Easiest win ever on the Rangers yesterday as they blew out the Blackhawks 7-1 last night to cash my only NHL bet, winning half a unit for my second winning day in a row. Tonight we have an eight game slate, let’s go three in a row!
Bruins vs. Panthers (7:00)
This should be a fun game as these two teams try to break their season series with each team having won one of the two previous matchups this year, with a 5-2 Panthers win in Florida on November 23rd and a 5-3 Bruins win in Boston on October 17th. The Bruins bounced back from just their second home loss of the season on Thursday to LA with a 4-2 win against the Blue Jackets on Saturday afternoon. They’re 24-4-2 on the year with a 16-0-2 record at home in this historical start to their year. Boston’s dominated on both ends of the ice this year. The Panthers are 15-13-4 on the season, coming off a 4-2 win in New Jersey on Saturday. Florida’s offense has been good this season but their defense has struggled quite a bit. I like the Bruins to win at home tonight and will take the B’s in regulation for half a unit.
Blue Jackets vs. Stars (7:00)
The Blue Jackets suck. They’re 10-18-2, coming into tonight’s game on a three game losing streak after a 4-2 loss to the Bruins on Saturday afternoon (winner to start my day). Columbus has only picked up three wins in their last twelve games and have played terribly on both ends of the ice, one of the worst teams in the NHL in both goals for and goals against. The Stars are having a really good season, leading the Central with an 18-8-6 record, coming off a 5-4 overtime loss in Carolina on Saturday. Dallas has played quite well on both ends of the ice and I’d expect them to win pretty easily tonight. The moneyline at -230 is a bit too expensive but I’ll take the Stars in regulation and Stars team total over 3.5 for half a unit each.
Capitals vs. Red Wings (7:00)
The Caps have played really well lately. Coming off a 5-2 win against the Leafs at home on Saturday to bounce back from their 2-1 loss to the Stars on Thursday, Washington has won six of their last seven games. They’re playing much better on both ends of the ice and getting healthier. The Red Wings started off their season hot but have since crashed down to 13-11-6 on the season. After a 6-3 loss at home on Saturday afternoon against the Senators (should’ve bet my lean on that game), Detroit’s on a five game losing streak with just two wins in their last ten games. They’re struggling right now on both ends of the ice. When these teams played the first time this season in Detroit on November 3rd, the Red Wings won 3-1 in a close game, getting outshot 34-26 by the Capitals in a game that was tied 1-1 with less than four minutes left in the game. I expect Washington to answer back with a home win tonight and I’ll take the Caps for half a unit.
Predators vs. Oilers (8:00)
The Nashville Predators have played terribly lately. Coming off a 3-1 loss in Colorado on Saturday they’re on a six game losing streak to drop to 12-13-4 on the season. They’ve been very streaky this season and right now isn’t a good one. They’re playing especially poorly offensively and even though their defense and goaltending has been fine, they’ve barely been able to score more than a goal a game lately. The Oilers 17-14-1 are coming off two losses in a row after a pathetic 4-3 loss to the Ducks on Saturday afternoon in a game I’m thrilled I didn’t bet. Their statistically very good offense runs almost entirely through Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two of the best players in the league but they don’t have much depth behind them. To make matters worse, their defense and goaltending has been atrocious. The Oilers won both previous games between these teams this season with a 6-3 win on December 13th in Smashville and a 6-4 win at home on November 1st. I’d lean they continue that with a season sweep tonight. I’m not betting it though. I’ll go with half a unit on the Oilers team total over 3. I considered the over but the Preds have trended under quite a bit lately, so I’ll just stick with the team total.
