Winning winds blowing, thanks to El Nino

Tuesdays typically bring with them monster NHL slates, and today certainly didn't disappoint. On these bigger slates, DraftKings offers a Stepped Up Boost parlay, where you get boosted odds dependent on how many legs you add to the slip. For a cup of coffee, we like to take advantage of this boost and throw in a fun look.

Stepping up our Tuesday game with a boosted parlay

Nino Niederreiter over 2.5 SOG (-110) — Nino Niederreiter joined Winnipeg at the beginning of March and has been by far their steadiest shot producer since, going over 2.5 SOG in eight of his last 10 games. His involvement in the power play has helped the cause there, tallying eight PP shots since joining the Jets, second on the team during this stretch.

Winnipeg hosts Arizona, a team allowing nearly 37 shots per game on the road and getting penalized quite a bit. It's one of the best spots of the night for expected shots, and we like the consistency here from Niederreiter. Niederreiter has gone over 2.5 shots in four straight home games.

David Pastrnak over 4.5 SOG (-110) — We expect Boston to pummel Ottawa tonight. Pittsburgh racked up 49 shots in a loss last night to the Senators, and while it was an unreal goalie performance showed that the leaks from these Senators are here to stay. They are allowing 33+ shots on goal per game on the road and are a team that struggles to hand out power plays.

In comes David Pastrnak, the PP shot leader for Boston who just so happens to love seeing the Senators. Pastrnak has SOG totals of five, six and six in three meetings this season and has 5+ in six of his last seven against them. Pasta has been picking up steam lately, going over 4.5 shots in three straight and tallying 13 SOG in his last two at home.

Carter Verhaeghe point (-190) — Florida and Verhaeghe will face a Flyers team tonight that they've scored 3+ goals against in three straight, including four power-play goals. It's that last point has us wanting a point prop from someone on the Panthers' top power play line, and we've settled on Verhaeghe.

Verhaeghe has eight points in his last five games, including three straight games with two. Against the Flyers, Verhaeghe has five points in his past three meetings. Back to the power play. Over the past 20 days, Philly's penalty kill rate is 57.1%, by far the worst in the NHL. Florida owns one of the league's best power play units, so just knowing that edge exists has us favoring Verhaeghe to get a point, whether it's 5 on 5 or the power play, we care not.

Together, these three would typically come in at +456, but with the 20% boost from DK, we locked it in at +547. Now yes, we could keep adding some legs, but we'd rather feel great about a three-man combo and find us a winning parlay. Make sure you opt in to the boost and enjoy the night!

In the news ...

USA-Japan tonight in the World Baseball Classic final — Thanks to an electrifying walk-off double, Japan took down Mexico 6-5 last night and will now face off against the United States tonight in the WBC Final. Japan has yet to lose in this tournament and has Shohei Ohtani headlining the roster. The United States roster is deep and the bats have come alive over the past few games. Trea Turner, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts headline a talented roster and will need to keep up their hitting success to defend the USA's WBC title. The USA is the slight favorite at -125, with Japan coming in at +105.

Rick Pitino joins St. John's as head coach — After guiding the Iona Gaels to two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three years, Rick Pitino is returning to the Big East to coach St. John's. Pitino has won two national titles, one with Kentucky and one with Louisville. St. John's has been to the NCAA Tournament just three times since 2002, having last made the Sweet 16 in 1999.

Colts mulling offer sheet for Lamar Jackson — No news yet on Lamar Jackson, who Baltimore signed to an offer sheet earlier this offseason. The Ravens are clearly hoping for someone else to do the negotiating for them, and the latest rumor is that Indianapolis, who own the No. 4 pick in a QB-rich draft, may make a move on Jackson. New promise on our end: until their teams change, nothing revolving around Jackson or Aaron Rodgers is news anymore.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll