Last night in the return from the All-Star break I went 6-4 on the NHL to lose 1.46 units. Tonight we have another six game slate. Let’s bounce back!
Penguins vs. Avalanche (7:00)
This should be a fun cross-conference game with two teams that are currently in Wild Card spots. The Penguins are 24-16-9 on the season and in the second Wild Card spot in the East with just a point lead over the Sabres. They went into the All-Star break taking a 6-4 loss to the Sharks at home and have only gotten five wins in their last 17 games. They’ve been good offensively but have struggled defensively. The Avalanche turned their season around and went into the All-Star break on a great run with just one loss in their last eight games to improve to 27-18-3 on the season. Colorado’s been great defensively all season but have struggled offensively, which has improved significantly as of late. I like the Avs to win here on the road and will take them for a unit. I’d lean the over but not enough to bet it.
Lightning vs. Sharks (7:00)
Last night the Bolts came back from the All-Star break and got tounced in Lauderdale, losing 7-1 to their rival Panthers. Tampa’s having a great season and are pretty much locked into a first round matchup again against Toronto again with a 32-16-1 record. They’ve been awesome offensively and although they haven’t been as great as the last few seasons on the back end, they’ve still been quite good defensively. The Sharks have been horrible this season with a 15-25-11 record and will be sellers at the deadline for sure. They went into the break with a 6-4 win in Pittsburgh, ending a four game losing streak with just their fourth win in their last 20 games. They’ve really struggled on both ends of the ice, but especially defensively. In San Jose on October 29th in the first game between these teams this season, the Lightning got a 4-3 win on the road. I like Tampa to bounce back tonight at home from yesterday’s loss. I’ll take the Bolts in regulation and their team total over 3.5 for a unit each. Additionally, I like the over, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Red Wings vs. Oilers (7:30)
I’m not overly excited this game but it could be fun. The Oilers went into the All-Star break on a surge with a 7-0-1 record in their last eight games to improve to 28-18-4 on the season. Led by the two NHL leaders in scoring by a significant margin, McJesus and Draisaitl and even without much depth behind them, Edmonton’s offense is fucking incredible. Their defense has struggled this season though. The Red Wings haven’t been all that great with a 21-9-8 record on the season. They’ve struggled on both ends of the ice and although they won three of their last five games, they got shut out 2-0 on Long Island to go into the break. I like the Oilers to scored at will here for a big win on the road. I’ll take the Oilers team total over 3.5 for 1.5 units, the ML for half a unit and the over on the game for a unit.
Islanders vs. Kraken (7:30)
The Islanders have struggled this season and as Biz Nasty said on TNT, they’re the most boring team to watch in the NHL. They returned from the All-Star break last night after acquiring and locking up Bo Horvat and got a 2-1 win in Philly to extend their win streak to three straight games, improving to 26-22-5 on the season. They’ve really had issues scoring, which they hope Horvat helps them fix but they’ve been quite good defensively with one of the best goaltenders in the league in Ilya Sorokin. The Kraken are having a really good season, coming back from the All-Star break with a 29-15-5 record to lead the Pacific Division. They’ve been awesome offensively all year and have had issues on the back end at times this season, which they have improved a ton lately. In the first game between these cross-conference teams this season on New Year’s Day in Seattle, the Kraken got a 4-1 win at home. I’d lean the Kraken get a win on the road and the under here but not enough to bet on either, so I’ll just stay off this game.
Predators vs. Golden Knights (8:00)
This is an interesting cross-conference matchup tonight with the Predators coming in hot and the Golden Knights really struggling right now. I broke this game down in depth with an article on StatSalt. As I said in that article, I’d lean the Preds win at home and the under here, but neither enough to actually bet on. I’ll lay off this game but will likely tune in.
Blackhawks vs. Ducks (8:30)
This is a horrible matchup and if I didn’t get assigned this game to write about in depth with my article on StatSalt, I wouldn’t have bothered to even look at it. That being said, since I did, I’d slightly lean the Blackhawks at home with the Ducks in the second half of a back to back and would slightly lean the over, but neither nearly enough to even consider betting. I’ll stay off this game entirely and do not give a fuck about the results of this shit game.
Game Bets
1u Avalanche ML (-110)
1u Lightning in regulation (-148)
1u Lightning TT over 3.5 (-167)
.5u Lightning/Sharks over 6.5 (-135)
1.5u Oilers TT over 3.5 (-132)
.5u Oilers ML (-175)
1u Oilers/Red Wings over 6.5 (-125)
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: 390-333-10 (-33.1 units)
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