Richard Masana 
As the end of the season approaches, let’s get amped up to tackle a huge Thursday slate consisting of ten games. We have full odds, favorite lines, a highlighted best bet, and more below!
4/7 NHL Main Slate of Games – Beginning 7 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Flyers (+120) at Columbus Blue Jackets (-140) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Buffalo Sabres (+290) at Carolina Hurricanes (-380) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Pittsburgh Penguins (+100) at New York Rangers (-120) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Nashville Predators (-195) at Ottawa Senators (+160) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Montreal Canadiens (+150) at New Jersey Devils (-170) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Seattle Kraken (+140) at Chicago Blackhawks (-160) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Toronto Maple Leafs (-130) at Dallas Stars (+110) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Vancouver Canucks (-195) at Arizona Coyotes (+160) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Edmonton Oilers (-130) at Los Angeles Kings (+110) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Calgary Flames (-240) at San Jose Sharks (+190) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
4/7 NHL Favorite Lines Per Dollar
Top Line – Calgary One “Matthew Tkachuk ($6,900), Elias Lindholm ($6,900), Johnny Gaudreau ($7,300)“
Keep in mind that Calgary is coming in on the second night of a back-to-back “it just finished up, Calgary won 4-2 and this line scored two more full line goals”. When you combine that with the Flames’ game time late in the night, they may go a bit more overlooked than usual on such a big slate. However, lest we not forget just how great this line has been all season. As tremendous -240 favorites in a game with a 6.5 implied total as of the time of writing, there is a lot to like here. Season-long full-line goals are below.
As far as a more recent window, they remain among the top ten lines in the NHL in goals scored over their last ten games.
Secondary Line – Carolina One “Sebastian Aho ($7,000), Teuvo Teravainen ($5,500), Seth Jarvis ($3,500)”
They should be a bit chalky but how could I not mention a line from a -380 favorite? Their SATF in the graphic could certainly be much better but this is the sort of spot through which can likely add to that goal total. They will be looking to exact revenge here having just lost to the Sabres 4-2 on the road. They are also very affordable which comes in handy when we are looking at potentially pairing them with some very expensive lines. Keep in mind Seth Jarvis does not share correlation on the top power-play unit with the other two skaters. If leaving someone off, he would make the most sense. That said, he is super cheap so does provide some savings if needed.
4/7 NHL Honorable Mention: Toronto Maple Leafs One “Auston Matthews ($9,600), Mitchell Marner ($7,500), Michael Bunting ($4,300)”
It’s not the greatest of spots but the ten-game sample above gives you an idea of just how hot this line is. It would be hard not to mention them in a way, even with a subpar matchup on a huge slate. That said Dallas is coming in on a back-to-back and may be susceptible. I think Auston Matthews will get ownership just because he’s Auston Matthews. However, using an additional linemate or two certainly makes for a contrarian lineup with considerable upside.
Top Defender
Roman Josi – Nashville Predators – $8,900 – The de facto choice for top defenseman returns yet again. In a worse matchup perhaps he could be ignored on the basis of price. However, tonight Nashville is a -195 favorite here against the Senators and it is likely Josi is heavily involved as always.
Top Goalie
Juuse Saros – Nashville Predators – $8,300 – Let’s turn to Nashville once again and back Saros here in a game he should see enough shots, as well as grab the win. So I guess we could call it a “Juicy” matchup, har har har. There are no 5.5 total games on this slate so six is as low as we’re going to get.
4/7 NHL Best Bet
Montreal Canadiens Moneyline (+140) DraftKings – The Devils are currently -160 home favorites for this game as of the time of writing. The Canadiens are no superstars to be fair with a further depleted roster post-trade deadline. However, new coach Martin St. Louis has helped toughen this team’s resolve and over their last ten games they only have three wins but two came over giants Tampa Bay and Toronto, and among those losses are a 4-3 loss to the Panthers, 3-2 to Bruins, 4-3 to the Stars, etc. so competitive with playoff teams. The Devils meanwhile have lost 8 of their last ten with the lone wins a 3-2 win over said Canadiens and a 7-4 shocker against the Rangers “I clearly remember that one as the Rangers ML was listed as one of my picks that night”. As of Sunday, New Jersey’s young star Jack Hughes is now out for the season. They have some competitive losses too during their 2/10 stretch for sure but also games like the 8-1 loss to the Bruins. With the odds so short on NJ, there seems to be some value here on the road dog Montreal.
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