Yesterday with the biggest slate of the NHL season with 15 games, I went 11-8-1, pretty much breaking even, losing 0.22 units. Following that up, we have a pretty big eight game Sunday slate today. Let’s go!
Red Wings vs. Bruins (1:30)
These teams just played yesterday afternoon in Boston and head back to Detroit for the second half of this home and home. Yesterday, the Red Wings scored first, getting out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Bruins shut them out the rest of the game on their way to a 3-2 win on home ice. I still ended up losing quite a bit on that game, going 1-2, which would’ve been a sweep if the B’s could’ve made it 4-2 on the empty net. That was the second game between these teams this season, after a 5-1 blowout win at home on October 27th for Boston. The Bruins are easily the best team in the NHL and rightfully the favorite to win the Cup, projected to set a record for the best regular season in NHL history with a 50-9-5 record and a 27-3-3 record at home. With yesterday’s win they become the fastest team to get to 50 wins on a season in NHL history. The B’s are second in the NHL in scoring and lead the league defensively. The Red Wings are pretty lousy this season with a 29-27-9 record and they have only one win in their last eight games. Detroit hasn’t been great on either end of the ice this season. With the Bruins on the road, this game is much cheaper than yesterday’s, so I’ll go with two units on Boston in regulation.
Penguins vs. Rangers (4:00)
I broke this game between these two Metro Division playoff teams down in depth in my article on StatSalt. As I said in that article, I’d slightly lean the Penguins win at home and the under in this matchup, but not enough to bet on either. I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Devils vs. Hurricanes (7:00)
This should be an awesome game between the top two teams in the Metro Division. I broke it down in depth in my article on StatSalt. Like I said in that article, I’d slightly the Canes and the under in this one, but not enough to bet on either, so I’ll completely stay off betting on this game. Should be an awesome one and I’ll definitely tune in.
Blues vs. Golden Knights (7:00)
This is a huge mismatch between these two teams, who both coming off big wins last night. The Vegas Golden Knights lead the Western Conference with a 40-20-6 record. Coming off a huge 4-0 shutout win in Carolina last night, they’ve won five of their last six games, going 11-2-2 in their last 15. The Knights have played pretty well on both ends of the ice. They’re likely to start Jiri Patera today though with Jonathan Quick starting last night and Logan Thompson and Adin Hill both out with injury. The Blues are very disappointing this year and traded away a lot at the deadline, coming into tonight’s game with a 29-31-5 record. They beat the Blue Jackets 5-2 last night (cashing my over), for their second win in a row but they’ve only gotten three wins in their last eleven games, all against week opponents, with those other two wins coming against the Blues. They’ve struggled on both ends of the ice, especially defensively. These teams split their two previous games this season in Vegas with the Blues winning 3-2 on the road on November 12th and the Knights answering back with a 5-4 home win in a shootout on December 23rd. Regardless of the goaltending situation, I’d expect Vegas to win on the road here as they’re the way better team and I’ll take them for half a unit.
Lightning vs. Jets (7:00)
This should be a pretty fun cross conference matchup tonight. Coming off a 3-1 win at home against the Blackhawks yesterday, the Lightning are 39-21-6 on the season with a 24-5-5 record at home. They’re comfortably in a playoff spot, in third place in the Atlantic Division and are pretty much locked into a first round matchup against the Leafs again. Tampa is in a bit of a slump right now though with just two wins in their last eight games. The Bolts have been fantastic offensively once again this season, but they’ve been much more inconsistent defensively than they have the last several years. After having the day off yesterday, they’ve have Andrei Vasilevskiy back between the pipes tonight. In a very entertaing game last night, the Jets beat the Panthers 5-4 on the road in Sunrise. Winnipeg’s having a good season, comfortably in the second Wild Card spot in the West with a 37-26-3 record. Similar to Tampa though, they’re in a slump right now, with just two wins in their last nine games. Winnipeg has been inconsistent offensively this year but backstopped by one of the best goalies in the league in Connor Hellebuyck, they’ve been very good on the back end. They’ve struggled defensively recently though, which is to blame for their slump right now. The Jets won the first game between these teams 4-2 in Winnipeg on January 6th. I’d lean the Lightning answer back with a win here at home but I don’t think they’re worth betting on at -195. I’d also lean the over just based on current form of both of these teams, but not enough to bet that either with two elite goaltenders going at it.
