I did good early, but fell apart on the late games on yesterday’s NHL slate, going 5-4 but losing 1.53 units. Tonight we have a huge ten game slate, let’s win!
Sabres vs. Canucks (7:00)
Big bounce back spot for my boys here in this lousy cross conference game. After going on a ten game win streak to fly up the standings in the East, the Sabres had that run come to an end in lousy fashion, losing 5-1 on the road in Columbus on Saturday. We’re now 21-15-4 on the season, three points back from the Wild Card. The Canucks are one of the worst teams in the league, with a 16-20-5 record, on a three game losing streak with just one win (in a shootout) in their last six games, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at home to the Bruins on Saturday night. The Sabres won the first game between these teams 3-2 on the road about a month ago. I like Buffalo to bounce back here at home, and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d slightly lean the under at 6.5, but not enough to bet it. I considered taking Tage Thompson to get a point here, but the price is too expensive at more than -200, and I don’t like anyone else enough in this game to parlay him with.
Lightning vs. Avalanche (7:00)
Fantastic cross conference game here between two very good teams and I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest if this is the matchup we see for the Stanley Cup Finals in a rematch of 2022. The Lightning are playing great right now, on a seven game win streak to improve to 25-13-3 on the season, coming home from their California road trip, most recently beating the Sharks 7-3 on the road on Saturday in a five point night for Nikita Kucherov. The Avalanche are far and away the best team in the NHL this season, having a ten game win streak and 13 game point streak come to an end on Sunday with a 2-1 loss on the road against the Panthers (big loser for me). The Avs got the win in the first matchup between these teams this year, winning 3-2 at home in November. Both of these teams have been fantastic on both ends of the ice. I like Colorado to bounce back here and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I really like props in this game. I’ll parlay MacKinnon, Kucherov, Makar, and Necas to all get a point for a unit. I’ll also take MacKinnon and Kucherov to each get 2+ points for half a unit and take each of them to get over 1.5 points for half a unit each.
Flyers vs. Ducks (7:00)
Kind of a boring cross conference matchup here. The Flyers are playing pretty well this season, with a very good defense to make up for their lousy offense. They’re currently in a Wild Card spot in the East with a 21-12-7 record with four wins in their last six games, coming off a big 5-2 win in Edmonton on Saturday. The Ducks are struggling right now, falling down the weak Pacific Division standings. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 7-3 loss in DC last night (easy winner for me), on a six game losing streak with just two wins in their last twelve games to fall to 21-18-3 on the season. Anaheim played the complete opposite style of hockey, with a solid offense of young stars, but a horrendous defense and bad goaltending. I like Philly to win here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it at 6.5.
Hurricanes vs. Stars (7:00)
Another fantastic cross conference game here between two very good teams, who are both struggling a bit right now. The Hurricanes lead the Metro Division with a 25-14-3 record, coming off a 3-1 win in Jersey on Sunday that ended a three game losing streak for them, just their third win in their last nine games. They’ll get a nice bump to their lineup tonight with Seth Jarvis back after being out injured a couple weeks. The Stars have been great this season as well, right under the Avs at the top of the league with a 25-9-8 record. They’re coming into tonight though on a five game losing streak, losing 4-3 in overtime at home against the Habs on Sunday. In the first game between these teams this year, the Stars came back from a 2-0 first period deficit in October to win 3-2 on the road. I think Dallas is the slightly better team here, but I’m not touching it. I do like the over though, which I’ll take for a unit. I’ll also take a long shot here and parlay Rantanen, Robertson, Johnston, Jarvis, and Aho to each get a point for half a unit at a nice +450 price. I’ll also take a half unit shot on Mikko Rantanen to get over 1.5 points.
Islanders vs. Devils (7:30)
Such a boring Metro Division matchup here. The Islanders are actually pretty good this year, second in the division with a 23-15-4 record. