I split last night’s quick two game slate, going 1-1 to lose a small 0.26 units of juice. Due to the NHL’s horrible scheduling this week, following that up, we have a twelve game slate tonight. Positive vibes only. Let’s win!
Flyers vs. Wild (6:30)
We get a bit of an earlier start to tonight’s slate with the puck dropping for this one at 6:30 tonight. It isn’t a great matchup though. The Wild are a fantastic team this season, in second place in the Central with a 41-22-8 record, tied in points with the Stars. They’re coming off a big 2-1 overtime win in New Jersey on Tuesday night and they have gone a very impressive 13-1-3 in their last 17 games. Minnesota’s been elite defensively all season and even without their leading scorer in Karill Kaprizov in the lineup, their offense has come roaring to life recently. The Flyers on the other hand have been very underwhelming this season. Although they’re coming off a 6-3 win at home against the Panthers on Tuesday and have two wins in their last three games, Philly has sucked this season with a 26-32-12 record and they have just four wins in their last twelve games. They’ve struggled on both ends of the ice, especially offensively. The Wild needed overtime to win the first game between these teams 3-2 at home on January 26th. I’d expect an easier win for them on the road tonight and will take them for a unit. I’d slightly lean the under but definitely not enough to bet it.
Bruins vs. Canadiens (7:00)
Huge mismatch here in the Atlantic Division between the best team in the NHL and the worst team in the Division. The Bruins are easily the best team in the NHL this season, rightfully the far and away Stanley Cup favorite as this has been arguably the best season in NHL history. The B’s already set a record for the fastest team to 50 wins in NHL history and they’re on pace to have the greatest regular season ever, coming into tonight’s game with a 54-11-5 record with an insane 28-3-3 record at home. Coming off a 2-1 win at home against the Senators on Tuesday, they’re on a four game win streak. The B’s have the best defense in the NHL and the second best offense, just behind Edmonton. The Habs have had a lousy year, with a 28-37-6 record. They’re coming off a big 3-2 win at home against the Lightning on Tuesday, a big double loser for me on the Bolts. That was only Montreal’s second win in their last eleven games and they’ve struggled on both ends of the ice. The Bruins won the first game between these teams 4-2 in Montreal on January 24th. They should easily win again tonight at home. I can’t bet the moneyline here at -420 or even the -250 regulation line, but I’ll take the puck line for a unit and the Bruins team total over 4 for half a unit. I’d lean the over on the game, but not enough to bet it.
Hurricanes vs. Rangers (7:00)
These two Metropolitan Division playoff teams just played two days ago with the Hurricanes winning a close 3-2 game on the road in New York to make the season series 2-1 after the Rags won the first two games, winning 5-3 at home on January 3rd and 6-2 on the road in Carolina on February 11th. Tonight the regular season series continues in the second half of the home and home in Carolina with the Canes looking to tie up the season series. The Hurricanes lead the Division with a 46-15-8 record and they have three wins in their last four games. The Rangers had a four game win streak and seven game point streak come to an end with their home loss on Tuesday. They comfortably hold the third playoff spot in the Metro with a 41-20-10 record. Both of these teams have played great hockey on both ends of the ice, with a bit of an edge offensively to New York and a bit of a defensive edge to Carolina. I think the Canes are the slightly better team in general here this season, but just like on Tuesday night this game is a coin flip to me and I don’t see any edge in betting it. I’d slightly lean the under as well, but not enough to bet that either, so I’ll stay off this game entirely. Should be another awesome matchup to watch.
Red Wings vs. Blues (7:00)
Another game in the second half of a home and home after these two lousy cross-conference teams played a very close game on Tuesday night, with the Red Wings winning 3-2 in a shootout in St. Louis. Lousy loss on my over in that with no goals scored in regulation after there were four goals scored in the first 18 minutes of the game. The Blues are having a pretty lousy season with a 31-33-6 record and they were big sellers at the deadline. They’ve won four of their last seven games but they’re still not a good team. St. Louis hasn’t been terrible offensively but they’ve been one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL. The win in St. Louis ended a three game losing streak for the Red Wings, just their third win in their last 13 games to move to 31-30-9 on the season. Detroit has struggled on both ends of the ice. I’d slightly lean the Red Wings win again at home, but I’m definitely not betting it. I’ll go back to the over here though and will take the alternate over 6 for half a unit, which hopefully doesn’t let me down two games in a row.
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (7:00)
This should be a fantastic matchup tonight between two good team in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers are one of the hottest teams in the NHL recently with a 6-1-1 record in their last eight games to put themselves just a point behind the Pens for the second Wild Card spot in the East, having improved to 36-28-7 on the season. Florida’s been fantastic offensively all year but they’ve been very inconsistent on the back end. The Leafs got smoked on Long Island on Tuesday, losing 7-2 on the road by the Isles. They’re having a great season though with a 42-19-9 record, comfortably in second place in the Atlantic Division, gearing up for a first round rematch against the Bolts. They’ve played fantastic hockey this year on both ends of the ice. The first game between these teams needed overtime this year, with the Leafs winning 5-4 at home on January 17th. While I do think Toronto’s the better team in this game, I’d slightly lean the Panthers win at home tonight, but not enough to bet a side. I love the over though and will take the alternate over 6.5 in this game for a unit.
