Brayden making his Point for the Bolts

Ten games in the NHL are going to control our focus tonight over four in the NBA, so let's load up a couple of goal-scorers and find some wins as we near the weekend. 

David Pastrnak is due

We understand the term "due" gets floated out a bit too much when it comes to betting, as that has a hint of the gambler's fallacy at play, but in this sense, it's used correctly. Boston's David Pastrnak has been no stranger to this newsletter, and it's because of how dominant he's been all year. Pastrnak is second in the NHL in goals scored at 42, and for a player of his caliber and with his volume, it's surprising to see he's now gone three games without scoring.

To us, that offers opportunity. Pastrnak has not gone four games without a goal all season, and we don't anticipate that starting tonight. Buffalo is on the other end, a team that tends to find themselves in high-scoring games, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected in net, who has severely struggled for the Sabres.

Pastrnak has a goal in four of his last six against Buffalo, including two straight home meetings. In Boston, he's scored a goal at a 59% clip this season. While we'd want better odds for a goal-scorer, the odds are fair and perhaps even better than they should be given the situation.

Betting: David Pastrnak goal (-110 FD)

Brayden Point should keep on rolling

Streaks are a funny thing. Just above we highlighted why a scoreless streak has us loving Pastrnak tonight, and now we turn to back a guy scoring like crazy.

That would be Tampa Bay's Brayden Point, who has scored in five straight games and six straight on home ice. There's no reason to stop betting on a prop as steady as this right now, especially given the game he'll be in.

The Lightning are hosting the Penguins tonight and were embarrassed 7-3 by them just a few days ago. There should be no doubt Tampa comes to play tonight, and Pittsburgh has sported its share of defensive woes lately.

Point has a goal in three of his last four games against the Penguins and has been as consistent as they come. This is made even more inviting when you see how involved he is on the Lightning's power play because Pittsburgh's penalty kill has been one of the NHL's worst over the last month.

Betting: Brayden Point goal (+124 FD)

In the news ...

Kevin Durant makes his Suns debut — After being acquired nearly three weeks ago, Kevin Durant finally returned to the court Wednesday night, making his debut with Phoenix. In 27 minutes, Durant finished with 23 points on an efficient 10-15 from the field, adding six rebounds and two blocks. The Suns dispatched the Hornets 105-91, and now head into the final months of the regular season with their full core healthy. Phoenix currently sits at No. 4 in the West, three games back from Sacramento for the No. 3 seed. Should they stand pat at the fourth seed, the Suns seem likely to draw either the Warriors, Clippers or Mavericks in the first round, all of which would give them an immediate test for their NBA Finals aspirations. The Suns are the favorite out of the West, sitting at +225 to make the Finals. 

Arrest warrant out for top NFL draft prospect Jalen Carter — The NFL Combine is underway, and one of the more shocking stories to come out this week is around star Georgia DT Jalen Carter. The top prospect, projected to go inside the top four, is wanted on charges of reckless driving and racing in an incident that led to a former Georgia teammate's death. The report goes on to suggest that Carter may have misled police at the scene of the crash back in January. It remains to be seen what this incident will do for Carter's draft stock.

Trades galore in the NHL — This year just feels different with the NHL trade deadline looming, doesn't it? We're not sure if that's because teams view this year's field as wide-open but left and right teams are adding players for the home stretch. Ottawa added stud defenseman Jakob Chychrun yesterday in a move that gives them elite balance. Toronto's made moves. Tampa Bay's made moves. Pittsburgh's made moves. Carolina's made moves. The list goes on and on. The one commonality? It's the Eastern Conference loading up. This year's playoffs are going to be a wild ride. As it stands, the top six are all relatively secure in their postseason spots with Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Carolina, New Jersey and the New York Rangers. After that, it's going to be madness. The New York Islanders and Pittsburgh currently sit in the two wild-card spots, but five more teams are within five points with 20-something games to go. Ottawa, who made the headlining move yesterday, has our attention. They've won 10 of their last 14 games and currently sit at +700 to make the playoffs.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll