On a huge day of hockey yesterday with a ton of action, I went 13-16 on the NHL, losing 1.13 units. Let’s bounce back on today’s decent five game slate going up against the Week 18 of the NFL.
Stars vs. Canadiens (2:00)
Interesting cross conference matchup here with the way these teams come into today’s game to start off the day. The Stars are one of the best teams in the NHL, playing elite hockey on both ends of the ice. They’re on a four game losing streak, coming off a 4-3 loss in Chicago on New Year’s Day to drop to 25-9-7 on the season. The Habs are pretty good, very good offensively, but struggling on the back end this season. They’ve played well lately, with a 6-2-2 record in their last ten games to improve to 22-13-6 on the season. They’re in the second half of a back to back today, coming off a surprising 2-0 shutout loss in St. Louis yesterday. The first game between these teams in Montreal was a blowout, with the Stars dominating their way to a 7-0 win on the road. Especially with Montreal in the second half of a back to back, I like Dallas to end their losing streak today, and I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I like the over as well, which I’ll take for half a unit. I’ll take a longer shot parlay here too with Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Cole Caufield, and Nick Suzuki to each get a point for half a unit, along with Rantanen to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Blue Jackets vs. Penguins (3:00)
This should be a pretty fun Metro Division game even though it’s kind of a lousy matchup. Both previous games between these teams went to overtime, with the road team winning, a 5-4 Blue Jackets win in a shootout in October, and a 4-3 OT win for the Penguins in November. Both of these teams haven’t been great this year, and are both in the second half of a back to back, coming off wins yesterday. The Blue Jackets are now 18-16-6 and have four wins in their last five games, coming off a 5-1 win at home against the Sabres yesterday afternoon to end our ten game win streak. Statistically Columbus has struggled on both ends of the ice this year. The Penguins have been decent on both ends of the ice, and they’re on a four game win streak, coming off a 4-1 win in Detroit to start the day off (triple loser for me) to improve to 19-12-9. I’d lean the road trend keeps going here and Pittsburgh wins on the road, but I’m not touching the side. I do like the over though, which I’ll take for half a unit. I’ll also parlay Sidney Crosby, Zach Werenski, and Kirill Marchenko to each get a point for half a unit, and take Crosby to get over 1.5 for half a unit.
Panthers vs. Avalanche (5:00)
This should be a solid game today. The Panthers are 21-16-3 on the season and have really struggled with their injuries, coming off getting blown out in the Winter Classic 5-1 in Miami on Friday night. The Avalanche are far and away the best team in the NHL, on a ten game win streak and 13 game point streak to improve to 31-2-7 on this historic season. They’ve been elite on both ends of the ice all season. Colorado won the first game between these teams easily at home in December, winning 6-2. I like them to win again here, even in the second half of a back to back, and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not quite enough to bet it at 6.5. I’ll also go back to all my usual player props in this game. For a unit I’ll parlay Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Cale Makar, Brad Marchand, and Sam Reinhart to each get a point. I’ll also take MacKinnon to have over 1.5 points for a unit.
Devils vs. Hurricanes (7:00)
Not the best game here in the Metro Division. The Devils haven’t been all that great, with just five wins in their last 17 games, but they’re coming off two wins in a row, in the second half of a back to back, beating Utah 4-1 yesterday (cashing my under on that game). The Hurricanes lead the Metro with a 24-14-3 record, but have lost three in a row coming into tonight, in the second half of a back to back after a 5-3 loss at home to the Avalanche yesterday. In the first week of the season, Carolina won the first game between these teams easily, 6-3 at home. I like them to win again here and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Jack Hughes and Sebastian Aho to each get a point for half a unit.
Blackhawks vs. Golden Knights (7:00)
Pretty lousy game out West to end the night. The Blackhawks are coming off two wins in a row, surprisingly beating the Capitals 3-2 in a shootout last night on the road, but have still sucked, with just six wins in their last 22 games, falling to 16-18-7 on the season and struggling on both ends of the ice. The Golden Knights have struggled a ton as well, despite just being a point behind Edmonton for first in the Pacific Division. They’re on a four game losing streak coming into tonight, coming off a 4-3 loss in St. Louis on a late goal with a minute and a half left on Friday afternoon, and they have just one win in their last eight games to fall to 17-11-11 on the year. The first game between these teams went to a shootout last month, with Vegas winning 4-3 at home. I like them to win again here and I’ll take a half unit shot on the Knights in regulation. I like the over too, which I’ll also take for half a unit, and I’ll parlay Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone to each get a point for a unit.
Bets
1u Stars in regulation (-120)
.5u Stars/Canadiens over 6.5 (-106)
.5u parlay: Rantanen/Robertson/Johnston/Caufield/Suzuki 1+ point each (+289)
.5u Mikko Rantanen over 1.5 points (+126)
.5u Blue Jackets/Penguins over 6.5 (-118)
.5u parlay: Sidney Crosby/Zach Werenski/Kirill Marchenko 1+ point each (+151)
.5u Sidney Crosby over 1.5 points (+190)
1u Avalanche ML (-128)
1u parlay: MacKinnon/Necas/Makar/Marchand/Reinhart 1+ point each (+299)
1u Nathan MacKinnon over 1.5 points (-111)
1u Hurricanes ML (-120)
.5u parlay: Jack Hughes/Sebastian Aho 1+ point each (+117)
.5u Golden Knights in regulation (-155)
.5u Golden Knights/Blackhawks over 6.5 (+105)
1u parlay: Mark Stone/Jack Eichel/Mitch Marner 1+ point each (-116)
Record: 375-401-1 (-43.07 units)
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