What a time to be alive, hockey heads. With no shortage of amazing individual success stories or teams flexing their Cup caliber, the NHL is buzzing right now with enticing betting angles to analyze across the entire league. An absolutely juicy 13 games await on today's NHL betting board with a few of our favorite spots broken down below.

With that said, there are a number of matinee starts on today's slate, so make sure you get your research in early and jump on the best lines and odds possible. As always, good luck and let's get this paper.

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Updated 2023-24 Saturday Record (Complete Daily Record Tracked/Posted @Flips_Picks):

Gold: 7-4-0
Silver: 6-5-0
Bronze: 6-5-0
Side Bets (Located at Bottom of Article) : 16-17-0
Overall Record: 35-31-0

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Gold Selection
Anaheim Ducks @ Toronto Maple Leafs – Pick: Maple Leafs PL -1.5 (-115)

Say what you will about the Toronto Maple Leafs, their patchwork blue line, and their top-heavy forward group: This club has already had a rollercoaster of a season. Highs of a hot start; downs of poor defensive play, losing, injuries, highly-publicized contract negotiations, and most recently a heavy-handed suspension to arguably their most important piece in Morgan Rielly. However, the Buds deserve some credit for pulling together and getting four points against the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers earlier this week.

Sure, it's the Blues and Flyers, but both clubs are playing excellent hockey of late and given the personnel Sheldon Keefe had to work with, those wins are nothing short of impressive. With that said, Toronto is still very much fighting for its playoff life in the tightening Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference wild-card race and can ill afford to miss on excellent chances to put Ws in the win column with a team like the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.

Not only has the Leafs group elevated its defensive play, it's seemingly bonded on and off the ice over the past six days. The best part of this matchup in terms of backing the Leafs for a big night? They absolutely own the Ducks over the past 10, flaunting a stellar 8-1-1 record that includes five straight victories on home ice. In fact, the last meeting in Toronto's barn last season between these two clubs saw the Maple Leafs lay an absolute beating on the Ducks to the tune of a 7-0 slap show. In terms of this portion of the schedule, Toronto needs to capitalize on its advantageous stretch with games against the Ducks, Blues, and Arizona Coyotes up next before running into the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and Boston Bruins.

As in, expect another big game from Toronto's big four and another lopsided Maple Leafs win before this team has to go toe-to-toe with the NHL's elite. Buds by a big number for my Gold Pick of the evening.

Silver Selection
Carolina Hurricanes @ Vegas Golden Knights – Pick: Under 6.5 (-140)

Much like in the breakdown following, I am keeping this one short and sweet. Usually, we place heavy emphasis on recent head-to-head matchups and trends when it comes to handicapping these games, especially when it comes to Over/Unders – that isn't the case in this one. Head-to-head these two teams have actually seen the total go Over the number in six of their last 10 meetings, but with a closer look and a breakdown of how these two defensive juggernauts are playing of late, this one is screaming under.

First of all, Adin Hill for the Golden Knights is on some kind of heater right now holding down Vegas' blue paint, putting up Vezina-level numbers over his last 12 games while posting a 8-2-1 record to go along with a sparkling .932 save percentage and a shutout. Secondly, the Carolina Hurricanes allow the least shots against per game in the entire NHL at a suffocatingly stingy 25.2. Simply put, they are one of the hardest groups to play against in their own end. Lastly, these are two of the most-balanced blueline groups in the league as both clubs hang their hats on their ability to snuff out their opponent's offensive attack.

This one should have a playoff-like atmosphere from puck drop, setting the tone for the rest of the game to stay Under the number. Slap this one into your favorite Saturday parlay and thank me later.

Bronze Selection
Winnipeg Jets @ Vancouver Canucks – Pick: Under 6.5 (-170)

Speaking of playoff-like atmospheres, buckle up for this one, as two of the top teams in the Western Conference are set to throw down in what is sure to be a tight-checking battle from the jump. In terms of backing the Under in this spot, we understand that two teams with loaded offensive talent like the Jets and Canucks might not be the best combo for predicting a low-scoring game, but there is a lot on the line here aside from obvious Western Conference bragging rights.

The Canucks are trying to pad their lead on top spot in the NHL on clubs like the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, while the Jets need to make up some ground on those very same teams following a 4-5-1 showing over their last 10.

Another interesting tidbit in this one is that the Jets have scored two-or-fewer goals in 10 of their last 11 games – that's a staggering stat considering the potent attack Rick Bowness throws out on a nightly basis while rolling three solid lines. Combine the fact that you have two of the best goaltenders in the business holding down the cage at either end of the rink in Connor Hellebuyck and Thatcher Demko and this one is shaping up quite nicely for a low-scoring tilt.

Six of the last nine meetings between Winnipeg and Vancouver have stayed Under the total and we're riding with that angle once again here in what should be a battle from start to finish. Jets-Canucks goes Under the number for my Bronze play of the night.

Side Bets
Alex Ovechkin Anytime Goal (+135)
Montreal Canadiens @ Washington Capitals – Pick: Over 6.5 (-140)
Winnipeg Jets @ Vancouver Canucks – Pick: Jets ML (+106)

Flip Livingstone is an NHL betting and NHL fantasy writer and daily podcast host with experience at outlets such as theScore NHL, Narcity Media, Postmedia, and Hockey Night in Canada. You can follow him @Flips_Picks.