Profitable night for me in the NHL yesterday on a decent Friday night slate, going 6-3 to win 1.44 units. Today we have a huge 13 game slate with a day game to get it started off. Let’s crush it and start a win streak!
Wild vs. Canucks (2:00)
Interesting matchup to get the day started and I’m a bit surprised that it’s just a pick em. The Wild have played better lately, coming off a 3-2 shootout win against the Flames on Thursday night. The Canucks have been good this season and coming off a 4-0 shutout win against the Panthers on Thursday, they’re on a four game win streak. Vancouver won the first game between these teams with a 2-0 shutout at home. I like them to win again today on the road and I’ll take them for half a unit.
Bruins vs. Rangers (7:00)
Fantastic game tonight between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. Both of these teams have been fantastic this year. Both of these teams are in the second half of back to backs, coming off wins last night (both games with wins for me). The Bruins came back from multiple deficits last night, ultimately winning 5-4 against the Isles on the road in a shootout. The Rangers won with ease after a tight start, beating the Ducks 5-1. This game is a complete coin flip to me. I’d slightly lean the Bruins at home and the under, but no way I’m betting this game. I’ll lay off it completely.
Maple Leafs vs. Penguins (7:00)
This is another fun Eastern Conference matchup. The Penguins haven’t been all that great offensively, but they’ve been very good defensively this season. The big issue for them is that the power play isn’t able to get it going. They’ve won their last two games in a row, coming off a 4-3 shootout win in Montreal on Wednesday, their second win in a row. The Leafs put together a hell of a comeback (easily cashing the over, and winning my team total, despite losing), but ultimately lost 6-5 at home in OT against the Blue Jackets on Thursday. They’ve played solid hockey (despite keeping a lot of games close and taking a ton of their games to overtime), coming into tonight on an eight game point streak with three wins in their last five games. They’ve picked up at least a point in all but one of their last 14 games. I’d lean Toronto wins tonight at home and would lean the over, but neither enough for me to bet on in this game, so I’ll stay off it.
Canadiens vs. Islanders (7:00)
The Isles, who had their four game win streak come to an end with their 5-4 shootout loss in a great, competitive game against the Bruins at home last night, have been playing great after their slow start to the season. They have six wins in their last eight games and they’ve picked up at least a point in all but one of their last 15 games, shockingly playing really entertaining hockey. The Habs, coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins on Wednesday have struggled. I like the Islanders to bounce back from last night’s loss with a win on the road tonight, and I’ll take them for half a unit at a decent -136 price. I’d slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Flyers vs. Red Wings (7:00)
This is a really interesting game tonight with how these two teams have played recently. The Flyers are on fire under Torts this season, playing really well defensively. Coming off a 4-3 shootout win against the Caps at home on Thursday night, they’ve won five of their last six games. They’re on a streak of picking up at least a point in their last seven games, with an 11-3-2 record in their last 16 games. The Red Wings are in a slump right now with just one win in their last five games, coming off a 2-1 loss at home to the Hurricanes on Thursday. They’ve been one of the best teams offensively this season but have struggled on the back end. I’d slightly lean the Flyers at home and the over here, but this is a game where the best play is no bet at all, so I’ll lay off it entirely.
Blue Jackets vs. Devils (7:00)
Not the best game here in the slightest. The Blue Jackets somehow figured out how to get their offense going, picking up a 6-5 overtime win on the road against the Leafs on Thursday night with Kent Johnson’s OT goal after they gave up five goals in the third period to let Toronto force overtime. This team has been pretty brutal on both ends of the ice this year. The Devils are playing great right now. Coming off a 2-1 overtime win at home against the Bruins in a solid game on Thursday night, they’ve won seven of their last nine games. Although they haven’t been all that great defensively, Jersey’s been excellent offensively. The Jackets won the first game between these teams with a 2-1 win at home the day after Thanksgiving. I like the Bruins to answer back here pretty easily in a high scoring game. The moneyline is too expensive for me, but I’ll take the Devils in regulation and their team total over 3.5 for half a unit each. I like the over even better though, which I’ll take for a unit.
Jets vs. Avalanche (7:00)
Really such a great game in the Central here between these games tonight. The Avs seem to have gotten right, coming into tonight’s game with two wins in a row after a slump, beating the Sabres 5-1 in a big win where they were dominant early on Wednesday night. The Jets are one of my biggest surprises this season, playing really well on both ends of the ice, especially defensively. They’ve won five of their last six games, with a nice bounce back win on the road against the Kings on Wednesday after they lost 2-1 in San Jose the night before. In the first game between these teams in Colorado on December 7th, the Jets won 4-2. I’d give Winnipeg a slight edge here with the better defense but this game’s pretty close to a coin flip to me and I’ll stay off this game entirely. I’d also lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Blues vs. Stars (8:00)
Pretty big mismatch to me in the Central here tonight. The Stars have been very good this season and seem to have gotten out of a slump, with three wins in their last four games. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a nice comeback win against the Sens last night (2-0 for me on that game), scoring three unanswered to win 5-4 inside regulation. Dallas has been really good on both ends of the ice. The Blues have been a lower middle-tier team this year. After firing head coach Craig Berube (which was a bit of a surprise to me), they ended a four game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Senators on Thursday. In the first game between these two Central Division teams, they needed a shootout to determine a winner with Dallas getting the 2-1 win at home. Even in the second half of a back to back, I like the Stars to win here tonight on the road. I’ll take them for half a unit. The total’s a complete coin flip to me.
