Nice mini-sweep for me on last night’s three game NHL slate, going 2-0 to win 1.5 units. I’ll take that all day. After just three games last night, we huge twelve game slate tonight. Let’s make it two nights in a row!
Flyers vs. Golden Knights (7:00)
This isn’t a very compelling matchup between the lowly Flyers and the Western Conference leading Golden Knights. I broke this game down in depth with my article on StatSalt. As I said in that article, I expect Vegas to win easily here and will take them for a unit (which I used a 50% boost for on Fanduel last night, although I do like the -170 fine) along with half a unit on the puck line. I also like the under, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Hurricanes vs. Jets (7:00)
I’d expect this to be a really good defensive grind of a game. The Hurricanes lead the Central Division with a 43-14-8 record, tied in points with the the Devils, who they got shut out by in a 3-0 loss on Sunday in Jersey, their second shutout on back to back days, after losing 4-0 to the Golden Knights at home on Saturday. Carolina’s been fantastic on both ends of the ice, especially defensively, as they’re one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. They will be without of their best players though as Andrei Svechnikov, who’s out the rest of the season with a knee injury. The Jets after being in a bit of a slump, have won both of their previous games in the state of Florida, beating Tampa 3-2 on Sunday and the Panthers 5-4 in overtime on Saturday. With a 3-1-1 record in the last five games they improve to 38-26-3 on the season, comfortably in a playoff spot. Winnipeg’s played very well defensively and around league average offensively. The first game between these teams needed overtime in Winnipeg on November 21st, with the Jets winning 4-3 at home. I’d lean the Canes answer back with a win to bounce back from their two shutout losses in a row, but not enough to bet it. Even though the first game between these teams went over, I like the under here with two elite defensive teams going at it and I will take the alternate under 6 in this game for half a unit.
Rangers vs. Capitals (7:00)
This has the potential to be a pretty fun game. The Rangers are having a great season, comfortably in third place in the Metro Division with a 37-19-10 record. Coming off a 3-2 overtime loss in a tight game in Pittsburgh, the Rags have gone 4-2-1 in their last seven games. They’ve played well on both ends of the ice. The Capitals are having a pretty disappointing season, outside of the playoff picture in the East with a 32-28-7 record. They have played really well lately and after a 5-1 win on Long Island on Saturday they’ve gone 3-1-1 in their last five games. Washington hasn’t been great offensively, but they’ve been pretty solid defensively. Despite the Rangers having the much better season this year, the Capitals beat them pretty easily in both previous games they played, winning 4-0 on the road in New York on December 27th and then 6-3 at home on February 25th. I’d lean the Rangers win tonight on home ice, but with the way the Caps have played against them this year, I’d rather just stay off this game. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet that either, so I’ll just lay off this game entirely.
Devils vs. Lightning (7:00)
I’d expect this Eastern Conference matchup to set up what should be a pretty fun game between these two teams that are both pretty much locked into playoff spots in their divisions. The Devils are on hot fire. Coming off a 3-0 shutout win at home on Sunday against the Hurricanes, they’re now tied in points with Carolina for the Metro Division lead (the Canes have the tie breaker) with a 44-16-9 record. New Jersey’s on a three game win streak with a 20-4-3 record in their last 27 games and they’ve played fantastic hockey on both ends of the ice. The Lightning are comfortably in a playoff spot, in third place in the Atlantic Division, pretty much locked into a first round matchup against the Leafs again. They’re a huge slump right now though. Coming off a 3-2 loss at home to the Jets on Sunday, the Lightning have only won two of their last nine games to drop to 39-22-6 on the season. 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. I like the Devils to win at home tonight and will take them for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the under but not enough to bet it.
Penguins vs. Canadiens (7:00)
At first glance, this looks like it would be a huge mismatch in the Eastern Conference, but the two previous games between these teams were very close in Montreal, both going to overtime and the Habs winning both of those games. The Canadiens have had a pretty bad season, coming into tonight’s game on a seven game losing streak after an 8-4 blowout loss to the the Avalanche at home last night, falling to 26-35-6 on the season. They’ve played quite poorly on both ends of the ice. The Penguins have been hot lately, coming off a 3-2 overtime win at home against the Rangers on Sunday, they’ve gone 7-1-1 in their last nine games. Pittsburgh’s played pretty well offensively the whole season, but they’ve been inconsistent at best defensively. They’re in the first Wild Card spot in the East with a 34-22-10 record. Especially with Montreal in the second half of a back-to-back, I really like the Pens to win this one at home to previent the season sweep. The -315 price on this game is way too expensive for me and even the regulation line at -200 is a bit pricey, but I’ll lay the juice for half a unit on the Penguins team total over 3.5.
