For a little treat (and per request for more NHL picks) we thought we would do a Saturday Special for the NHL slate. After going 2-1 with our picks on Thursday, we sit 20-6 on the season! Let's dive into our favourite bets:

This is an interesting game to me. I thought Buffalo would be a better team this year, but this has not been the case; especially with Rasmus Dahlin out. Washington meanwhile has seemingly improved this year with some under-the-radar moves, even with the recent loss of Captain Alex Ovechkin. The Caps simply find ways to stay in the win column. What really interests me about this game is the total, as the Capitals are expected to start Logan Thompson who has struggled with the Sabres so far in his career, posting a 5.05 GAA and a .844 save percentage. Looking at recent matchups of the last 10 games these teams have played the over is 8-1-1. Considering the trends and the surprisingly potent Capitals offence even without Ovie, I'm eyeing the over. Pick: Over 5.5 goals (-120 or 1.83x) - 1 unit

The Blue Jackets are stumbling, dropping five of their past six games including a home loss against the Flyers on Tuesday and a defeat against the Capitals on Thursday, while Anaheim remains surprisingly competitive even during their current five game-losing streak. The history here though stands out to me as the Anaheim Ducks have a record of 4-1-0 in their last 5 games versus the Blue Jackets and are 5-0-0 in their last five games on the road versus Columbus. This season, by most metrics, Columbus has been a bit better of a team except for one area: goaltending. The Ducks have a major advantage thanks to Lukas Dostal who is expected to start this game and has a 1.98 goals against average and a .944 save percentage on the road. In short, I expect a much closer game than the line suggests, and though I thought about the puck line, I see too much value on Anaheim here. Pick: Anaheim ML (+150 or 2.50x) - 1 unit

Simply put, one of these teams has a strong offence and solid goaltending while the other has a lacklustre office and questionable goaltending. The Bruins are having trouble keeping pucks out of their net ranking 25th in goals against per game. It hasn't been any better on the other end as they have scored two or fewer goals in five of their last 10 games. On the season they rank 29th in goals per game and 20th in shots per game. The Canucks on the other hand have scored three or more goals in seven of their last 10 games; on the season they rank ninth in goals per game. The Canucks sit first overall in the league with the lower expected goals against, shutout the Bruins 2-0 back in late November and are coming off a 4-0 shutout win over the Boston Bruins. Vancouver has been the better and more consistent team all season. They recently received some key players back in netminder Thatcher Demko and heart-and-soul forward J.T. Miller. Pick: Canucks ML (-135 or 1.74x) - 1.5 units. I will also be playing Canucks ML and Over 5.5 goals together (+225 or 3.25x) for another half unit.

Last but not least, due to popular demand I thought I would throw a little parlay in here, especially because there are a few favourites I really like but are too chalky to get value in a straight play.

Saturday Parlay (+233 or 3.23x):

Florida Panthers ML
Toronto Maple Leafs ML
Winnipeg Jets ML

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