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NHL Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (3/31)

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We have a small four-game slate of hockey on Friday with a couple of great 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

New York Rangers (+107) vs. Buffalo Sabres (+117) | O/U 6.5 (-127/+105)

To kick off Friday’s slate, there is an Eastern Conference tilt with the Atlantic Division’s Buffalo Sabres hosting the Metropolitan Division’s New York Rangers. Once again this season, keeping the Rangers’ season intact is the stellar play of goaltender Igor Shesterkin (along with some solid special teams play).

However, since New York enters this contest on the second night of a back-to-back and Shesterkin got the nod last night, backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak is slated to start between the pipes against Buffalo. While Halak is a serviceable backup, he is a big step down from the reigning Vezina Trophy winner.

Through 22 appearances in the crease this season, Halak is 10-8-3 with a .905 save percentage (SV%). Halak could have his hands full against a wagon of an offense, as the Sabres rank in the top half of the league in Expected Goals For per 60 minutes (xGF/60) at 5-on-5.

Meanwhile, at 5-on-5, the Rangers rank just 22nd in the league in xGF/60. Additionally, big-time prospect Devon Levi is slated to make his NHL debut between the pipes for Buffalo.

At Northeastern University, Levi produced a .952 SV% in 2022 and a .933 SV% in 2023. With extra rest and the extra spark of Levi’s debut on home ice, look for the Sabres to pull off the upset.

Best Bet: Sabres ML (+117)

Detroit Red Wings (+188) vs. Winnipeg Jets (-235) | O/U 6 (-109/-110)

Later in the evening, the Central Division’s Winnipeg Jets host the Atlantic Division’s Detroit Red Wings. While the Red Wings may not win this game, there is no way the Jets should be laying north of two dollars considering their current state of affairs.

The team is imploding from within, which is why their current playoff position is slipping through their grips. Entering this contest, Winnipeg is 0-8 against the spread over its last eight games while going 3-5 straight up.

Head coach Rick Bowness is losing the locker room, publicly blasting his star players in the media after each loss. Making matters worse, there is no flow in the offense as the forward lines are altered after seemingly every night, which is having a direct impact on the failure to bury the puck recently.

Meanwhile, Detroit is playing competitive hockey lately, beating the likes of Pittsburgh and Boston over the last couple of weeks.

Winnipeg is the better team and, on paper, should win this game. However, with how much of a mess things are right now, the Red Wings at +1.5 is too good to pass up.

Best Bet: Red Wings +1.5 (-132)

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.