Avalanche vs. Islanders (9:00)
Struggling with a ton of injuries right now, the Avalanche haven’t played all that well. They have picked up three wins in their last four games though after going on a four game losing streak prior to that, most recently beating the Preds 3-1 on Saturday. They’ve been decent on both ends of the ice this season but not playing nearly as well as they did on their way to winning the cup last year. The Islanders ended their three game losing streak in Vegas on Saturday giving me my only loss of the day with a 5-2 win against the Golden Knights. The Isles are 18-13-1 on the season and playing really good hockey this year. On Long Island on October 29th, the Isles beat the Avs 5-4 with a four goal third period comeback from a 3-1 deficit. I’d lean the Isles here and there’s solid value on them as a +135 underdog but this is a game I’d rather just stay off of.
Golden Knights vs. Sabres (10:00)
After last year’s Sabres victory against the Golden Knights in Jack Eichel’s first return trip to Buffalo, that seemed like a huge turning point to the Sabres franchise. This year when he came back, Jack had a four point third period capped off with a hat trick as his Knights got their revenge with a 7-4 win in Buffalo. Tonight we head to Vegas for the next matchup. The Golden Knights lead the Western Conference with a 22-10-1 record, coming off a 5-2 loss at home to the Islanders on Saturday night (my only loss of the day). They’ve played quite well on both ends of the ice this season, a big improvement from missing the playoffs for the first time last year, lead by none other than Jack Eichel. The Sabres have been playing really well too. Coming off a 5-2 win in Arizona on Saturday, we’re on a three game win streak to improve to 15-14-2 on the season. We lead the NHL in scoring with Tage Thompson becoming everything that Jack was hyped up to be. Defensively though the Sabres haven’t been great with definite flaws on the back end. I’d lean the Golden Knights win at home tonight to sweep us on the season with another big night from Jack but I’m not betting against my Sabres in this emotional matchup. I’d lean the over but not enough to bet it. I’ll stay off this game. Let’s go Sabres!!
Coyotes vs. Canadiens (10:00)
This is such a boring matchup that could likely be a fun game to watch between two pretty lousy teams. The Coyotes are coming off a 5-2 loss at home to my Sabres on Saturday but they’ve played decent recently with three wins in their last five games to improve to 10-15-4. Even though Arizona is still likely a lottery team, they’re not an easy out, playing teams tight with a good amount of one goal losses. The Canadiens are on a bad stretch. They got blown out 5-1 at home by the Lightning (easy winner for me) on Saturday for their third straight loss. With only one win in their last five games, they’ve dropped to 14-15-2 on the season. Both of these teams have been bad on both ends of the ice. The first time these teams played this season in Montreal on October 20th, the Habs got out to a 5-0 lead in the second period and rode that to a 6-2 victory. I’d slightly lean the Habs end their losing streak with a win on the road tonight and would lean the over but neither enough to bet on, so I’ll just stay off this game.
Canucks vs. Blues (10:30)
Both of these teams have played pretty decent hockey right now despite not being great on the season. They’ve both had terrible stretches at points. The Canucks are coming off a 5-1 loss at home against the Jets on Saturday but with nine wins in their last 14 games they’ve improved to 13-14-3 on the season. Their offense has been quite good all season but their defense and goaltending has been horrible. The Blues are on a three game win streak after a 5-2 win in Calgary on Friday night. They’ve improved as of late on both ends of the ice but on the season haven’t been all that great either offensively or defensively. I would slightly lean the Blues here but not enough to bet on it. I’d expect both teams to be able to light the lamp though while also letting in some bad goals. I’ll take the alternate over 6 in this game for half a unit.
Game Bets
.5u Bruins in regulation (-122)
.5u Stars in regulation (-139)
.5u Stars TT over 3.5 (-132)
.5u Capitals ML (-170)
.5u Oilers TT over 3 (-159)
.5u Blues/Canucks over 6 (-130)
Futures
1u Boston Bruins – Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)
1.5u Boston Bruins – Stanley Cup Champions (+1100)
2u Vegas Golden Knights – Stanley Cup Champions (+1200)
1.5u Carolina Hurricanes – Stanley Cup Champions (+1300)
1u New Jersey Devils – Stanley Cup Champions (+1600)
Record: 204-191-3 (-35.62 units)
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