I won my only hockey play last night on the Stars for half a unit. After just three games last night, tonight as the NHL goes up against the first night of March Madness, we have a huge eleven game slate. Let’s keep rolling!
Bruins vs. Rangers (7:00)
This should be a great game in the East tonight between the two Division leaders (who I think are actually the second best teams in each division behind Florida and Carolina, although they’re both in second in the divisions). The Bruins are rolling right now, on a three game win streak after trouncing the Sens 6-2 on Tuesday, with five wins in their last six games. The Rangers are playing well right now too, with five wins in their last seven games, coming off a 4-2 loss to the Jets on Tuesday. These teams are pretty much identical statically, but the Rags won both previous games between these teams winning 7-4 at home in November and 2-1 in overtime on the road in December. I’d lean the Bruins avoid the season sweep at home, and would slightly lean the over (although these teams seem like they map out to more of a low scoring game while trending over), but I’ll lay off it entirely.
Senators vs. Blues (7:00)
This isn’t a great cross conference matchup here. The Senators, coming off a 6-2 loss in Boston on Tuesday, their second blowout loss in a row, have sucked this season and they’re the worst team in the Atlantic. The Blues have played well lately, and just had their four game win streak come to an end on Tuesday with a 4-3 loss at home (win for me) in a pretty close game. St. Louis won the first game between these teams 4-2 at home in December, and I expect a similar result here tonight. I’ll take the Blues for half a unit as a road dog here. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Red Wings vs. Islanders (7:00)
Huge game here in the Eastern Conference race for the second Wild Card spot and they’re both struggling right now. Detroit currently holds that spot with a point lead over the Caps and they’re three points ahead of the Isles. The Red Wings are coming off a 4-3 overtime win at home against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, just their second win in their last ten games. The Isles, coming off a 4-1 loss at home against the Canes on Tuesday are on a five game losing streak, playing poorly on both ends of the ice. These teams split their first two games, both winning on the road, with Detroit winning 4-3 in overtime on Long Island in October and the Islanders answering back with a 5-3 win in Detroit in February. I’d lean the Red Wings win at home and the under here, but I don’t seen any value in betting this game. I’ll lay off it completely.
Devils vs. Jets (7:00)
This cross conference matchup isn’t great, a pretty big mismatch. The Devils have had a pretty terrible and disappointing season and coming off a 5-2 win against the Pens on Tuesday, they have just three wins in their last ten games. The Jets, who are in a three way tie with the Avs and Stars at the top of the Central, have played great lately. They’re coming into tonight’s game on a three game win streak off a 4-2 win in MSG against the Rangers on Tuesday, and have 14 wins in their last 19 games. The Jets won the first game between these teams 6-3 at home and I expect another win for them here on the road in Jersey to complete the season sweep. I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Hurricanes vs. Flyers (7:00)
This should be a pretty solid Metro Division game between the #2 and #3 teams in the Division. The Hurricanes are on fire and one of my picks (along with Florida) to go to the Eastern Conference Finals this year. They’re playing awesome hockey right now. Coming off a 4-1 win on Long Island on Tuesday, they’re on a four game win streak with just one loss in their eight games. The Flyers are coming off a big 4-3 win against the Leafs on Tuesday, but haven’t played great lately with just six wins in their last 15 games. This very well could end up being a preview of the first round of the playoffs (although I do think the seeding in the Metro can very easily change), but this is the last of the regular season games between these teams. The Canes are 2-1, with the road team winning each of the games, a 3-2 Hurricanes win in October, a 3-1 Flyers win in November, and a 4-1 win for the Canes to answer back in November. Carolina’s the better team here and I expect another win tonight. I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it.
Panthers vs. Predators (7:30)
This should be such a fantastic game between these cross conference playoff teams. I think the Panthers are the best team in the East and although they come into tonight’s game off two loss in a row, 5-3 in the Battle of Florida at home against Tampa on Saturday, and in a 4-0 shutout in Carolina on Thursday, they have just five losses in their last 23 games. The Preds, who comfortably hold the first Wild Card spot in the West, are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Coming off an 8-2 blowout win against the Sharks on Tuesday, they’re on a 15 game point streak, with just two loss in that span. Florida won the first game between these teams 4-1 on the road in January. They’re the better team here and I’d lean the Panthers get another win tonight at home, bouncing back from their loss to the Lightning, but not enough to bet it. I’d also lean the over slightly, but the best move on this game is staying off it entirely.
