Top NHL Betting Pick For Wednesday, April 27 (2022)
In lieu of the usual recap, I’ll begin this season’s final installment of NHL best bets with a word of advice and a sincere thank you.
First, the advice. The regular season is over for nearly every NHL team. Almost every playoff spot is decided, including seeds. All but two of the teams that’ll miss the playoffs have been eliminated for some time now. We’re not going to see a ton of starting goaltenders. We’re not going to see A+ lineups. Teams are going to ice a ton of prospects who deserve the bump to the big club after a strong year in the minors. Stats can be thrown out the window at this point; it’s a free for all. All that to say: bet with caution. If a line seems too good to be true, it probably is. Keep tabs on Twitter for lineups and goalie decisions.
And now, a thank you. This concludes my second season of NHL best bets, and it’s hard to believe it’s already over. But thank you to everyone who followed, commented, and tailed my best bets all season long. Here’s my final top wager of the year.
Bet $10, Win $200 if Either Team Scores a Goal >>
Arizona Coyotes / Dallas Stars Over 6 (+100; BetMGM)
Could this be the Scott Wedgewood revenge game? Probably not, but it’s a fun narrative if you’re really looking to bet a side in this game. Remember, Wedgewood was traded from Arizona to Dallas at the deadline, and despite being a deal that largely flew under the radar, Wedgewood has been a nice backup for Jake Oettinger.
But let’s be honest with ourselves – Wedgewood is still a backup goaltender, and backups are always optimal when playing overs. We should get Wedgewood tonight between the pipes for the Stars; Oettinger started a huge game last night against Vegas, and it’s unlikely he’ll have much left in the tank this close to the end of the season with the playoffs looming. Wedgewood has a shutout mixed into his last five starts, but in the other four, he’s allowed 16 combined goals. As bad as Arizona is, they can still fill the net if they get hot. In fact, they just scored four on a strong Blues team on Saturday.
And as I mentioned, the Coyotes are not a good team, and they’re giving up goals in bunches of late. Losers of 11 in a row, Arizona has allowed a hard-to-believe 5.4 goals per game during their current skid. They’ve allowed five or more goals in eight of the 11, six or more four times, and they were even tagged for a nine-spot by Calgary on Easter weekend.
Arizona is having all kinds of trouble keeping the puck out of the net, and regardless of who Dallas includes in their lineup tonight, they should be able to get on the scoreboard early and often. Pair the Coyotes goaltending woes with a backup netminder on the other side for the Stars, and we’re in prime position to cash an even-money over. I would play this one down to -110.
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