This week, there's Madness on the ice, too

With sports fans drooling over NFL free agency and the start of the NCAA Tournament, let's switch it up a little and take things to the ice. The end of the NHL regular season is near, and we've got an over/under parlay we love for Wednesday night. 

The odds line isn't quite at even odds, but -107 is good enough for us — especially when you include two teams that have struggled to stop teams from scoring all year long like Buffalo and Anaheim. 

The Sabres are one of the best teams in the NHL against the over and are third in the league in goals per game. In the first two meetings against Washington, the final score has been nine or more so the over of 5.5 goals should be easy. Plus, the final score has been six or more in four of Washington's last five games, making the first leg of our parlay that much more likely to hit.

As for the final leg of our parlay, we're going with another over — this time the over of 4.5 goals between Anaheim and the New York Islanders. This is the most confident leg of our parlay, and we wouldn't be surprised if it hits early on in the third period.

Anaheim allows the most goals per game in the NHL and has had the final score finish north of five in 15 of its last 16 games. That's not all. 

The final score in each of New York's last five games has been five or more. Both these teams might be in the bottom half of the league in scoring, but both teams' final scores have been up lately. When these two teams met back in October, they combined for nine total goals. We'd be surprised if there's more than seven combined goals in this one, but still it's all the more encouraging that the over of 4.5 hits.

Plus, the tournament doesn't really start till Thursday. Sure, there are two play-in games on Wednesday, but you can afford to flip back and forth between the two hockey games and two college basketball games when you're eating dinner next to the TV ... just make sure you reward yourself with some ice cream after this hockey parlay hits! 

The Parlay: Buffalo Sabres/Washington Capitals (over 5.5 goals) and New York Islanders/Anaheim Ducks (over 4.5 goals) (-107 odds via Caesars Sportsbook)

Bet $107 to win $100

In the news ...

Rodgers submits wish list to New York Jets — If the Jets want Aaron Rodgers to waive his no-trade clause and agree to a trade, they'll need to abide by Rodgers' "wish list" first. One name on Rodgers' wish list is wide receiver Allen Lazard, who signed a four-deal with the Jets on Tuesday. However, Rodgers also wants New York to sign tight end Marcedes Lewis, wide receiver Randall Cobb and the biggest name of all ... Odell Beckham Jr. We'll see if Rodgers' wish list comes true, but assuming it doesn't happen any time soon, it might be a while before Rodgers, the Packers and the Jets come to terms on a trade. Currently, the Jets are 16/1 favorites to win the Super Bowl while Green Bay is 35/1.

Day 2 of NFL free agency highlighted by multiple trades — Day one of NFL free agency was all about the top guys on the market getting paid — defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and safety Jessie Bates — and day two was all about the trades. The Dallas Cowboys acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore from the Indianapolis Colts, and the New York Giants acquired tight end Darren Waller from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday. Dallas is now 14/1 favorites to win the Super Bowl after acquiring Gilmore while the Giants are listed at 40/1.

2026 World Cup to have 48 teams, 104 matches — The 2026 World Cup will feature 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games due to the expanded format with 48 teams taking part. The original plan for the 2026 World Cup was for 80 matches, but the decision to increase the games to 104 was approved by FIFA's council on Tuesday. The 2026 edition, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will be the first of the quadrennial tournament that includes 48 teams in 12 groups of four.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jared Shlensky