Great bounce back night for me on the NHL yesterday, even cashing a bet in five minutes of game time, as I swept the board, going 3-0 to win 3.5 units. Tonight we have a big eleven game slate, let’s crush it again!
Senators vs. Stars (7:00)
This cross conference matchup isn’t great to start off tonight’s big slate of games. The Senators have been terrible this season, in last place in the Atlantic. They’re coming off screwing me on Tuesday night by forcing overtime against Florida, losing my regulation bet on the Panthers as they came back from a 2-0 third period deficit to eventually losing in OT. They’ve won just one of their last four games after they had gone on a four game win streak. Ottawa’s offense has been good this year, but their defense has been horrible. The Stars have been a really solid team this season, leading the Central with a two point lead over the Avs. They come into tonight on a three game losing streak, coming off a 3-1 loss in New York on Tuesday night. Dallas has been very good on both ends of the ice this year and won the first game they played at home against the Sens 5-4. I like them to win here again on the road and I’ll take them for a unit. I considered the puck line as well, but I’ll just stick with the moneyline here. I like the over too, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Red Wings vs. Avalanche (7:00)
This should be a really fun cross conference game to watch tonight. The Red Wings are coming off a big 4-3 overtime win in Seattle on Monday, their second win in a row and they’re comfortably in the second Wild Card spot in the East, a point back from Tampa. They’ve played well offensively all season, but their defense and goaltending has been pretty inconsistent. The Avalanche have been fantastic this season, in second place in the Central, two points back from the Stars. They come into tonight’s game with three wins in their last four games, coming off a 3-1 win against the Canucks at home on Tuesday. Colorado’s been fantastic offensively, and a little inconsistent defensively, similar to the Red Wings. The Avs are the better team here and I’d lean they win on the road, along with leaning the over, but not enough for me to find an edge to bet it. I’ll lay off this one.
Lightning vs. Capitals (7:00)
Not all that fun of an Eastern Conference matchup here. Although Tampa’s coming off two losses in a row at home, losing 4-2 to the Sens on Monday after getting blown out 9-2 against Florida on Saturday, but they’ve been a solid team this season in the first Wild Card spot in the East. The Lightning have been very good offensively, but their defense, and even Vasilevskiy’s goaltending has been inconsistent. The Caps are coming off two wins in a row, winning 6-2 at home against the Devils on Tuesday, and 4-3 in Montreal on Saturday, but they haven’t played well this season. Although Washington’s defense hasn’t been too bad, their offense has been awful. The Bolts won the first game between these teams 2-1 on the road in a shootout in December, and I like them to win again here tonight. I’ll lay the -190 (I wouldn’t go much higher than that, if anything take them in regulation if you can’t find that price) on them for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to even consider betting it.
Devils vs. Rangers (7:00)
This should be a solid rivalry matchup in the Metro Division tonight. The Devils haven’t been the best team this year, a few points back in the Wild Card race in the East, having played inconsistently all season. They’re coming off a 6-2 loss in DC on Tuesday and although they’ve won three of their last five games, they’ve only won seven of their last 18 games. The offense for Jersey has been good but the defense has struggled all year. The Rangers are on an eight game win streak, leading the Metro Division by six points, coming off a 3-1 win at home against the Stars on Tuesday. They’ve been good on both ends of the ice. The Rags won the first game 5-3 between these teams in November. I like them to win again here on the road and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but I don’t like it quite enough to bet it.
Penguins vs. Canadiens (7:00)
This is such a lousy, boring matchup. The Penguins are having a lousy season, and coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Isles at home on Tuesday, they have just one win in their last six games. Their defense and goaltending has been good, but their offense is pretty terrible. The Habs are even worse. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 3-2 loss at home to the Sabres in a pretty evenly matched game last night. They’re on a three game losing streak with just one win in their last six games as well, only ahead of Ottawa in the Atlantic. Montreal’s been bad on both ends of the ice. Both of the first two games between these teams needed overtime, with the Pens winning both, 4-3 in a shootout on the road and then 3-2 in OT at home. With the Canadiens in the second half of a back to back, I expect Pittsburgh to complete the season sweep here, but with the way that both of these teams have played and the results of both of the first two games, I don’t think there’s an value on betting them, with the price on this game gassed all the way up to -275. That’s just not worth betting. I’d slightly lean the over but I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Hurricanes vs. Panthers (7:00)
This is a fantastic game in the East, which I don’t think would shock anyone if it ends up being a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. Both of these teams are playing awesome hockey right now on both ends of the ice. The Hurricanes, coming off a 6-3 win against the Blackhawks on Monday (easy winners for me), are on a three game win streak with just two losses in their last ten games. The Panthers, coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Sens on Saturday, where they blew a 2-0 third period lead and then won anyway to screw my big regulation bet on them, are on a six game win streak with only one loss in their last eleven games. Florida won the first game between these teams 5-2 at home in November. I’d slightly lean they win here on the road again, with a better defense, but this is too close of a game for me to bet in Carolina. I’d lean the under, but not enough to take that at 5.5 either. I’ll lay off this game entirely. This along with Vegas vs. Toronto are easily the best games on the state tonight. Fun ones to watch.
