Don't look now, but your boy is on a bit of a roll to end off the regular in style. Last week's 5-1 overall showing and Gold, Silver, Bronze sweep pushes my 2021 record north of the .500 mark for the first time since the start of the 2021 campaign – lots more where that came from, though, so let's dig in.

With the 2021 NHL campaign winding down and playoffs only weeks away, this is obviously the best time of year for hockey fans when it comes to entertaining matchups. In terms of betting, this chunk of the schedule can be a bit of a crapshoot. Injuries, teams playing spoiler, and fatigue are all variables that can hurt the pocketbook.

Don't stress, as always I've got you covered. With 15 games on the books for today there really is no shortage of options and opportunities to get a little degenerate and sprinkle a few wagers across the board.

Looking for another big week and I hope nothing but the same for you. Good luck.

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2021 record:

Gold: 5-5

Silver: 7-3
Bronze: 5-5

Side bets: 14-16

Overall: 31-29

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Gold Pick
Vegas Golden Knights @ Arizona Coyotes – Pick: Knights

After kicking off April with three straight losses, the Vegas Golden Knights have been on a historic run of games to close out the month with an 11-2-0 record that included a 10-game win streak. Now, the Knights' run was ruined last night at the hands of the very same Arizona team they face tonight, but let me quickly breakdown why I really like this spot for a bounce-back win in Vegas' favor.

First off, the Golden Knights are legit: balanced up-and-down the lineup, big, truculent players at seemingly every single position, and the best goalie tandem in the league have Vegas poised to make a deep Stanley Cup run.

Secondly, a red-hot Marc-Andre Fleury should be taking over the blue paint this evening for Pete DeBoer's crew as Robin Lehner took the loss last night. Flower has been absolutely sensational this season while splitting time with Lehner, as the future shoo-in Hall-of-Famer boasts a 22-10-0 record to go along with five shutouts, a 2.08 goals-against average, and .924 save percentage. Fleury also owns the Coyotes this year, posting a 3-0-0 record and two shutouts in three games – Arizona managed only 2 goals in 180 minutes of hockey against Fleury and I don't think I need to go any further to get you on the Knights tonight.

Vegas might be a legit Cup threat, but its hold on the division lead is still only four points over the surging Colorado Avalanche, so this is obviously a pivotal game for the Knights, one in which I expect them to come out early and bury the Yotes. Fleury continues his dominance over Arizona and Vegas bounces back in a big way, my Gold Pick of the week.

Silver Pick
Dallas Stars @ Nashville Predators (Over/Under 5.5) – Pick: Under

Don't fall asleep on me just yet, there's money to be made here. Even if watching this entire 60-minute matchup puts you to sleep in the process. Dallas and Nashville both play very similar brands of defensive-minded hockey (boring) and both find themselves sitting in the bottom-half of the NHL in offensive output (again, boring). Furthermore, these two division rivals are also duking it out for the fourth and final postseason spot in the Central, so you can see very quickly why I like the Under here.

Just looking at this one on paper has me feeling a low-scoring tilt. Thankfully it's a bit more than just a hunch, as the last three matchups between the Preds and Stars back the low-scoring notion, as all three stayed Under the number, including a 3-2 win for Nashville two weeks back.

The total has gone Under in nine of Dallas' last 13 games in Nashville and with the playoffs on the line and the standings so tight, I think tonight's tilt will have postseason-type intensity from start to finish. If you can tease the line up to six and still get a decent price then feel comfortable laying a bit of bigger wager on what is sure to be a tight-checking squeaker. Preds-Stars stays Under the total for my Silver play.

Bronze Pick
Vancouver Canucks @ Toronto Maple Leafs – Pick: Maple Leafs -1.5

Yeah, sue me, I'm betting on Toronto to smack around Vancouver again. Get over it. If you've been watching either of these teams over the last week and a half then you know two things right off the jump: Vancouver looks absolutely gassed after playing seven games in 12 days and that the Leafs have been flexing their muscle as the top team in the North Division.

Now, you really can't blame the Canucks for not having it over their last few games, the fact the team is even remotely competitive right now is seriously commendable and they did put up a very impressive pair of back-to-back wins over the Buds just two weeks ago. However, another Leafs win coupled with an Edmonton Oilers loss and the North crown is all but Toronto's, so you can expect a motivated group for Sheldon Keefe tonight.

The Canucks haven't won in Toronto in 10 games and with the team still reeling from its COVID outbreak I can feel another lackluster performance brewing. The Leafs keep rolling and further secure their hold on the top spot in the North, my Bronze Pick of the week.

Side Bets

L.A. Kings @ Anaheim Ducks – Pick: Ducks

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Washington Capitals – Pick: Penguins

New York Rangers @ New York Islanders – Pick: Islanders  


Flip Livingstone is a former NHL writer for theScore with past experience at such outlets as Narcity Media, Postmedia, and Hockey Night in Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @FlipLivingstone and @Flips_Picks.