 78-53 to the total over 5.5 goal line in the NHL this season. This gives us a hit rate of 59% which, in betting terms, should be around -130 to see 6+ game goals.
Heading into this game the NY Rangers are 43-19-4 and sit 3rd overall in the Eastern Conference, the sportsbooks have them down as -195 moneyline favorites playing on home ice.
The Islanders have an overall winning record sitting at 29-22-14, but they are ranked 8th in the Eastern Conference and just about hanging onto the final playoff spot.
Best Bet
The previous five games between these two teams have seen at least six goals scored, but the Islanders are only 4-6 to the over 5.5 goals line in their previous 10 outings whilst the Rangers have gone 5-5.
That said, we like the value of this pick, there’s a lot on the line with the Rangers looking to bounce back from defeat to Tampa Bay whilst the Islanders are looking to get out of a 0-2 slump. Our computer is predicting a 4-2 Rangers victory, we could even see seven goals in this one, but the value is there on the 5.5 line down to as low as -130.
NHL Pick: Over 5.5 (-115) at Bet365
San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Sunday, March 17, 2024 – 06:00 PM ET at United Center
Betting Trends
- Fabian Zetterlund has seen over 3+ game shots in 6 of his previous 9 NHL games.
- Zetterlund comes into this road matchup as the San Jose Sharks’ top shot-taker this season, averaging 2.38 shots per game.
Zetterlund to Get Mojo Back
We usually try to avoid San Jose players for prop bets, it’s nothing personal just the way the team is right now it’s hard to know who to trust or who the go-to guy is but, when they are playing against the worst team in the league, we are prepared to oppose that anti-San Jose trend.
All things considered, we said they don’t have a go-to guy, especially now since they traded their only go-to guy in Thomas Hertl, but they do have a consistent player in Fabian Zetterlund, who has been the Sharks’ top shot-taker this season.
Although it’s a low shot-per-game average of 2.38, we do like him to bounce back in this game and put up 3+ shots at -120 NHL betting odds.
Best Bet
Zetterlund has faced the Blackhawks just once this season, putting up a season-high 8 shots on the night, we believe he can do similar tonight, or at the very least put up three shots.
Despite laying juice we are confident the Swedish-born player can put up some shots as he has now gone two games without having had 3+ shots, before this cold streak he had gone 6-3 to the over 2.5 shot line.
NHL Pick: Fabian Zetterlund Shots Over 2.5 (-120) at Bet365
Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Sunday, March 17, 2024 – 06:00 PM ET at PPG Paints Arena
Betting Trends
- The Detroit Red Wings have seen the 3rd most amount of NHL games go over 1.5 goals in the 1P this season with a 42-23 record.
- Both these teams are 3-7 in their previous 10 NHL games.
Expect Goals Early in Pittsburgh
The Detroit Red Wings are one of the top goalscorers and goals against in the NHL in the first period this season. Overall Detroit ranks 7th in the goals for the department and 6th in the goals allowed.
There are some slight concerns with the Penguins’ stats, as they rank towards the bottom of the list in first-period totals to go over 1.5 goals (3rd last with a 29-35 record). That said, the Penguins are leaky at the back right now, and Detroit is capable of putting up some quick goals when they get going.
Best Bet
It’s a lot of juice to lay at -125 for the over 1.5 first-period goals, but the sportsbooks are clever here, it’s very likely this hits but we don’t look to lay any more than -130 NHL betting odds.
The Penguins come into this game off the back of a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks, a game which saw three first-period goals. Detroit lost 4-1 to Arizona, that game had two first-period goals.
NHL Pick: First-Period Over 1.5 (-125) at Bet365
*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
