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NHL Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (3/10)

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We have a mini two-game slate of hockey on Friday with a couple of lopsided matchups. Below, I give out my two best bets for Friday’s NHL slate.

Follow me on Twitter to get all my plays on days without full write-ups.

Also, take a look at our other best bets for Friday:

Friday’s Best NHL Bets

Odds via BetRivers Sportsbook

Chicago Blackhawks (+310) @ Florida Panthers (-400) | O/U 6.5 (-115/-105)

To kick off Friday’s slate, the Atlantic Division’s Florida Panthers host the Central Division’s Chicago Blackhawks. The Over in Panthers games this season is 34-25, marking yet another year where blindly taking the Over in their games is profitable.

This trend is not shocking given Florida’s play style, which is run-and-gun as it tries to go south-to-north as quickly as possible. While this play style leads to plenty of goals offensively, it also often leads to odd-man rushes the other way.

At 5-on-5, the Panthers rank first in the league in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60) but just 20th in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60). On the other side is a Chicago team that pretty much sucks at everything as it continues to tank for Connor Bedard.

However, the Hawks’ offense is currently full of young players trying to earn a permanent spot in the NHL, which is why they are averaging north of three goals per game over their last 11 games. Florida should be able to put up at least four or five goals against Petr Mrazek, who ranks 25th among starting goaltenders in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx/60) at 5-on-5.

If that is the case, just two or three goals should not be too much to ask for from Chicago.

Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-115)

Anaheim Ducks (+265) @ Calgary Flames (-345) | O/U 6 (-124/+102)

The other game on Friday’s slate is a Pacific Division tilt with the fifth-place Calgary Flames hosting the seventh-place Anaheim Ducks. Simply put, Calgary is better than Anaheim in almost every aspect of this game.

At 5-on-5, the Flames rank much higher than the Ducks in both xGF/60 and xGA/60. Additionally, goaltender Jacob Markstrom is finally starting to turn the corner this season.

Over his last four starts, Markstrom boasts a .936 save percentage (SV%) and 2.21 goals against average (GAA). This strong play is likely to continue against Anaheim, a team he has dominated over the last two seasons.

Across his last three starts against the Ducks, Markstrom is 3-0 with a .924 SV% and 1.98 GAA. Across the ice, goaltender John Gibson is slated to start between the pipes for Anaheim.

While Gibson’s job is made virtually impossible due to the lineup in front of him, he is still 13-23-7 this season with a .903 SV% and 3.89 GAA. Calgary has won each of the last four meetings and seven of the last between these two teams, a trend likely to continue on Friday night.

Best Bet: Flames -1.5 (-134)

Best of luck!

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Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.