NHL Parlay Picks for Saturday, March 11, 2023

There are now just five weeks left in the NHL regular season. Teams have five weeks to make good on their playoff runs, get healthy, and put themselves in the best position possible to vie for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Only nine of the NHL’s 32 teams are truly out of contention at this point in the season, so 23 teams still have viable dreams of celebrating a title in a couple of months. There is more parity in the NHL than any other major professional sports league in North America, so it’s not like the NBA Playoffs where the first round is largely a formality.

This Saturday will see one of the heaviest slates of NHL betting action all season. All but two teams will be on the ice, as we are over 75% through with the regular season now. That essentially gives us carte blanche when considering who to back for this week’s NHL Parlay Pick of the Week.

NHL Betting Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are making a mockery of the league this season. Boston is running away with the Presidents’ Trophy as the Bruins have 103 points in 62 games. They are on pace to tie the record for the most wins in regular season history (62), and they have been dominant on offense and defense. The Bruins have a +105 goal differential, and only two other teams have a goal differential greater than +50. Only the Edmonton Oilers have scored more goals, while Boston has allowed 26 fewer goals than any other team in the NHL.

We saw Boston get better too before the trade deadline by acquiring Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings for two draft picks. Bertuzzi is one of those gritty players that you love to have on the roster in the postseason as he does it all as a grinder. He only scored 14 points in 29 games with Detroit this season, but he will be a key part of Boston’s third line going forward.

Detroit looked like it might challenge for a playoff spot, but the Red Wings are fading fast. They snapped a six-game losing streak on Wednesday, but that win came over the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. During that losing streak, Detroit was held to a goal or less four times, and that does not bode well for this team’s chances against Boston over the weekend. The Bruins are on a 10-game winning streak coming into their game with Edmonton on Thursday night, and they are well-rested with four days off prior to the tilt with the Oilers.

Boston should destroy Detroit on national television on Saturday afternoon so play the Bruins on the puck line.

Winnipeg Jets at Florida Panthers

Usually, it would be wise to fade the Winnipeg Jets on a long road trip, but the Florida Panthers have given up on the season. Florida was a seller at the deadline after being a top team in the East during the regular season the past few years, and the good news for Winnipeg is that the Panthers probably won’t have their top goaltender in net for this game.

Sergei Bobrovsky has been much better than his two teammates in net, even though he hasn’t been great. Bobrovsky is 20-17-2 with a 2.93 GAA and a .907 save percentage while Florida’s second-best goaltender has a 3.18 GAA. He has made eight straight starts in net though, and it is likely that he will get the day off after a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.

That would be a big boost to Winnipeg. The Jets were atop their division recently, but they have dropped nine of their last 11 games over the last month. They lost at home to Minnesota on Wednesday night, but they will now get two days off before their Southeast Swing, and Florida is a veritable must-win since the other two games are against Tampa Bay and Carolina.

Look for Winnipeg to get the job done in Sunrise on Saturday as Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele rally the troops to get a needed two points.