Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Friday, March 27

Unlock winning NHL betting insights for March 27! Expert picks & previews for Red Wings vs Sabres & Blackhawks vs Rangers. Boost your bets today!

March 27, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Friday, March 27

By:

Daniel Dobish

March 27, 2026

NHL Picks

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NHL Best Bets & Picks: Red Wings vs Sabres & Blackhawks vs Rangers – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has just a pair of games on the schedule Friday, with the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres clashing at 7:00 p.m. ET on NHL Network, and the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers meeting in an Original Six battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Friday's MLB, NBA and/or NCAA Tournament college basketball action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.

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For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres

The Red Wings (38-25-8) and Sabres (44-20-8) meet at KeyBank Center in Buffalo at 7:00 p.m. ET on NHL Network, and both of these teams are playoff hopefuls.

The Red Wings have a lot more work to do, as they entered play Thursdsay on the outside looking in, one point behind the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They're also battling the New York Islanders (85 points) for the final spot, while the Philadelphia Flyers (80 points) and Washington Capitals (79) also give chase. There are three others teams not yet eliminated, and they could also rise up with a late win streak.

The Sabres are in a lot better shape, leading the Atlantic Division over the Tampa Bay Lightning by three points, but Tampa does have two games in hand.

Buffalo is 22-9-4 at home this season with a plus-43 goal differential. However, the Sabres have hit a slight speed bump in the past few matchups, falling 6-5 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday to wrap up a road trip, while losing 4-3 in overtime to the visiting Boston Bruins on Wednesday as a heavy favorite (-205) as the Over (6.5) cashed.

Still, Buffalo enters play with points in six consecutive games (4-0-2), while going 12-1-2 across the previous 15 matchups. Until this stretch of overtime losses, the team's goaltending and defense had been tremendous, allowing two or fewer goals in five straight games from March 12-21, an average of just 1.0 goals per game (GPG), including shutout wins in San Jose and Vegas.

The Over has cashed in two consecutive games for Buffalo, but the Under is 5-2 in the past seven games, and 8-4 in the past 12 matchups.

The Red Wings enter with two consecutive hiccups as well, falling 3-2 on home ice to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, and 4-2 to the Bruins on Saturday. Detroit is just 2-4-1 in the past seven games and 3-5-2 across the previous 10 matchups, while the Under is 2-0-1 in the past three games and 6-2-1 across the past nine matchups. That's mostly due to a lack of offense lately, going for just 22 goals in the past nine games, or only 2.4 GPG.

Based on the struggles of the Detroit offense, and the defensive play of Buffalo until recently, let's back Buffalo and the Under.

Sabres ML (-155 at Bet365, Caesars and DraftKings Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 (-120 at Fanatics Sportsbook)

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Chicago Blackhawks at New York Rangers

The Blackhawks (27-31-13) and Rangers (28-35-9) meet at Madison Square Garden in New York at 7:00 p.m. ET in an Original Six battle on ESPN+.

Chicago was in Philadelphia on Thursday night, so it is playing a back-to-back. Spencer Knight (18-19-10, 2.64 GAA, .909 SV%, 3 SO) started Thursday, so Arvid Soderblom (7-11-3, 3.69 GAA, .883 SV%, 1 SO) is expected to get the starting nod Friday.

The Blackhawks lost 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday in their most recent game playing on no rest, also with Soderblom in the cage. Chicago is 4-6-1 in 11 games this season when playing in the second end of a back-to-back set. The Under is 6-0-1 in the past seven such situations, while going 7-3-1 in 11 overall scenarios this season.

The Rangers have had a tough season, and they're the only team eliminated from the postseason chase in the Eastern Conference with 65 points and 10 games to go. The inability to win at home has been the biggest issue, as the Rangers are just 9-18-7 in 34 games at Madison Square Garden, including a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday.

The skidding Rangers are 0-5-1 in the past six games after showing some signs of life in mid-March. The offense is good for just 2.2 GPG in that span, while allowing 4.2 GPG. That's not a good recipe for wins. The Over has a 3-2 edge in the previous five games as well.

Let's back Chicago to get the win, adding to New York's woes on home ice, while going with the Under, based on Chicago's back-to-back trend.