Blues vs. Islanders (8:00)
Pretty boring cross conference matchup. The Blues come into tonight’s game win just one win in their last four games, coming off a 4-2 loss to the Leafs on Monday afternoon. They’re in a Wild Card spot in the West. The Islanders ended a three game losing streak on Tuesday, beating the Penguins 5-4 in OT on the road after blowing 3-1 and 4-2 leads. They haven’t been great either, on the outside of the Wild Card by a few points in the East. Neither of these teams have played all that well on either end of the ice. I’d give a slight edge to the Blues at home here and I’d slightly lean the over, but this isn’t the type of game you make money betting on. I’ll skip this one.
Flames vs. Bruins (9:00)
I don’t think this is a great cross conference matchup tonight, but it sure is an interesting game. The Bruins lead the Atlantic Division, a point ahead of the Panthers, and are in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 6-5 overtime win in Edmonton last night where they blew a 4-1 lead but still got the W on Charlie McAvoy’s game winner. Boston’s been great on both ends of the ice this year. The Flames are coming off a 6-3 win against the Jets in a surprising game on Monday, ending a three game losing streak. They haven’t been great this season on either end of the ice, and are a bit behind the Wild Card race in the West. Calgary surprisingly won the first game between these teams 4-1 in Boston earlier this month, and even in the second half of a back to back, I like the B’s to avoid the season sweep and get a win here. I’ll take Boston for half a unit.
Golden Knights vs. Maple Leafs (10:00)
This should be an awesome cross conference matchup between two playoff teams. The Golden Knights, coming off a 5-3 loss to the Preds at home on Tuesday, have just one win in their last four games but have been very good again this season. The Cup Champs have been good on both ends of the ice. The Leafs are on a solid run, in third place in the Atlantic, and coming into tonight’s game on a five game win streak with nine wins in their last eleven games. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 6-3 win in Arizona last night (double winner for me with Toronto and Matthews to score, which cashed in the first five minutes of the game). The Maple Leafs have been phenomenal offensively, but their defense has had its issues. With the Leafs in the second half of a back to back, I’d lean Vegas wins at home. I’d also slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet either. I’ll stay off this game. Should be a lot of fun to watch.
Kraken vs. Canucks (10:00)
Not a great matchup in the Pacific Division here but I love it from a betting perspective. The Kraken haven’t played great lately. Coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at home against the Red Wings on Monday, they have just four wins in their last 13 games. Although their defense has been really good, their offense has been terrible. The Canucks lead the NHL, but come into tonight’s game on a three game losing streak, coming off a 3-1 loss in Colorado on Tuesday. They’ve been fantastic on both ends of the ice. These teams split their first two games this year, with the Kraken winning 4-3 in Vancouver and then the Canucks answering back with a 5-1 blowout win in Seattle a week later. I love Vancouver to win this game tonight and the price on it is nice too. I’ll take the Canucks for 1.5 units, along with half a unit on the puck line. I like the under as well with two elite defenses, which I’ll take at 6.5 for half a unit.
Kings vs. Predators (10:30)
This isn’t too bad of a game in the West to close out tonight’s slate. The Kings after a bad losing run are now on a four game win streak coming into tonight after a 5-1 blowout win against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Statistically they’ve played very well on both ends of the ice. The Preds have won their last two games after a pretty big slump and a blowout loss to the Stars, coming into tonight off a 5-3 win in Vegas on Tuesday and a 5-2 win in St. Louis on Saturday. Statistically Nashville hasn’t been great on either end of the ice, but they’re right in the Wild Card race in the West, tied in points with the Blues for the second spot (six behind the Kings for the first). These teams split their first two games, each winning on the road, with a 2-1 Predators win in LA and then a 4-2 Kings win in Smashville. I like LA to win this one at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Game Bets
1u Stars ML (-157)
.5u Stars/Senators over 6.5 (-132)
.5u Lightning ML (-190)
.5u Rangers ML (-107)
.5u Bruins ML (-118)
1.5u Canucks ML (-124)
.5u Canucks -1.5 (+190)
.5u Canucks/Kraken under 6.5 (-130)
.5u Kings ML (-155)
Futures
4u Vegas Golden Knights – Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)
Record: 436-388-11 (-59.5 units)
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