Slight loss for me on the small NHL slate last night going 1-1 to lose 0.84 units. Tonight we have a huge twelve game slate, let’s crush it and bounce back in a big way!
Sabres vs. Panthers (7:00)
Not the best Atlantic After two losses to come out of the All Star break, the Sabres bounced back in a huge way on Tuesday night, with a dominant 7-0 shutout win for UPL at home against the Kings. Great win, but this team has struggled all season on both ends of the ice and has had a tough time stringing wins together. The Panthers are in the second half of a back to back tonight after a dominant 5-2 win in Pittsburgh last night. Florida’s been fantastic on both ends of the ice this season. The price on this game with the Panthers in the second half of a back to back is pretty nice and I’ll take Florida for a unit along with another half a unit on the puck line. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet it. I do like an anytime goal scorer here on Sam Reinhart, returning to Buffalo as he’s one of the league leaders in goals, and I’ll take it for half a unit. UPL being out makes me like these plays even better.
Bruins vs. Kraken (7:00)
This cross conference matchup isn’t great. The Bruins, who lead the Eastern Conference, are coming off two losses in a row, three in their last four games since returning from the All Star break, after they couldn’t get it done with a 3-2 shootout loss against Tampa on Tuesday night. Boston’s been great on both ends of the ice. The Kraken have struggled lately, but ended a three game losing streak on Tuesday, with a 2-1 shootout win on Long Island against the Isles. Although the offense for Seattle has been bad all season, their defense has been quite good. I like the B’s to win here at home and I’ll take them for a unit. I like the under here quite a bit too, and I’ll take it for half a unit, even at 5.5.
Maple Leafs vs. Flyers (7:00)
This is a pretty interesting game in the East tonight between two teams currently holding playoff spots, but that I’m not completely sold on. The Leafs are in the first Wild Card spot in the East, a point back from Tampa. They’re coming off a 4-1 win against the Blues on Tuesday with five wins in their last seven games. Toronto’s offense has been fantastic, but their defense has been very inconsistent. The Flyers are on a four game win streak after a slump, coming off a 5-3 win against the Coyotes on Monday. They’ve played the complete opposite style of hockey, with very good defense but struggling offense. I’d lean the Leafs win at home and the over, but not enough to bet on either. I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Senators vs. Ducks (7:00)
This is a pretty lousy cross conference matchup between two pretty shitty teams. The Senators are playing easily their best hockey of the season though, coming into tonight’s game on a four game win streak after a huge 6-3 win against Columbus at home on Tuesday. Ottawa’s offense has been good this season, but their defense has sucked. The Ducks are having a bad year too, coming off a 5-0 loss in Montreal on Tuesday. They’ve been brutal on both ends of the ice. With the much better offense, I like the Sens to win here, but not enough to lay the -215. I’ll take their team total over 3.5 for half a unit. I also like the over on the game with both of these defenses being dust, and I’ll take that for half a unit as well.
Lightning vs. Avalanche (7:00)
Fantastic cross conference matchup here tonight between two very good teams. The Lightning are coming off a 3-2 shootout win in Boston to ruin Brad Marchand’s 1000th game on Tuesday, to move a point ahead of the Leafs for third place in the Atlantic. The Avs got a much needed 6-3 win in Washington on Tuesday in a game that was closer than the score showed, ending a four game losing skid. Colorado won the first game between these teams 4-1 at home in November, and I’d lean the Bolts answer back here tonight, but not enough to bet them, since I do think the Avalanche are the better team. Both of these teams have played really well offensively, but have struggled on the back ends and been inconsistent at times. I do like the over here though, which I’ll take at the alternate 6.5 line for a unit. I’ll also take each of the two Hart Trophy favorites, the Nate Dogg and Kucherov to score tonight for half a unit each.
Devils vs. Kings (7:00)
Interesting matchup here. The Devils haven’t been all that great this year, in the Wild Card mix in the East as they’ve struggled with injuries all year. They’re coming off back to back wins on Monday and Tuesday, beating the Kraken 3-1 and then the Preds 4-2. Offensively they’ve been pretty good all year, but their defense and goaltending has been a struggle. The Kings after getting two wins in a row against the Oilers and Preds after a huge slump, are coming off getting blown out in Buffalo on Tuesday, losing 7-0 at the hands of my Sabres. Statistically they’ve been decent on both ends of the ice all year, but that hasn’t translated to wins. I’d lean the Kings win on the road here and slightly lean the over, but no shot I’m betting this game. I’ll lay off it entirely.
