Solid night yesterday on the NHL, going 2-0-1 to win 1.5 units on the small slate. Today we have a huge twelve game Saturday slate with a bunch of fantastic games. Let’s keep winning!
Flyers vs. Flames (1:00)
This is an interesting matchup to get the day started. The Flames have struggled on the season, sitting outside the playoff picture but they’re coming into today’s game they’ve been playing well recently. They’re on a three game win streak, coming off a 6-3 loss in Nashville on Thursday and they’ve won six of their last eight games. Calgary hasn’t been spectacular on either end of the ice. The Flyers are having a good season, currently in a Wild Card spot in the East, with their terrible offense but fantastic defense. They’re in a slump right now, on a four game losing streak with just one win in their last seven games, coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets on Thursday. The Flames won the first game between these teams 4-3 on New Year’s Eve at home. I think Philly’s the slightly better team here and I’d lean they win this one to tie up the season series with a win at home, but not enough for me to bet them. I’d slightly lean the under, but don’t see any value in that either, so no early start for my card today.
Avalanche vs. Panthers (4:00)
Fantastic cross conference matchup with this early start today in Colorado. Both of these teams have been fantastic and if this ends up being a Cup Finals preview, I don’t think anyone would be surprised. The Avs are a point back from the Jets to lead the Western Conference and coming off a 5-4 overtime win in an electric game in Dallas on Thursday, they’re on a four game win streak and seven game point streak with a 6-0-1 record in their last seven games. Their offense is one of the best in the NHL and their defense has been solid as well. The Panthers, coming off a 4-1 win in Vegas in a rematch of last year’s Cup Finals on Thursday are on a six game win streak. They’ve played elite hockey defensively and although their offense hasn’t been all that great, they could easily win games when they’re only giving up an average of 2.47 goals per game. I’d slightly lean the Avs win this game at home and the under, but not enough to bet on either. This should be such a fantastic game.
Bruins vs. Lightning (7:00)
This should be a pretty solid Atlantic Division matchup. The Bruins lead the division and they’ve been good on both ends of the ice. They had a four game win streak come to an end on Thursday with a 6-5 loss to the Penguins at home. The Lightning have been decent this season, right in the playoff mix. They’re coming off a 4-1 win in Minnesota on Thursday. Tampa’s been very good offensively but they’ve struggled on the back end. They won the first game between these teams in November, winning 5-4 in overtime at home. Boston has the far better defense in this matchup and I like them to tie the season series tonight at home in the Garden. I’ll take the B’s for half a unit. I’d lean the over but not enough to bet it.
Canadiens vs. Rangers (7:00)
Pretty big mismatch in the East here. The Rangers lead the Eastern Conference and they’ve been fantastic this season. They’re coming off a 4-1 win against the Blackhawks on Thursday and have seven wins in their last ten games, playing well o both ends of the ice. The Canadiens have struggled on both ends of the ice with just one win in their last five games, coming off a 6-1 loss at home to the Sabres on Thursday where they got dominated in every facet of the game. I expect the Rags to win this game pretty easily on the road in Montreal. I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I’d slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Devils vs. Canucks (7:00)
This is a pretty fun cross conference matchup. The Devils have played really well recently, in a Wild Card spot in the East. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 4-2 win against the Blackhawks last night (1-0-1 on that game for me) and have five wins in their last six games. Jersey’s been very good offensively but they’ve struggled on the back end. The Canucks have been very good too. They lead the Pacific Division, playing fantastic hockey on both ends of the ice. They’re coming off a 2-1 loss in St. Louis on Thursday but they’ve been solid recently with an 8-2-2 record in their last twelve games. The Devils won the first game between these teams 6-5 on the road in Vancouver earlier this season. Being in the second half of a back to back, I give an edge to the Canucks in this game and I’ll take them as a slight dog for half a unit. I also like the over quite a bit, which I’ll take for a unit.
Penguins vs. Sabres (7:00)
My Sabres haven’t been a good team this season and they’ve struggled a lot on both ends of the ice, a huge disappointment for this city. We only have six wins in our last 17 games, but we’re coming off a huge win against the Habs on Thursday, winning 6-1 in Montreal in a game that we dominated every facet. The Penguins are playing great right now, sitting two points outside of a Wild Card spot in the tight race in the East. Coming off a 6-5 win in Boston on Thursday, they’ve gone 8-2-1 in their last eleven games. The defense has been very good for Pittsburgh this season and although the offense has struggled at times, they’ve been much better as of late. These teams split their first two games this season, with the Pens winning 4-0 at home and the Sabres answering back with a 3-2 win at home. I like the Penguins to win again here and with a bit of an emotional hedge, I’ll take Pittsburgh for a unit. I’d lean the over but not enough to bet it.
