NHL Friday betting picks & top parlays – March 11, 2022

There are just four National Hockey League (NHL) games scheduled for Friday, starting at 7pm EST. Here’s where you should place your bets on the day’s matchups.

Vegas Golden Knights (+120) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (-140)

Vegas played Thursday, albeit against Buffalo, but that’s not why the Golden Knights are underdogs in this one. Pittsburgh has actually been better than Vegas at scoring goals and preventing goals this season. The Penguins also score more on the power play and hardly ever take penalties (396 penalty minutes). They also kill penalties at an 85-percent rate.

Pittsburgh also has the advantage in goal, with Tristan Jarry sporting a 92 percent save percentage and 2.34 goals-against-per-game average. Vegas could also be without defenseman Brayden McNabb. Take Pittsburgh to win at home on the moneyline.

Minnesota Wild (-210) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (+170)

Both Minnesota and Columbus played Thursday, so tired legs in this one could play a role. As of this writing, Minnesota is the biggest favorite of the day, and for good reasons. The Wild hold the advantage in net, score at a better clip than Columbus, and defend better than Columbus. The total goals for and against averages puts the Wild one full goal better than Columbus.

Minnesota does spend some time in the penalty box (581 penalty minutes), and that could be exacerbated by having played the previous day, but both teams will be on level playing fields in that regard. The Wild also struggle killing penalties (76.2 percent kill rate), so the only way this one goes sideways for Minnesota is if they can’t stay out of the box.

Take the Wild on the moneyline and parlay them with Pittsburgh for +153 odds at Bovada. Also, since both teams might be a little lazy from having played on Thursday, bet that under six total goals are scored at -115.

Winnipeg Jets (+100) @ New York Islanders (-120)

Both teams in this game also played Thursday, and since the moneyline isn’t particularly attractive, bet that under six goals are scored at -120. Parlayed with the under in the Minnesota/Columbus game results in +242 odds. Again, two teams plus tired legs equals fewer points.

Washington Capitals (-110) @ Vancouver Canucks (-110)

This is the only game of the day featuring two rested teams, but Washington is amidst a grueling road trip through Canada, and Vancouver has won three straight games and four of five.

The Canucks have been successful recently because they’ve managed to score considerably more than they have on average this season. While the Canucks have limited goals against (2.85 per game), they’ve struggled to score them (2.86 per game). Washington won’t help Vancouver by taking penalties (437 penalty minutes this season), and it wouldn’t matter much if they did (80.9 percent penalty kill rate).

On paper, the Capitals are the better team. Whether they’re the better team on Vancouver’s ice in a third-straight game far away from home is apparently in question given the moneyline. Take the Canucks to continue their streak if they end up the underdog according to the early money.

Both teams are trending above six goals being scored in this one. In fact, neither team has played a game in which fewer than six goals have been scored in their last five, so take the over at -105. If you really want to have some fun, parlay the over in this game with the unders in the Wild/Blue Jackets and Jets/Islanders games at +569 odds.