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Expert NHL Handicapping Roundup for 3/7/2025

by Ryan Cobbett - 3/7/2025

Expert NHL handicapping roundup Jordan Binnington St. Louis Blues

The trade deadline is hours away, and the league is gearing up for the home stretch of the season. With 20 games remaining on the schedule, teams are touching up their rosters and looking to make some moves in the league standings to reach the playoffs. Staying with a March theme, we will take a look at some bubble teams in each conference and assess their odds of making it to the most exciting playoff in sports. Let’s get into this hockey edition of Bubble Teams.

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Eastern Conference Bubble:

Ottawa Senators – 67 points, 2nd Wild Card Spot / To Make the Playoffs: -250

First up is the Ottawa Senators. They made a big splash in the offseason by acquiring Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins. However, he has been inconsistent for Ottawa and has allowed 23 goals over his last seven starts, posting a 2-4-1 record in that span. However, he has the prowess to be a shutdown goalie in the playoffs, if Ottawa can hang onto the final wild card spot. They would benefit from adding some depth upfront to boost the offense, but there is enough in place for Ottawa to claim one of the two wild card spots. Lucky for Ottawa, the vast majority of the remaining schedule features home games. The Senators have gone 17-9-2 at home this season. 13 of their remaining 21 games are on home ice and it helps that they have the fifth easiest remaining schedule in the league. Simple additions plus the luck of the schedule all play into their favor.

My Pick: The Ottawa Senators make the playoffs, -250

New York Rangers – 67 points, First Team Out / To Make the Playoffs: -136

Next up is the New York Rangers. Last years Presidents Trophy winner has had some internal woes this year that has really blown up in their faces. The front office is now tasked with trading away expiring contracts while trying to remain competitive. The team has already shipped off Jacob Trouba, Reilly Smith, Kaapo Kakko, and Ryan Lindgren this season, but they acquired the likes of J.T. Miller to stay relevant. Igor Shesterkin has been incredibly inconsistent this season which has also dampened the Rangers chances. The Rangers rank 19th in GA/G and 21st in PP% after ranking in the Top Seven in both categories last season. It doesn’t help that they have the third toughest remaining schedule. They still have to play the Tampa Bay Lightning twice while traveling to Winnipeg, Florida, and Carolina. The Rangers are teetering, and the front office could decide to make more moves ahead of the deadline. Either way, I don’t think this is a playoff team.

My Pick: The New York Rangers will not make the playoffs, +106

Detroit Red Wings – 66 points, Next Team Out / To Make the Playoffs: +430

The next team out is the Detroit Red Wings. Unfortunately for Detroit, they have the toughest remaining schedule in the league as they still have to play Washington, Vegas, and Florida twice while traveling to Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Carolina. The front office has some remaining resources and could add before the deadline, but they first have to decide if they feel like it is worth the investment this season. Most everyone is back next season for Detroit so their front office may feel like it could be worth the wait. Columbus has been playing out of this world and the Rangers, despite their struggles, hold the lead in the standings and the tiebreaker against them. Detroit also ranks in the lower half of the league in both GF/G and GA/G which is perhaps the only note you need to take away here. Too much to overcome for the Red Wings.

My Pick: The Detroit Red Wings will not make the playoffs, -670

Western Conference Bubble:

Calgary Flames – 68 points, 2nd Wild Card Spot / To Make the Playoffs: +230

Despite having a -19-goal differential on the season, the Calgary Flames hold onto the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. They are a team that just hasn’t gone away this season. Much like the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference, most everyone thought the Flames would be entering a rebuilding phase, but they have remained competitive and are now in the playoff picture with 20 games remaining. However, there is only one spot up for grabs in the Western Conference thanks to the Central Divisions top four teams. A lot of their success can be attributed to the emergence of Dustin Wolf who has allowed just 2.59 GA/G through his first 37 games of his career. Despite the impressive netminding, the Flames have the worst offense in the league averaging just 2.58 GF/G. Unless they decide to buy a significant player or two at the deadline to improve their scoring, the Flames will miss out on the playoffs.

My Pick: The Calgary Flames will not make the playoffs, -310

Vancouver Canucks – 67 points, First Team Out / To Make the Playoffs: -111

The Vancouver Canucks are the current favorites to grab hold of the final wild card spot. Unless they decide to grab Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes, I do not expect the Canucks to make the playoffs this season. In fact, I think it is more likely that the team will end up trading away impact players like Brock Boeser or Elias Pettersson. It doesn’t help that Quinn Hughes’ season is in jeopardy and the fact that Thatcher Demko hasn’t returned to form. Vancouver ranks 20th in GA/G and their once mighty offense now ranks 26th in the NHL. The team has already traded away J.T. Miller and Carson Soucy and with one of the tougher remaining schedules, the Canucks may decide to continue to be sellers. Regardless, adding Rantanen alone will not save the season, and the Canucks aren’t likely to do much more than that.

My Pick: The Vancouver Canucks will not make the playoffs, -115

St. Louis Blues – 66 points, Next Team Out / To Make the Playoffs: +560

Here is my final wild card pick in the Western Conference and at great value too. The St. Louis Blues were expected to be sellers heading into the break. However, during that break they saw their netminder Jordan Binnington dominate on the games biggest stage and they have seen that carry over into the final stretch of the season. Since the Four Nations Faceoff began, Binnington has allowed just 2.11 GA/G. The Blues’ offense has also been hot coming out of the break as they are averaging 4.0 GF/G in the five games since. Though the cap space is limited, the team doesn’t appear to be sellers anymore. They have the easiest remaining schedule in the league and are one of the hottest teams in hockey. With the Flames and Canucks trending down, I expect the Blues will sneak into the playoffs.

My Pick: The St. Louis Blues will make the playoffs, +560

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