Senators vs. Lightning (7:00)
The Bolts let me down big time on Tuesday night, a double loser for me on them in regulation and their team total as they lost 3-2 in Montreal, their second loss in a row. The Lightning are still having a great season though, coming into tonight’s game comfortably in third place in the Atlantic with a first round playoff series with the Leafs pretty much locked in. Tampa’s been fantastic offensively all season but they’ve taken a step back defensively from the last several years. The Senators are coming off a 2-1 loss in a closer than expected game in Boston on Tuesday and have only picked up one win in their last seven games to fall to 34-32-5 on the season. Statistically Ottawa hasn’t been great on either end of the ice. The Lightning won the first game between these teams 4-3 at home on November 1st. I’d expect them to win again on the road tonight and will take them at the much cheaper than expected -135 price for half a unit. I like the over better though, which I’ll take for a unit.
Capitals vs. Blackhawks (7:00)
This isn’t a great game. The Caps are having a disappointing season with a 33-31-8 record, outside of the playoff picture. They’re on a three game losing streak, coming off a a 7-6 overtime loss at home to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, where they blew several multiple goal leads, giving up the game tying goal with just 47 seconds left in the game. Washington’s been pretty good defensively this year, but they’ve struggled to score. The Blackhawks are one of the worst teams in the NHL with a 24-40-6 record, coming off a 5-0 shutout loss in Colorado on Monday night. Chicago’s been horrible on both ends of the ice. The Caps won the first game between these cross conference teams easily, with a 7-3 win on the road in Chicago on December 13th. I’d expect them to win again as they’re the much better team in this game. The moneyline is way too expensive at -295, but I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit.
Predators vs. Kraken (8:00)
Interesting game here. The Predators ended a three game losing streak on Tuesday night with a 7-3 blowout game in Buffalo, embarrassing my Sabres. That win moves them to 35-26-8 on the season, a bit disappointing and they were big sellers at the deadline. Nashville has been good defensively with Juuse Saros in goal but their offense has really struggled this season. The Kraken are having a good year, in the first Wild Card spot in the West with a 39-24-7 record. On Tuesday they beat the Stars 5-4 in overtime in Dallas for a big win. Seattle’s been very good offensively this season but they’ve been inconsistent defensively. The Kraken easily won the first game between these teams at home on November 8th, winning in a 5-1 blowout. I’d lean they win again tonight on the road in Smashville, but not enough to bet them. I’d also slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet that either, so I’ll just stay off this game entirely.
Flames vs. Golden Knights (9:00)
This is a fun game in the Pacific Division tonight despite these teams being pretty far apart in the trajectory of their seasons. I broke this game down in depth in my article on StatSalt. As I said in that article, I’d lean the Golden Knights win on the road and would slightly lean the over in this game, but not enough to bet on either of them. I’ll stay off this game entirely.
Stars vs. Penguins (9:00)
The Stars lead the Central Division with a 38-19-14 record with the tiebreaker over Minnesota. They’re coming off a 5-4 overtime loss at home to the Kraken on Tuesday, coming back from a 4-2 deficit with less than five minutes left in regulation and Jamie Benn scoring the tying goal to force OT with less than a second left in regulation, but they ultimately loss 1:52 into overtime. They’ve played well recently with an 8-3-2 record in their last 13 games. Dallas has played well on both ends of the ice this season. Last night the Penguins picked up a big win in Colorado, beating the Avs 5-2 (loss for me). That win moved them to 35-26-10 on the season, a point ahead of Florida for the second Wild Card spot in the East. They’ve been good offensively this season but pretty inconsistent defensively. The first game between these teams in Pittsburgh on December 12th was close, with the Pens winning 2-1 at home. Especially with Pittsburgh in the second half of a back to back, I’d lean the Stars win here at home and will take them for half a unit. I also like the over, and I’ll take the alternate over 6 for half a unit.
Ducks vs. Jets (10:00)
This Western Conference matchup isn’t all that great tonight. Even though the Jets are in a slump, they’re comfortably in a playoff spot. The Ducks are one of the worst teams in the NHL. I broke this game down in depth in my article on StatSalt. As I said in that article, the Jets are the much better team here and I like them to win on the road. I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the under but not enough to bet on it.
Canucks vs. Sharks (10:00)
The Sharks fucking blow. They have the worst record in the NHL with a 19-37-15 record. They played a hell of a game on Monday, taking the Oilers to overtime but ultimately losing 5-4. They’re now on a seven game losing streak with just one win in their last 13 games. San Jose’s been horrible on both ends of the ice. The Canucks, coming off a 4-3 loss at home to the Golden Knights on Tuesday are playing easily their best hockey of the year recently, with just two losses in their last nine games, improving to 31-34-5 on the season, which is still pretty disappointing. Vancouver’s been good offensively this season but they’ve struggled on the back end all year. They’ll try to complete their season sweep against the Sharks at home tonight after winning each of the last three games between these teams, winning 4-3 in San Jose in OT on November 27th, again in OT on the road 6-5 on December 7th and then 6-2 at home on December 27th. I expect them to do so again. I’ll take Vancouver team total over 3.5 for a unit along with half a unit on the alternate game over 6.5.
Game Bets
1u Wild ML (-150)
1u Bruins -1.5 (-159)
.5u Bruins TT over 4 (-136)
.5u Red Wings/Blues over 6 (-134)
1u Panthers/Maple Leafs over 6.5 (-150)
.5u Lightning ML (-125)
1u Lightning/Senators over 6.5 (-135)
.5u Capitals in regulation (-177)
.5u Stars ML (-145)
.5u Stars/Penguins over 6 (-134)
.5u Jets in regulation (-137)
1u Canucks TT over 3.5 (-141)
.5u Canucks/Sharks over 6.5 (-141)
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: 602-509-23 (-67.55 units)
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