After I swept the board with an incredible night Tuesday, I went 0-2 last night on the NHL to lose 1.51 units. Tonight we have a huge eleven game slate. Let’s crush it just like Tuesday night’s 9-0 to bounce back from yesterday!
Sabres vs. Blackhawks (7:00)
This game was supposed to be last night but got postponed due to the driving ban across all of Buffalo (it’s still fucking snowing here). The Sabres are coming off a 3-0 shutout win against the Sharks on Monday afternoon, an expected, but good win. It hasn’t been against great competition but we still have four wins in our last six games. The Blackhawks are coming off a 2-1 shootout win against the Sharks (that I actually cashed in on), on Tuesday, just their fourth win in their last 18 games. Both of these teams have struggled on both ends of the ice, but the Sabres are definitely the better team here. Buffalo won the first match 3-2 on the road in Chicago and I expect another win for them again tonight. The price on this game is way too expensive at -275, but I’ll take my Sabres in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the under with lousy offense for both of these teams but not quite enough to bet it with the shitty defenses for both teams.
Bruins vs. Avalanche (7:00)
This should be a fantastic cross conference matchup between two of the top teams in the NHL. The Avs have been fantastic recently, just a point back from the Jets to lead the West. They’re coming off a 7-4 win in Ottawa on Tuesday (triple winner for me) and have eight wins in their last ten games, picking up at least a point in eleven of their last 13 games. They’ve played really well on both ends of the ice, especially offensively. The Bruins after being in a bit of a slump with a three game losing streak, have since won their last two games in a row after a 3-0 shutout win at home against the Devils on Monday afternoon. They’ve picked up at least a point in ten of their last 1eleven games. They’ve played great on both ends of the ice. The first game between these teams was very close, with Colorado winning 4-3 at home in a shootout ten days ago. This game’s pretty much a coin flip to me with an edge defensively to the Bruins and offensively to the Avalanche. I’d slightly lean the B’s win at home, but definitely not enough to bet it. I do like the over here though and I’ll take the over 6 for half a unit.
Senators vs. Canadiens (7:00)
This isn’t a great Atlantic Division matchup between two of the worst three teams in the division. The Senators blew a 4-2 lead over the Avs, giving up five unanswered goals to lose 7-4. This team’s horrible, with just one win in their last seven games, and four wins in their last 17. Offensively Ottawa has been pretty solid but their defense is one of the worst in the league. The Habs are in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 3-2 win in Jersey last night (double loser for me), their second win in a row. They have just four wins in their last eleven games and have struggled on both ends of the ice. I’d lean the Canadiens win here on the road with their better defense, but in the second half of a back to back the right move here is laying off this game entirely. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet on that either.
Lightning vs. Wild (7:00)
This cross conference matchup tonight isn’t great. The Lightning have played really well recently, in a Wild Card spot in the East. They come into tonight’s game on a three game win streak after an easy 5-1 win against the Ducks on Saturday and have five wins in their last seven games. Their offense has been good, but they have been inconsistent on the back end. The Wild are coming off a nice 5-0 shutout win over the Isles on Monday with Marc-Andre Fleury moving past Patrick Roy for second all time in goalie wins. That was just Minnesota’s second win in their last ten games, ending their four game win streak. They’ve struggled on both ends of the ice. I like Tampa to win this game pretty easily at home and with a nice price, I’ll take them for a unit along with half a unit on the puck line. I also like the over, and I’ll take the alternate over 6 for half a unit.
Flyers vs. Stars (7:00)
This is a solid cross conference matchup. Both of these teams have played well recently and they both hold playoff spots in their divisions. The Flyers come into tonight’s game on a four game win streak off a 4-2 win in St. Louis on Monday. They’ve shocked the hockey world as they’re in second place in the Metro with an elite defense, besides struggling offensively. The Stars have been very good too, comfortably in third place in the Central with an eight point lead over the Preds. Coming off a 5-1 win at home against the Kings, they have four wins in their last five games, playing well on both ends of the ice. The first game between these teams this season was very close with the Stars winning 5-4 in overtime at home back in October. I’d lean they win again and would slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet it. I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Capitals vs. Blues (7:00)
This isn’t the best matchup but it could be a pretty fun game. The Capitals are having a decent season, in the Wild Card mix in the East. They’ve struggled quite a bit recently. Coming off a 2-0 shutout win against the Ducks at home on Tuesday, they have three wins in their last five games, but just four in their last twelve games. Washington’s been really solid defensively, but their offense has struggled a bit. The Blues have been a mid tier team, a bit outside of the Western Conference Wild Card race. They’re coming off a 4-2 loss against the Flyers on Monday, but they’ve played decent recently with an 8-5-1 record in their last 14 games. St. Louis hasn’t been all that great on either end of the ice. I’d lean the Caps win at home here but not quite enough to bet it. I’d also lean the under, but don’t see any value in it at 5.5. I’ll skip this matchup.
