If you like sitting around and watching hockey all day, this weekend is what dreams are made of. We have a whopping 25 games to look forward to, with tonight's seven-game slate being the smallest.
There is plenty of value on the board, which we're going to zero in on with our weekend best bets. Let's dive right in.
Wild (-190) @ Sabres (+155)
March 4, 7 p.m. EST
The Wild won for us inside 60 minutes Thursday night in Philadelphia. We're going right back to the well and banking on them doing the same Friday in Buffalo.
While the Sabres are coming off an impressive dismantling of the Maple Leafs, they still aren't playing great hockey right now. They have won just three of their last 10 games and controlled only 46% of the expected goals at five-on-five in that time. They rank 26th in said category, just below the Blue Jackets.
For perspective, the Wild have controlled better than 52% of the expected goals over the same period. That's good for 13th, just ahead of the Golden Knights.
With Cam Talbot getting the surprise start on Thursday night, that means Kaapo Kahkonen will get the nod in Buffalo. He has saved 3.6 goals more than expected this season, while Talbot has conceded 3.8 more than expected. That's more than a seven-goal swing.
I think Kahkonen will be able to limit the damage Buffalo's offense can do. On the flip side, the Wild offense should have a strong night against a Sabres team that ranks 29th in expected goals against per 60 over the last 10.
Bet: Wild in regulation (-125)
Red Wings (+225) @ Lightning (-275)
March 4, 7 p.m. EST
The Red Wings aren't a great hockey team. They're quite top-heavy, they're routinely out-chanced at five-on-five, and their special teams are anything but special.
Even so, I see value in Detroit in this game. They're going up against a Lightning team in the latter half of a back-to-back. That's significant and not because of fatigue.
The Red Wings will have the luxury of facing Brian Elliott instead of Andrei Vasilevskiy, which is one of the biggest gaps you'll see in quality between a starter and backup.
The 36-year-old netminder owns a .902 save percentage. That's below league average, and yet, if it holds, it'd be his best since 2018-19. He's well past his prime and tends to concede a soft goal or two that allows opposing teams to hang around in games.
I don't have confidence in the Red Wings to win this contest. However, I do believe they can score enough on Elliott to hang around and keep things close.
Bet: Red Wings +1.5 (+105)
Senators (-117) @ Coyotes (-105)
March 5, 4 p.m. EST
The Coyotes almost shockingly picked up a win over the Avalanche on Thursday night, but I don't expect them to get back in the win column on Saturday.
I believe the Senators are the better team in every sense of the word. Their share of shots, goals, chances, high-danger chances, and expected goals are all several percentage points higher than the Coyotes.
They're starting to get healthier, too, as top-line center Josh Norris recently returned to the lineup.
Could Arizona have another goaltending performance that helps them steal two points? Sure. But even though Karel Vejmelka has shown the ability to win games by himself this season, he's been wildly inconsistent, and his overall body of work isn't all that impressive.
I don't expect lightning to strike twice and am comfortable backing the Senators as slight favorites.
Bet: Senators (-117)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
