With the Bruins blowing a 3-1 lead with less than two minutes left in regulation, I had a losing night on the NHL yesterday, going 1-2 to lose 0.66 units. Not a huge deal and we have a six game Friday night slate tonight. Gotta bounce back here.
Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks (6:00)
Big mismatch here and I fully expect the Golden Knights to advance to 8-0 with a win at home in the Fortress tonight against Bedard and the Blackhawks, adding to their NHL record setting start to a season after winning the Stanley Cup. These teams already played in Chicago, with Vegas winning 5-3 and I expect this game to be an even easier win for the Knights. The moneyline is way too expensive for me at -325, but I’ll lay the juice and take them in regulation for a unit.
Devils vs. Sabres (7:00)
The Sabres made me sweat it out but got a big 6-4 win in Ottawa on Tuesday night on a huge second period. Tonight they head to Jersey to take on the Devils, which I broke down in depth in my article on StatSalt. As I said in that article, I’d lean the Devils win at home, but I’m not betting against my boys here. I like the over in this game, expecting both teams to score. Both of these teams trended over last season and all three games between them hit the over last year. That trend seems to have continues through the starts for both of these teams this year. Buffalo’s offense last season scored the third-most goals in the NHL and generated the eleventh-most expected goals. The Devils scored the sixth-most goals in the NHL. They generated the third-most expected goals per 60 minutes (3.63) and the sixth-most high-danger shots in the league. I’m not betting the 7, but I’ll take the alternate over 6.5 here for a unit. Let’s Go Buffalo!
Capitals vs. Wild (7:00)
I’m not sold on either of these teams this year. I was surprised by the result of the Caps 6-4 win over the Devils that was a game of three different periods on Wednesday night (loss for me) and I was a bit surprised by the Wild losing 6-2 last night in Philly. I think Minnesota’s the better team here but I’d slightly lean the Caps win this game at home tonight with the Wild in the second half of a back to back. I’d also slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet on either, so I’ll skip this game entirely.
Hurricanes vs. Sharks (7:00)
The Sharks are by far the worst team in hockey this year, still looking for their first win. They got dominated in a 6-0 shutout loss in Tampa last night and now they face another good team on the road in Carolina. The Canes need to clean things up a bit but their talent level alone should let them coast to a win here coming off their 3-2 overtime win against the Kraken last night. When these teams played in San Jose ten days ago, the Canes won 6-3. This game has the most expensive moneyline we’ve seen all season at -385 and I only expect that trend to continue with Sharks games. I’ll take the Canes puck line for a unit.
Canucks vs. Blues (10:00)
The Canucks have over exceeded my expectations a bit to open this season 4-2 and they’re playing pretty solid hockey. The Blues, while surprising me with their 3-0 shutout win in Calgary on Thursday are pretty much what I expected out of them, a worse than average team. I like Vancouver to win this matchup at home, but I don’t think they’re worth the -200. If they were cheaper I’d probably be on them, but it’s just not worth the juice to me and I’m not sold enough on the Canucks to limit myself to just regulation on this one.
Coyotes vs. Kings (10:00)
These teams are in the second half of their home and home after a 6-3 win for the Kings in LA. I think the Yotes are going to be a pest for teams to play against, especially at home like they were last year. I expect this to be a close game but the Kings should pull away and feel like the price is right here, so I’ll go with half a unit on LA.
Game Bets
1u Golden Knights in regulation (-186)
1u Devils/Sabres over 6.5 (-155)
1u Hurricanes -1.5 (-142)
.5u Kings ML (-132)
Record: 41-42 (-9.31 units)
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