Rangers vs. Canadiens (7:00)
Pretty big mismatch in this Eastern Conference game tonight. The Rangers have been fantastic all year, leading the Metro and playing great on both ends of the ice. They’re on a five game win streak, coming off a 2-0 shutout win against the Flames on Monday. The Habs, who are coming off a 5-0 shutout win of their own against the Ducks on Tuesday, still have been pretty bad this season, struggling on both ends of the ice. Montreal won the first game between these teams in a shootout on January 6th at home, and Iove the Rags to answer back with a win tonight at home in MSG. I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet it.
Blues vs. Oilers (8:00)
On paper this doesn’t look like a great game, but it could be a sneaky good one out West. The Oilers bounced back big time from their 4-0 shutout loss in LA on Saturday with a big 8-4 win at home against the Red Wings on Tuesday night. They’ve played incredible hockey on both ends of the ice this year. The Blues are playing solid hockey right now too though, getting themselves into a Wild Card spot in the West. They’re coming off a 4-1 loss in Toronto on Tuesday, but have won seven of their last nine games. Statistically they haven’t been great though on either end of the ice. I like Edmonton to get a win here on the road and I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it.
Predators vs. Stars (8:00)
This isn’t all that great of a Central Division matchup but they’ve played solid games against each other this season, and although the Stars are the much better team here, the Preds are 2-1 against them this season. Dallas won the first game between them, winning 3-2 on the road in Smashville, and then the Predators answered back with 4-3 and 6-3 wins on the road in Dallas. Nashville comes into this game in a pretty big slump, with just one win in their last five games. Dallas is the much better team here on both ends of the ice, especially offensively. I like them to win tonight on the road to tie up the season series and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the over, but I don’t see any value to bet it.
Blackhawks vs. Penguins (8:30)
The Blackhawks are the worst team in the NHL, so every game against them is a pretty big mismatch, but the Penguins have struggled recently too. Chicago’s awful. Coming off a 4-2 loss to the Canucks, they’re on a seven game losing streak, with just three wins in their last nine games. They’ve been awful on both ends of the ice but should have a nice surge to their line up with Connor Bedard making his return. The Penguins are on the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a bad 5-2 loss at home to the Panthers last night, with their 0/4 power play being the key part to that loss, their third loss in a row. They have just three wins in their last eleven games. On the season, Pittsburgh’s been good on the back end, but pretty terrible offensively. The Blackhawks won the first game between these teams 4-2. I like the Pens to bounce back with a win on the road tonight and I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but with the Penguins in the second half of a back to back and the total at 5.5 with Jarry getting the night off, I’ll just stay off the total.
Flames vs. Sharks (9:00)
This is a pretty lousy game with a huge mismatch in the Pacific Division. Although the Flames haven’t been great this season and they’re on the outside looking in on a Wild Card spot. They’re coming off a 2-0 loss on the road to the Rangers on Monday night that ended a four game win streak. Statistically Calgary hasn’t been great on either end of the ice. The Sharks, after a little bit of a hot run, have since lost their last two games, getting shut out 1-0 in Winnipeg to return from the All Star break last night. They’ve been statistically the worst team in the NHL on both ends of the ice, despite passing Chicago for the worst team in the standings. This team’s complete dog shit though. I love the Flames to win easily here and the books know that with the moneyline at -320. I’ll take the puck line for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Canucks vs. Red Wings (10:00)
Awesome cross conference matchup to close out the night with what should be a really fun game. The Canucks, coming off a 4-2 win in Chicago on Tuesday have been fantastic this season, leading the NHL. They’ve been spectacular on both ends of the ice. The Red Wings are having a solid season as well, in the second Wild Card spot in the East. Although they’re coming off an 8-4 loss in Edmonton on Tuesday, they’ve played well also, with a 10-3-2 record in their last 15 games. Detroit’s offense has been great, but their defense has been inconsistent. The Red Wings won the first game between these teams on Saturday at home, winning 4-3 in overtime. I like the Canucks to answer back with a win at home tonight and I’ll take them for half a unit. I like the over even better though, which I’ll take for a unit.
Game Bets
1u Panthers ML (-152)
.5u Panthers -1.5 (+160)
.5u Sam Reinhart anytime goal (+120)
1u Bruins ML (-186)
.5u Bruins/Kraken under 5.5 (-110)
.5u Senators TT over 3.5 (-152)
.5u Senators/Ducks over 6.5 (-132)
1u Lightning/Avalanche over 6.5 (-143)
.5u Nathan MacKinnon anytime goal (+105)
.5u Nikita Kucherov anytime goal (+100)
1u Rangers in regulation (-152)
.5u Oilers in regulation (-139)
1u Stars ML (-155)
.5u Penguins in regulation (-118)
1u Flames -1.5 (-125)
.5u Canucks ML (-176)
1u Canucks/Red Wings over 6.5 (-120)
Futures
4u Vegas Golden Knights – Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)
Record: 408-363-10 (-59.28 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 