Predators vs. Capitals (8:00)
I’m expecting this game to be a complete defensive grind tonight, which should be a solid matchup. Both of these teams are playing pretty good hockey right now. Last night Filip Forsberg was the hero in overtime, getting the 6-5 win for the Preds on the road in Carolina (a game that my under on never stood a chance with nine goals already halfway through the game). Smashville’s now won six of their last seven games, and twelve of their last 15. The Capitals have played really well defensively this season. They’re coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers on the road on Thursday but have picked up at least a point in their last four games. Even in the second half of a back to back, I’d slightly lean the Preds win tonight at home, but not enough to bet it. I do like the under though, which I’ll go right back to here for half a unit.
Coyotes vs. Sabres (9:00)
Last night my Sabres impressed me with a 5-2 win in Vegas, beating the Cup Champs despite getting outplayed, a game that I really had no complaints about. Really solid bounce back after a 5-1 loss in Colorado on Wednesday. Overall though, Buffalo’s been extremely disappointing this season on both ends of the ice. Last night the Coyotes ended their four game losing streak, grinding out a 1-0 shutout win against the Sharks last night. Arizona’s been a decent team this season, making every game a pain in the ass for the teams that play against them. These teams just played on Monday in Buffalo, with the Sabres picking up a solid 5-2 win. I’d lean the Yotes win here but definitely not enough to bet on them. I do like the over though, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Flames vs. Lightning (10:00)
Although this is a pretty compelling matchup, it’s really not a great game. The Lightning are coming off a huge 7-4 win in Edmonton on Thursday night, ending the Oilers great win streak on the back of a five goal third period that featured a Steven Stamkos hat trick (in a four goal night for Stammer). They’re on a solid run right now with four wins in their last six games. Their offense has been great, but their defense has struggled this year. The Flames are on a four game losing streak, coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Wild on Thursday. I like the Bolts to get a win here on the road and I’ll take them for half a unit with the nice pick em price. I like the over even better though with both defenses struggling and Tampa continuing to light the lamp, so I’ll take the over for a unit.
Oilers vs. Panthers (10:00)
EXCELLENT cross conference game tonight. The Oilers impressive eight game win streak came to an end of Thursday night, as they lost 7-4 at home to the Lightning, giving up five goals in the third period. They outshot the Bolts 57-24 but got roasted defensively, a reoccurring theme for the Oil. Edmonton’s offense is great but their defense and goaltending is quite awful. The Panthers on the other hand have struggled offensively a bit, but they’ve been excellent defensively. They are coming into tonight’s game off two 4-0 shutout losses in a row though, losing in Vancouver on Thursday and in Seattle on Tuesday. Florida’s been really good this year though, proving that it wasn’t just magic in a bottle that this team captured on their run to winning the Eastern Conference last year. In the first game between these team in Sunrise on November 20th, the Panthers won 5-3 at home. I’d slightly lean the Oil bounce back from their loss on Thursday with a win here and would slightly lean the over, but this game’s a completely crap shoot and there’s really no value to betting it at all. This one’s a fun one to watch, but the right move is not betting it.
Kraken vs. Kings (10:00)
Pretty big mismatch in the Pacific here tonight, but with that comes some nice betting opportunities. The Kraken have been horrible this season, a bit of a surprise after how good and fun to watch they were last year. After an eight game losing streak, they do come into tonight with two wins in a row, shutting out Florida 4-0 on Tuesday and then trouncing the Blackhawks 7-1 on Thursday. This Seattle team has struggled big time though on both ends of the ice. The Kings come into tonight on a three game losing streak after a 5-2 loss at home to the Jets on Wednesday night. LA’s played fantastic hockey though on both ends of the ice this year and they’re still probably my second pick behind Vegas to lift Lord Stanley this year. This is a big time get right spot to me and I expect the Kings to bounce bounce back with a win tonight. I’ll take LA for a unit and their team total over 3 for 1.5 units to make this my biggest game of the day. I like the over, at just 5.5, but I’d rather just stick with the Kings side of this one with how great they are defensively.
Game Bets
.5u Canucks ML (-102)
.5u Islanders ML (-136)
.5u Devils in regulation (-130)
.5u Devils TT over 3.5 (-155)
1u Devils/Blue Jackets over 6.5 (-132)
.5u Stars ML (-142)
.5u Predators/Flyers under 6.5 (-120)
.5u Coyotes/Sabres over 6.5 (-112)
.5u Lightning ML (-105)
1u Flames/Lightning over 6.5 (-113)
1u Kings ML (-156)
1.5u Kings TT over 3 (-143)
Futures
4u Vegas Golden Knights – Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)
Record: 213-205-2 (-46.46 units)
Please follow me:
Instagram: @atownszone
Twitter: @atownszone
If you like the site and my work, share it with your friends!
… and tell Dave Portnoy to hire me at Barstool…
A Town's Zone 