Predators vs. Red Wings (8:00)
This isn’t the most compelling matchup. The Predators, despite being out of the playoff picture and being big sellers at the deadline, having been rolling recently. Coming off a 5-4 overtime win in Anaheim on Sunday (big cash for me), they’ve gone 7-3-1 in their last ten games to improve to 33-24-7 on the season. Not too bad. Nashville’s really struggled offensively, but they’re really solid on the back end with Juuse Saros in goal. Although I won on the Predators, I got completely fucked as the Red Wings pulled off a hell of an upset on Sunday, beating the Bruins 5-3 after getting out to a 4-0 lead. The Red Wings are pretty lousy this season with a 30-27-9 record and they have only two wins in their last nine games. Detroit hasn’t been great on either end of the ice this year. The Red Wings won the first game between these cross-conference teams easily, getting a 3-0 shutout win at home on November 23rd. I’d expect the Preds to answer back with a win at home tonight in Smashville and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it.
Blackhawks vs. Bruins (8:00)
This is easily the biggest mismatch of the night. The Bruins completely fucked me on Sunday afternoon, losing 5-3 in Detroit, a huge 3 unit loss for me. They’re by far the best team in the NHL this season, and arguably in history. They’ve already clinches a playoff spot with 17 games left, they’re the fastest team in NHL history to get to 50 wins, and they’re projected to break the record for the best regular season to of all time, rightfully the Stanley Cup favorite. Boston’s the best defensive team in the NHL and they’re the second best offensively in the league. The Blackhawks on the other hand are arguably the worst team in the NHL this season. They’re 22-38-6 and are on a three game losing streak after a 3-1 loss in Tampa on Saturday, picking up just one win in their last eight games. Chicago’s one of the worst teams in the NHL on both ends of the ice this season. The B’s won in a 6-1 blowout at home on November 19th in the first game between these teams. Not a chance in fucking hell the Bruins lose two in a row tonight, especially against as shitty of a team that the Blackhawks are. I’m expecting another dominant blowout in tonight’s game. The moneyline isn’t a line worth taking at -420, even though that line is probably accurate and even the regulation line at -245 is too expensive. I’m going to triple down on this game. I’ll take the Bruins puck line for a unit, the Bruins team total over 3.5 in regulation for 1.5 units and the Blackhawks team total under 2 in regulation for half a unit.
Oilers vs. Senators (9:00)
We should get a fun cross-Canada matchup here that just screams to bet the over. The Oilers are coming off a 7-4 loss in Toronto in a very fun game on Saturday night where they blew a 3-1 lead, giving up five straight goals to the Leafs and not being able to come back. Prior to that game, they’ve played really well recently with four wins in their previous five games before Saturday and they come into tonight’s game with a 36-23-8 record, sitting in the first Wild Card spot in the West. With by far the best player in the NHL in Connor McDavid leading the way, Edmonton’s offense has been incredible, leading the NHL this year. They’ve been inconsistent at best defensively though, as evidenced by the seven goals they gave away to Toronto. The Sens got dominated in their last two games, losing 5-1 in Calgary on Sunday and 5-2 in Vancouver on Saturday, which ended a hell of run for them where they went 13-4-1 in their previous 18 games. Ottawa’s still pretty disappointing on the season with a 33-29-4 record and they’ve been a bit below league average statistically in the way they’ve played on both ends of the ice. The Oilers won the first game between these teams 6-3 in Ottawa on February 11th and I expect them to bounce back from Saturday’s loss with a win on home ice here. The moneyline at -220 I don’t think is worth it but I’ll take Edmonton in regulation for half a unit. I really like the over and when I initially looked at this game I was gonna hammer it, but I don’t like betting the 7 and since the 6.5 is juiced all the way up to -167, I’ll just take it for half a unit.