Flames vs. Maple Leafs (9:00)
Interesting cross conference matchup up in Canada. The Flames had a pretty bad start to their season but they come into tonight’s game on a four game win streak after a 3-2 overtime win against the Coyotes on Tuesday and with seven wins in their last nine games, they’re now just two points back from the second Wild Card spot in the West. Statistically they’ve done nothing spectacular but haven’t been too bad on either end of the ice. The Leafs are broken, in typical Toronto fashion. They’re coming into tonight on a four game win streak after their 4-2 loss in Edmonton on Tuesday night completed my sweep of the board. They have just five wins in their last 14 games and have fallen to the first Wild Card spot in the East. Toronto’s offense has been very good, but they’ve struggled defensively. The first game between these teams in Toronto needed a shootout to decide the winner, with the Leafs winning 5-4 at home. I’d lean the Flames tie up the season series with the bad run that Toronto’s on, but I’d rather just stay off the side this game. I do like the over though, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Oilers vs. Kraken (9:00)
Kind of an interesting Pacific Division matchup here. The Oilers extended their franchise record win streak with their eleventh straight win on Tuesday, beating the Leafs 4-2 at home. McDavid and that Edmonton offense has been fantastic but now their defense and goaltending has been to the level of a Stanley Cup contender. The Kraken are right in the Wild Card mix in the West. After going on a nine game win streak and 13 game point streak, they’ve since lost their last two grams, losing 3-0 in Pittsburgh on Monday and then 5-2 against the Rangers on Tuesday. They’ve been really good defensively with Joey Daccord’s great play in goal, but their offense has struggled. The Oilers won the first two games between these teams 4-1 on the road and then 4-3 at home in overtime. I like them to continue this run and I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I like the under even better though, which I’ll take for a unit.
Kings vs. Predators (10:00)
This is a pretty decent Western Conference matchup tonight. Both of these teams have been pretty good this season. The Kings though are struggling quite a bit right now. They’re still hanging onto their third place spot in the Pacific with a point lead over the Oilers, but coming off their 5-1 loss in Dallas on Tuesday, LA has just one win in their last ten games. Bad skid for them. Statistically they’ve been a good team on both ends of the ice this year, but that’s a pretty bad run for a team I said multiple times earlier this season that I could see winning the Cup. The Preds have been surprisingly good this year. They’re in a Wild Card spot in the West, and coming off their 4-1 loss in Vegas on Monday they’ve won five of their last eight games. Nashville’s struggled a bit defensively but they’ve played pretty well offensively. I’d lean the Kings win at home tonight, but not enough to bet it. I like the over in this matchup at just 5.5 and I’ll take it for half a unit. The total on this game is anywhere between 5.5-6.5 on different books so make sure you shop it.
Canucks vs. Coyotes (10:00)
This Western Conference matchup isn’t great. The Canucks have been fantastic this season, tied with Winnipeg to lead the West. They had a five game win streak come to an end on Monday with a 4-3 shootout loss in Columbus, but have picked up at least a point in 16 of their last 18 games, playing excellent hockey on both ends of the ice. The Coyotes after a pretty good start to the season have been struggled a bit recently. They’re coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Flames on the road on Tuesday and have just two wins in their last seven games. Statistically they’ve been a middle of the road team on both ends of the ice. I expect a solid bounce back win for the Canucks here tonight and I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I like the over as well, and I’ll take the alternate over 6 for half a unit.
Golden Knights vs. Rangers (10:00)
This should be a great game to close out tonight’s slate, between two Cup contenders. Both of these teams have struggled a bit recently though. The Golden Knights, coming off a 4-1 win at home against the Preds on Monday, are still comfortably five points ahead of the Kings in second place in the Pacific, but that was just their fourth win in their last twelve games. The Rangers were in a bit of a slump as well, but they’re still leading the Metro Division and come into tonight’s game with two wins in a row against the Caps and then Tuesday’s 5-2 win against the Kraken. This should be a very evenly matched game as both of these teams have been very good on both ends of the ice, with a slight edge to Vegas defensively and a slight edge to the Rangers offensively and on goaltending. I’d lean the Rangers win on the road ant he under here, but not enough to bet on either. I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Game Bets
.5u Sabres in regulation (-162)
.5u Bruins/Avalanche over 6 (-125)
1u Lightning ML (-135)
.5u Lightning -1.5 (+170)
.5u Lightning/Wild over 6 (-122)
.5u Maple Leafs/Flames over 6.5 (-120)
.5u Oilers in regulation (-134)
1u Oilers/Kraken under 6.5 (-115)
.5u Kings/Predators over 5.5 (-134)
1u Canucks in regulation (-125)
.5u Canucks/Coyotes over 6 (-115)
Futures
4u Vegas Golden Knights – Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)
Record: 332-296-7 (-47.84 units)
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