Blue Jackets vs. Wild (7:00)
This matchup kind of blows. The Blue Jackets have struggled all season and keep going to overtime lately. They’re coming off a 3-2 shootout win in Philly on Thursday night (loss for me), just their second win in their last seven games, in last place in the Metro. The Wild have struggled this season as well, coming into tonight on a four game losing streak after a 4-1 loss at home against the Lightning on Thursday night. Neither of these teams have been great on either end of the ice. The Jackets won the first game between these teams 5-4 in overtime on the road in Minnesota earlier this season. I do think the Wild are the better team here and would slightly lean they win this game on the road in Columbus, and would lean the over slightly, but not enough to bet anything on this game. I’ll lay off it completely.
Sharks vs. Maple Leafs (7:00)
Giant mismatch in this cross conference game. The Sharks are a horrendous team, looking like the worst team in NHL history. Coming off a 2-1 loss at home to the Jets (big winner for me), they’re now on a ten game losing streak, playing the worst hockey in the show on both ends of the ice. The Leafs are coming off two wins in the state of California, winning 2-1 in overtime in Anaheim on Wednesday (loss for me since they couldn’t get it done in regulation) after shutting out the Kings 3-0 on Tuesday. Toronto’s struggled defensively at times but they’ve been fantastic offensively. They should crush the Sharks tonight. The price on the moneyline and regulation lines are too expensive but I’ll take their team total over 3.5 for 1.5 units and the puck line for half a unit. I’d lean the over but not enough to bet on it.
Hurricanes vs. Blues (8:00)
This isn’t the most interesting game on tonight’s slate for sure. The Hurricanes are rolling right now. Coming off a big 6-2 win last night on the road in DC, they’re the hottest team in hockey right now, in second place in the Metro as they’ve now extended their win streak to five in a row, picking up at least a point in all but one of their last twelve games. The Blues have been a middle of the road team, struggling a bit on both ends of the ice. Coming off a 2-1 win against the Canucks at home on Thursday, they’ve won six of their last nine games. Even in the second half of a back to back, I like the Canes to keep rolling here tonight. I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet on it.
Stars vs. Predators (8:00)
This is kind of an interesting matchup in the Central Division tonight. The Stars are holding onto their third place spot in the Division. They’re coming off a 5-4 overtime loss at home in an excellent game against the Avalanche on Thursday. They’ve gone 7-2-2 in their last eleven games and have played well on both ends of the ice this year. The Predators, coming off a 6-3 loss at home home to the Flames on Thursday and have struggled a bit lately with just two wins in their last six games, but they’ve been a pretty good team this year. The Stars won the first game between these teams 3-2 on the road in Smashville a couple weeks ago and I like them to win again tonight at home. I’ll take Dallas for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet on it.
Oilers vs. Senators (10:00)
Pretty huge mismatch in this Canadian game tonight. The Oilers, McDavid and their offense are cruising right now. They’re on a six game win streak, coming off a 5-2 win against the Flyers on Tuesday night with just three losses in their last 17 games. That offense is elite and their defense and goaltending, which has been a struggle for them at several points this year, has been solid recently. The Senators have been terrible this season, in last place in the Atlantic. They have just three wins in their last 12 games. Ottawa’s offense has been decent but their defense has been brutal. I like several plays on this game, expecting a high scoring Oilers win. I’ll take the Oilers in regulation for a unit, their team total over 3.5 for 1.5 units, and the over on the game for half a unit since it’s at 7 and the 6.5 is way too expensive at -175.
Golden Knights vs. Islanders (10:00)
Decent cross conference matchup to finish off the slate. Both of these teams have been good this year and they’re both holding playoff spots, but they’re both in slumps right now. Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Panthers in a rematch at home of last year’s Cup Finals, Vegas has only one win in their last seven games. The Isles have cooled off too, with four wins in their last ten games, coming off a 5-1 win in Arizona on Thursday. Statistically both of these teams have been decent on both ends of the ice with a slight edge to Vegas both offensively and defensively. I’d lean the Golden Knights win at home in the Fortress and the under slightly in this game, but not enough to bet on either. I’ll stay off this game entirely.
Game Bets
.5u Bruins ML (-162)
1u Rangers in regulation (-130)
.5u Canucks ML (-102)
1u Devils/Canucks over 6.5 (-110)
1u Penguins ML (-162)
1.5u Maple Leafs TT over 3.5 (-148)
.5u Maple Leafs -1.5 (-118)
.5u Hurricanes in regulation (-118)
.5u Stars ML (-166)
1u Oilers in regulation (-125)
1.5u Oilers TT over 3.5 (-175)
.5u Oilers/Senators over 7 (-112)
Futures
4u Vegas Golden Knights – Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)
Record: 279-262-7 (-50.71 units)
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