The 2022-23 NHL regular season comes to a conclusion this Friday. Most of the playoff field in both conferences is set but there remain a few important games early this week. Let’s break them down. Check back for NHL odds.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week (April 10th, 2023)

See who holds the No. 1 spot and where the Sabres land this week. https://t.co/k4kR6P3rOe

— The Buffalo News (@TheBuffaloNews) April 9, 2023

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Rangers

• When: Monday, April 10, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• TV: MSG, MSG-B
• Radio: WGR 550 AM(Sabres) // 104.5 The Team ESPN (Rangers)
• Live Stream: NHL Live
• NHL Betting Odds: Sabres (+1.5) // Rangers (+1.5)

As of this writing, Buffalo isn’t eliminated from Eastern Conference wild card contention but it must win its final four games at a minimum to get in and also get plenty of help. The Rangers are in, it’s just a matter of whether they finish first, second or third in the Metropolitan Division.

Buffalo enters off a huge 4-3 win over Carolina on Saturday to extend its playoff hopes for one more game. Casey Mittelstadt tallied twice, marking his first multi-goal game since Dec. 29 against Detroit and tying his career-high with 12 goals. He’s notched 11 points in his last seven games, primarily skating on a line with Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner.

Tage Thompson’s 46th goal of the season was the game-winner vs. Carolina. Thompson’s goal moved him into a tie with Danny Gare (1980-81) and Pat LaFontaine (1991-92) for the eighth-most goals in a single season by a Sabres skater with 46 tallies. He is the third Sabres skater to record at least 46 goals and 47 or more assists in a single season.

Devon Levi stopped 32 shots, improving to 3-1 since signing with Buffalo after completing his junior college season at Northeastern. Coach Don Granato opted to give Levi his third straight start because he felt the young netminder gives his team the best chance to win right now. Levi is 2-1 in those starts with a .901 save percentage.

“We’re in a must-win situation now. It’s obvious,” Granato said. “So, it’d be nice to be warm and fuzzy and give a guy a game for development reasons. He’s in there because he’s playing well. And that’s good to see because he was another key factor today.”

The Rangers won 4-0 at Columbus on Saturday. Igor Shesterkin stopped all 20 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season and 11th of his career. Jimmy Vesey, Chris Kreider, Niko Mikkola and Vincent Trocheck scored, and Mika Zibanejad added two assists for the Rangers.

Zibanejad is riding a four-game, seven-point streak (one goal, six assists). He continues to pad his career high in points and now has 89 (39 goals, 50 assists) in 80 games. He has two more games to reach his career mark in assists (52) and goals (41). New York is the only team in the NHL to have a perfect record — 33-0-0 — when scoring four or more goals.

NHL Betting Pick: Rangers

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

• When: Tuesday, April 1121, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
• TV: ESPN, TVAS, TSN4
• Radio: TSN 1050 (Maple Leafs) // 102.5 FM WHPT The Bone (Lightning)
• Live Stream: NHL Live
• NHL Betting Odds: TBA

This game means nothing in the regular season but both teams may want to send a message as they will play in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for a second year in a row as the Leafs have clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and the Lightning third.

Toronto will have home-ice advantage against Tampa Bay but in the past three of six straight opening-series losses, the Leafs have been at home, last year against Tampa, 2021 versus Montreal and in the COVID “bubble” in August 2020 when a number of teams set up at Scotiabank Arena. In all cases, the Leafs lost at least one of the first two games as home team and the deciding game.

This might finally be the year Toronto gets to Round 2 but goaltending is one area that Tampa Bay does have an edge in as future Hall of Famer Andrei Vasilevskiy can steal a series. The 28-year-old has a 30-16 record in the playoffs since 2020-21 and, when you take the number of postseason games that he’s played into account, his .929 save percentage is first among goaltenders who have played at least 14 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs over the last three seasons.

Tampa Bay likely would like to build some momentum for the playoffs as it enters off a third straight loss Saturday, 7-4 in Ottawa. Is Tuesday’s game an opportunity to gain some early confidence heading into the first game of the postseason?

“I think it means something,” Tampa’s Brayden Point said. “I’m sure it does for them too. It’s going to be our first-round matchup, so I would expect a tone to be set in that game from both sides, and hopefully our effort is better.”

Point is one goal shy of 50 this year. The Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov sits third in NHL scoring (110 points) and second in assists with 80. His 48 power play points are fourth-best overall and the best among non-Edmonton players in the league.

These teams have split two meetings this season, each winning at home back in the 2022 portion.

NHL Betting Pick: Lightning

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READ MORE: Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – October 9th, 2023