Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Wednesday, March 12

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on March 12, 2025

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The National Hockey League has four total games on the schedule for Wednesday, including a nationally-televised doubleheader on TNT/truTV/Max. The first game features the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the nightcap has the Anaheim Ducks and Utah Hockey Club squaring off in Salt Lake City at 10 p.m. ET. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Wednesday, March 12

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.

Buffalo Sabres at Detroit Red Wings

The Sabres (25-32-6) and the Red Wings (30-28-6) meet at Little Caesars Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET for the third and final meeting of the regular season.

Detroit won a wild 6-5 shootout victory Dec. 9 as short 'dogs (+115) in the most recent meeting at KeyBank Center as the Over (6.5) easily came through. In the first meeting Nov. 2 in the Motor City, the Red Wings edged the Sabres 2-1 as short 'dogs (-105), while the Under (6.5) connected there.

The Red Wings have won four of the past five in the series, while the underdog has a slight 3-2 edge in that span. The Under also holds a slight 3-2 edge.

Buffalo surprised Edmonton 3-2 last time out Monday night as moderate underdogs (+160) as the Under (6.5) cashed behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at home. The Sabres snapped an 0-5-1 winless skid with that victory, while the Under has cashed in each of the previous two games.

For Detroit, the Red Wings have had a power outage on offense lately. It was on the short end of a 2-1 road loss in Ottawa, and it lost 5-2 in the continent's other national capital in Washington. The Red Wings have scored just six total goals in the past four games, or 1.5 goals per game (GPG). You'd think the Under has been dominating lately, but it has been just 2-1-1 in the past four games, as Detroit has conceded 23 goals in the past six games, or 3.8 GPG.

Despite its recent dominance in this series, Detroit simply cannot be trusted. Buffalo has confidence after topping Edmonton last time out.

As far as the total, the Over is the much better play. The Sabres have allowed four or more goals in six of the past seven games, an average of 4.4 GPG.

Sabres ML (+120 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Under 6.5 Goals (-115 at Bet365 Sportsbook)

Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.

Anaheim Ducks at Utah Hockey Club

In the second half of the national telecast, the Ducks (28-29-7) and Utah Hockey Club (28-25-11) meet at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

The Ducks were worked over 7-4 by the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, although, oddly enough, Alex Ovechkin was unable to tally a goal. Lukas Dostal took one for the team with the back-to-back, allowing six goals on 42 shots. John Gibson is expected to get the call Wednesday.

Utah suffered heartbreak in back-to-back games against Original Six teams. Utah lost 4-3 in overtime at Chicago on Friday, and it suffered a 4-3 loss in a shootout at home against Toronto on Monday night. The UHC is still a respectable 4-1-2 in the past seven games, and 7-3-2 across the previous 12 outings.

Anaheim has won a couple of wild contests with Utah so far this season. It won 5-4 in overtime on home ice at the Honda Center on Oct. 16 as short 'dogs (+135), while taking a 5-4 shootout victory in SLC on Dec. 22, as moderate underdogs (+180) that time. The Over has hit in each outing, and it wasn't even close.

We have to back Anaheim, although losing 7-4 at home to the Capitals doesn't give bettors a warm feeling all over.

Let's back the Ducks to get the job done on the road, and we'll hope for a boatload of goals, too.

Ducks ML (+196 ML at Caesars Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-125 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Today's Best NHL Bet(s)

Well, we split our best bets on Tuesday night, with Tampa Bay and Carolina going just Under 5.5 total goals. However, Nashville and San Jose didn't have much offense, as the Preds skated away with a 3-2 win.

We'll go with the Under in the Sabres-Red Wings tilt.