Coyotes vs. Flames (10:00)
When I first looked at the teams in this matchup but before I actually dove into my research on it, I thought this was such a stinker but it’s actually kind of interesting with how they’ve played lately. The Coyotes are one of the worst teams in the NHL and are in the Bedard sweepstakes with a 24-32-11 record, but they’ve won three of their last four games and have picked up at least a point in their last five straight. On Sunday night I took a triple loser as the Yotes came back from a 4-2 deficit to beat the Wild 5-4 in overtime at home. Statistically Arizona is one of the worst teams in the league on both ends of the ice. The Flames have been very disappointing this year, with just a 30-24-13 record. They’ve won three of their last four games too though, coming off a dominant 5-1 win at home against the Senators on Sunday. Calgary’s struggled offensively this year quite a bit, and they’re around league average defensively. They won both previous games between these teams this season, winning 3-2 at home on December 5th and then 6-3 on the road at the Mullett on February 22nd. I’d lean the Flames win this game on the road, but don’t see any value to betting them at -230, and I think the total is a coin flip, so I’ll completely stay off this game.
Canucks vs. Stars (10:00)
Last night night the Stars got their third win in a row, their second in Seattle in three days as they beat the Kraken 5-2. With a 7-1-1 record in their last nine games to improve to 37-17-13 on the season, Dallas is leading the Central Division and they’re just a point behind Vegas for first overall in the West. They’ve played well on both ends of the ice this season. The Canucks are having a lousy season, with a 28-32-5 record, but coming off a 5-2 win at home against the Sens on Saturday, they’re on a four game win streak with a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games. Vancouver’s offense has been pretty good this season but their defense and goaltending is some of the worst in the NHL. The first game between these teams went to OT, with the Canucks pulling off a 5-4 upset in Dallas on February 27th. I’d expect the Stars, even in the second half of a back to back answer back with a win tonight. I’ll take them for half a unit, along with half a unit on the alternate over 6 in this game. The play I really like though in this game is the Stars team total over 3, at a pretty cheap price, which I’ll take for a unit.
Kings vs. Islanders (10:30)
Fun cross-conference matchup here between two teams currently holding playoff spots. The Kings had a five game win streak come to an end with a 2-1 shootout loss in a grind of a game at home against the Predators on Saturday. They’ve had success this season with a 38-20-9 record, in second place in the Pacific Division, just three points back from Vegas. They’ve played well offensively all season but have been inconsistent defensively. The Islanders are built the opposite way. Their defense and Ilya Sorokin’s defense is elite, but their offense has been pathetic. They’re in the second Wild Card seed in the East with a 6-2-1 record in their last nine games to improve to 34-26-8 on the season. The first game between these teams ended up being close but the Isles come back fell short, losing 3-2 at home on November 24th. I’d lean the Kings and the under in this game but not enough to bet on either.
Sharks vs. Blue Jackets (10:30)
Horrible matchup to close out the night between two of the worst teams in the NHL this season. The Sharks, coming off a 5-2 loss to the Wild on Sunday are on a three game losing streak with just one win in their last nine games, dropping to 19-36-12 on the season. The Blue Jackets aren’t any better. They’re 20-38-7 on the season and are on a four game losing streak after a 5-2 loss at home to the Blues on Saturday. Both of these teams have played horribly on both ends of the ice. Columbus won the first game between these cross-conference teams 5-3 at home on January 21st. I’d slightly lean the Sharks win this one at home, but I’m definitely not betting them. I do like the over though in this game with how dogshit both defenses are and how much they’re both trending over, and I’ll take it for half a unit.
Game Bets
1u Golden Knights ML (-113, boosted on Fanduel)
.5u Golden Knights -1.5 (+146)
.5u Golden Knights/Flyers under 6 (-110)
.5u Hurricanes/Jets under 6 (-110)
.5u Devils ML (-140)
.5u Penguins TT over 3.5 (-186)
.5u Predators ML (-150)
1u Bruins -1.5 (-165)
1.5u Bruins TT over 3.5 in regulation (-159)
.5u Blackhawks TT under 2 in regulation (-148)
.5u Oilers in regulation (-134)
.5u Oilers/Senators over 6.5 (-167)
.5u Stars ML (-150)
.5u Stars/Canucks over 6 (-129)
1u Stars TT over 3 (-162)
.5u Sharks/Blue Jackets over 6.5 (-110)
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: 558-469-23 (-58.92 units)
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