NHL Daily Gambling Preview – 2/22/22

Yesterday’s NHL slate didn’t go great as I went 6-6 but lost 3.05 units. Let’s bounce back with a win on tonight’s six game slate that has some nice opportunities to cash in on!

Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs (7:00)

Last night the Leafs fucked me big time as they didn’t bother to show up in Montreal and lost 5-2 to the worst team in the NHL. That was the Leafs second straight loss after losing 6-3 to the Blues on Saturday (also losing me money). They’re having a solid season at 32-14-3 and besides their last two games that they sucked on both ends of the ice in, they’ve been solid across the board. On the season, Toronto’s scoring an average of 3.55 goals per game, fourth most in the NHL and they’re allowing an eleventh fewest average of 2.78 goals per game. Columbus is 25-23-1 and playing a solid stretch of hockey lately with just two losses in their last nine games (coming to Calgary and Florida). They haven’t exactly played tough competition in the span though, with two games each against the Habs and Sabres, and one against Chicago. On the season, they’ve been decent offensively, averaging 3.27 goals per game but they’ve been awful on the back end, allowing the second most goals in hockey, an average of 3.86 goals per game. J.F. Berube, who’s starting in goal again for the Blue Jackets tonight after their 7-3 win against the Sabres on Sunday, has below a .900 save percentage in the AHL over the last few years and I don’t see him being able to stop the Leafs potent offense. In the first matchup between these teams this season on December 7th, goals came easily as the Leafs won 5-4 at home. I like Toronto to bounce back from their embarrassing loss last night with a high scoring win tonight. I’m going pretty hard on Toronto here with 3 units on the Leafs TT over 3.5, the Leafs in regulation for a unit, a half unit on the alternate over 6.5 (I don’t hate the 7 either) and a unit on Fanduel’s boosted parlay of Leafs/Blues/Panthers MLs.

Flyers vs. Blues (7:00)

Yesterday the Flyers played a pretty good game yesterday at home against Carolina outshooting them and trading goals but ultimately Philly came up short, losing 4-3 in overtime. That was the fifth straight loss for the lousy 15-25-10 Flyers, who only have two wins in their last 20 games. They’re bad on both ends of the ice, scoring only an average of 2.56 goals per game, fifth fewest in the NHL while allowing an average of 3.44 goals per game, seventh most in the NHL. The Blues have been good team all season coming into tonight with a 29-14-6 record, bouncing back from their loss to Montreal on Thursday with a 6-3 win in Toronto on Saturday and now have three wins in their last four games. They’re averaging 3.53 goals per game, fifth most in the NHL and allowing a ninth fewest average of 2.76 goals per game. Along with the parlay I put in with the Leafs and Panthers, I’ll go with 1.5 units on the Blues TT over 3.5 and a unit on the Blues in regulation.

Panthers vs. Predators (7:00)

Florida just keeps winning and solidifying themselves as one of the best teams in the NHL. They’re 35-10-5 this season with an incredible 23-3 record at home and are on a three game win streak with just one loss in their last eight games. They have the best offense in the NHL, scoring an average of 4.12 goals per game, the only team in hockey scoring at a rate of over 4 per game. Defensively, they’re allowing an average of 2.84 goals per game. The Predators are 28-18-4 but on a bit of a slump, coming into tonight’s game on a four game losing streak. On the season, Nashville’s a middle of the road team on the stat sheets, averaging 3.04 goals per game and allowing an average of 2.82 goals per game. Betting against Juuse Saros always scares me, but I’ll take Florida ML at the higher juice for half a unit along with my parlay.

Senators vs. Wild (7:00)

In a night that there’s a lot of lopsided matchups on the board, I feel like this one is the most. The Minnesota Wild are a great team this season at 31-13-3 and coming off a big 7-3 win in Edmonton on Sunday (triple winner for me, notabigdeal). They have the third highest scoring offense in hockey, averaging 3.81 goals per game, while they allow an average of 2.98 goals per game. The Sens suck and come into tonight’s game with an 18-26-5 record. They’re scoring only 2.63 goals per game, seventh fewest in the NHL and allowing an average of 3.16 goals per game, eleventh most in the NHL. In a close game the first time they played, the Wild won 5-4 in overtime. I’d expect them to win again here tonight. I’ll go with a unit on the Wild ML, even though its kind of expensive, 1.5 units on the Wild TT over 3.5 and half a unit on the alternate over 6.

Ducks vs. Sharks (10:00)

The 22-22-5 Sharks have been on quite the slump lately and after Sunday night’s 4-1 loss to Vegas, they’re on a six game losing streak with only two wins in their last twelve games. The wheels are falling off on this team, especially defensively, as they’re now giving up an average of 3.12 goals per game on the season and they’re worst in the NHL in five on five shot attempts allowed and high danger chances allowed (shout out Todd Cordell from theScore for those advanced stats). Their offense has been just as abysmal, scoring an average of only 2.65 goals per game, ninth fewest in the NHL. The Duck got off of their four game losing streak with a huge 7-4 win in Vancouver. Anaheim has averaged 2.94 goals per game and allowed an average of 2.96 goals per game, so not great but better than the San Jose. Even with Anthony Stolarz starting in goal for the Ducks instead of John Gibson, I like Anaheim to win this one at home and I’ll go with the Ducks for a unit here.

Kraken vs. Islanders (10:00)

Both of these teams kind of blow this year with some of the worst offenses in the league. Seattle’s 16-32-4 on the season, coming into tonight’s game on the second half of a back to back with a 5-2 loss to Vancouver last night for their fourth loss in a row. This team sucks on both ends of the ice, scoring an average of 2.58 goals per game, sixth fewest in the NHL and they’re allowing a sixth most, 3.54 goals per game on average. The Islanders are only slightly better in the standings with an 18-20-7 record and they’re coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to Montreal on Sunday with only one win in their last five games. Their goaltending and defense has been very good this season, allowing an average of just 2.71 goals per game, the fifth fewest in the NHL but they can’t win games with how pathetic their offense is, as the Isles are scoring only 2.44 goals per game, fourth fewest in the league. In the first ever meeting between these teams earlier this month on February 2nd, the Kraken got their first shutout win in franchise history as they beat the Isles 3-0 on Long Island. I’d lean the Isles and the under here but have zero interest in betting this game whatsoever, so I’ll just skip it, especially with the under set to 5 and buying it up to 5.5 isn’t worth the -150, especially with these teams trending over as of late…don’t have to bet the whole board every night.

Game Bets

3u Leafs TT over 3.5 (-164)

1u Leafs in regulation (-150)

.5u Leafs/Blue Jackets over 6.5 (-148)

1u parlay: Leafs ML/Blues ML/Panthers ML (+280)

1.5u Blues TT over 3.5 (-137)

1u Blues in regulation (-143)

.5u Florida ML (-215)

1u Wild ML (-230)

1.5u Wild TT over 3.5 (-134)

.5u Wild/Senators over 6 (-130)

1u Ducks ML (-162)