The NHL odds board has betting options for 15 games this Saturday, and hockey expert Nick Martin has made predictions for two matchups on tonight's slate, including player prop picks for Rangers vs. Coyotes and Blackhawks vs. Flyers.
Let's dive into his top two NHL best bets for Saturday, March 30.
It feels like the small amount of Coyotes coverage that previously existed this season went out the window during their 15-game losing skid, which finally ended on March 1. However, the Coyotes have quietly bounced back in the month of March, generating 3.67 goals for per game and putting up a record of 8-6-0.
The Rangers have improved their defensive play of late, and were strong in that regard throughout their 3-2 win in Colorado Thursday. Still, they have allowed 3.24 xGA/60 over the last 15 games, which ranks right in the middle of the league.
We will likely see Jonathan Quick get the start for the Rangers in this matchup, considering that Igor Shesterkin has played three straight, and it is a matchup versus the league's 26th-ranked team.
There is more of a chance than oddsmakers are projecting that the Coyotes surpass their team total of 2.5. I would not mind betting that over in itself, but I see more value targeting Clayton Keller to be highly involved if the Coyotes do have a good offensive day.
Keller has been in incredible form with nine goals and 15 points over the last 11 games. He put up four points last time out versus a Nashville side that was in dominant form at both ends of the ice.
Last year, Keller put up 86 points in 82 games, and I think this current run is a more accurate take on the player he truly is than his lull throughout early 2024.
The Coyotes own a better than average power play unit, which has clicked 22.1% of the time this season. Keller is priced at +220 (DraftKings) to record a power play point in this matchup, and I feel that is worthy of a half-unit play down to +215.
He is also priced at +220 to record two points (bet365), and I believe that is also worthy of a half-unit bet.
Pick: Clayton Keller Power Play Point (+220)
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The Flyers' top trio of Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, and Travis Konecny wasn't at its best Thursday in Montreal, but still generated a wealth of chances and broke through with the Flyers only goal. Most importantly, Travis Konecny cashed our over 3.5 shots on goal at +120.
Given that coach John Tortorella loves to shuffle things up, I wanted to confirm that the Flyers recent top trio would stick together ahead of tonight's game after back-to-back losses. At the morning skate that they did remain together, and that makes me interested in targeting that unit once again.
Chicago has confirmed it will start Arvid Soderblom for this matchup, so the Flyers should be well situated to put together a quality offensive showing Saturday.
Owen Tippett is priced at +175 to score at anytime on FanDuel, and that number really jumped out to me for several reasons.
Tippett has scored a single goal in five of his last nine games played. Most of those matchups came against far tougher opponents than the Blackhawks, especially when Soderblom (.876 save %, 4.02 GAA) is in goal.
On top of those reasons, it looks like Tippett has been bumped back up to the Flyers top power play unit after mainly skating on the second unit in Montreal.
Any price better than +150 is worthy of a bet on Tippett to score. Betting him to record over 3.5 shots at anything better than -110 (DraftKings) also provides value. If you have access to both prices, I would recommend splitting a unit between the two plays. But if not, I would choose the better of the prices available on the two props.
Pick: Owen Tippett Anytime Goal Scorer (+175)