Oilers vs. Sabres (9:00)
Big matchup here for my Sabres tonight that I’m not all that confident in. We’re still on the outside of the Wild Card race, playing our best hockey of the year, but it isn’t looking great for us, five points back from the Red Wings. We’re coming off a lousy 3-2 loss in Vancouver, where we got dominated and Devon Levi kept us in the game with a solid performance in goal in his first NHL start since January, giving UPL the night off. The Oilers have been fantastic this year, comfortably in second in the Pacific. Coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Habs on Tuesday, they have an 8-1-2 record in their last eleven games. The first game between these teams a few weeks ago was very close, with the Sabres winning 3-2 (twice) in a shootout. I’d lean the Oilers win this one, but I don’t like it enough at -215 to bet against my boys when every point is so crucial. I do like the under here though, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Ducks vs. Blackhawks (10:00)
Horrible matchup here between two of the worst teams in the NHL. These teams have both been awful on both ends of the ice this year. The Blackhawks are coming off a 6-2 loss in LA, getting blown out on Tuesday, but have three wins in their last five games (against terrible opponents), while the Ducks, coming off a 4-0 shutout loss at home against the Wild are on a seven game losing streak. Chicago won both previous games at home between these teams, in a 1-0 shutout in December, and a 7-2 blowout about a week ago. I’d lean the Ducks avoid the season sweep and end their losing streak, along with the under here, but no shot I’m betting this game. I’ll stay off it completely.
Canucks vs. Canadiens (10:00)
Big mismatch in this cross conference game. The Canucks, coming off a 3-2 win against the Sabres on Tuesday, still hold first place in the Western Conference and have played well lately with a 5-1-1 record in their last seven games. The Habs are having a terrible season, coming into tonight on a three game losing streak after a 3-2 overtime loss in Edmonton on Tuesday. Vancouver won the first game between these teams easily, 5-2 on the road in November. I like the Canucks to win here, and I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet it.
Sharks vs. Lightning (10:30)
Giant mismatch here. The Lightning are playing great right now, especially offensively. They’re comfortably in the first Wild Card spot in the East, and come into tonight’s game on a four game win streak, all against playoff teams, coming off 5-3 wins in Vegas and Florida, a 6-3 win at home against the Rangers, and 7-0 blowout shutout at home against the Flyers. The Sharks on the other hand are one of the worst teams in the NHL. Coming off an 8-2 blowout loss in Nashville on Tuesday, they’re on a five game losing streak with just one win in their last 15 games. The Bolts won the first game between these teams at home with a 6-0 blowout win. I expect another similar win. The first thing I looked at here was the Lightning team total since the moneyline and regulation lines are too expensive, but at -205 for the over 3.5, I think the better move here is the Bolts puck line, which I’ll take for a unit. I’d lean the over on the game but I’ll just stick with Tampa here. They could hit that over on their own.
Golden Knights vs. Kraken (10:30)
This is a fun game, although not the best on the board, between the two newest NHL franchises. This will be the last game between these teams this season, with the Golden Knights going 2-1 in the previous three games. They won 4-1 at home on the opening night of the season as they raised the Stanley Cup banner, lost 3-0 outdoors at the Winter Classic in Seattle on New Year’s Day, and then won 5-4 in overtime a little over a week ago in Seattle. Vegas, coming off a 5-3 loss to Tampa at home on Tuesday are the better team here, in the first Wild Card spot in the West, and they have three wins in their last five games. The Kraken are struggling a bit as of late, coming into tonight on a five game losing streak after a 6-2 loss at home to the Sabres on Monday where Buffalo got the win in a game that Seattle played much better than the score indicated. I’d lean the Knights win this one at home, but the price at -190 I think is too expensive to bet on, so I’ll stay off this game. I’d also lean the under, but not enough to bet that either at 5.5. Go Knights Go!
Game Bets
.5u Blues ML (+114)
.5u Jets ML (-118)
.5u Hurricanes in regulation (-137)
.5u Oilers/Sabres under 6.5 (-117)
.5u Canucks in regulation (-167)
1u Lightning -1.5 (-136)
Futures
4u Vegas Golden Knights – Stanley Cup Champions (+1000)
Record: 509-451-11 (-79.98 units)
BONUS: Bet every 1H under in today and tomorrow’s March Madness games
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 