Flames vs. Senators (9:00)
The Flames were one of the only two teams that had yesterday off, coming off a 3-1 loss at home to the Ducks on Friday night, a game (and a slate) that I’m glad that I stayed off betting. Calgary has been largely a dissappointment this season, coming into tonight’s game with a 29-24-13 record with just two wins in their last eight games. Last night the Sens lost 5-2 in Vancouver, cashing my over in just their second loss in their last eight games. Ottawa’s been pretty hot lately, with a 13-5-1 record in their last 19 games to improve to 33-28-4 on the year. Neither of these teams have been great on either end of the ice. The first game between these teams this season was pretty tight, with the Senators winning 4-3 in overtime at home on February 13th. I think the Sens are the better team here and would lean they bounce back from yesterday’s loss, but on the second half of a back to back on the road, I’ll stay off them. I’d also slightly lean the over, but don’t want to rely on the scoring for the Flames, so I’ll just skip this game completely as well.
Ducks vs. Predators (9:30)
The Ducks, who are coming off a 3-1 win on the road in Calgary on Friday night, are one of the only two teams in the NHL that had an off day yesterday. Anaheim is one of the worst teams in the league, right in the Bedard sweepstakes with just a 22-35-9 record. They actually haven’t played too bad lately though, with a 5-1-2 record in their last eight games. Statistically the Ducks are one of the worst teams in the NHL on both ends of the ice. The Predators picked up a 2-1 win in LA last night, beating the Kings in a shootout in a very tight, low scoring grind of a game. Despite being sellers at the deadline, the Preds have played pretty well lately with a 6-2-1 record in their last nine games to improve to 32-24-7 on the year. They’re still on the outside, without much shot of making a Wild Card spot. Nashville’s really struggled offensively, but they’re really solid on the back end with Juuse Saros in goal. The Preds won both previous games between these teams, winning 2-1 in overtime at home on November 29th and then in a 6-1 blowout in Anaheim on December 30th. Even in the second half of a back to back on the road, I like Nashville to win here and will take them for a unit. I’ll also go with half a unit on the Ducks team total under 2.5 in regulation. I’d definitely lean the under on the game as well, but not quite enough to bet it.
Coyotes vs. Wild (9:30)
The Wild are on fire right now and even without their best player in Karill Kaprizov in the lineup, they picked up a big 5-2 win in San Jose last night (I went 2-1 on that game). They’re having an awesome season, in second place in the Central Division with a 38-21-7 record, just two points behind Dallas. They’ve played great hockey recently and are on a twelve game point streak, with a 10-0-2 record in that span. Although Minnesota’s offense hasn’t been great this season, their defense and goaltending has been phenomenal. The Coyotes are right in the Bedard sweepstakes as one of the worst teams in the NHL this season, coming into tonight’s game with a 23-32-11 record, but they have picked up at least a point in each of their last four games. Yesterday they hung around in Colorado, taking the Avs to overtime but ultimately losing 3-2. The Yotes have been one of the worst teams in the NHL this season statistically on both ends of the ice. This will be the fourth and final game of the season between these teams with each of the first three determined by just a goal, with the Wild winning 4-3 at home on November 27th, 2-1 at home on January 14th, and the Coyotes answering back with a 3-2 win at home on February 6th. I expect Minnesota to win on the road tonight. The -205 moneyline is a bit too expensive but I’ll go with half a unit each on the Wild regulation line, the alternate under 6, and the Coyotes TT under 2.5 in regulation.
Game Bets
2u Bruins in regulation (-152)
.5u Golden Knights ML (-140)
1u Predators ML (-165)
.5u Ducks TT under 2.5 in regulation (-117)
.5u Wild in regulation (-125)
.5u Wild/Coyotes under 6 (-137)
.5u Coyotes TT under 2.5 in regulation (-162)
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 York Rangers – Stanley Cup Champions (+1300)
1u New Jersey Devils – Stanley Cup Champions (+1600)
Record: 554-464-23 (-56.18 units)
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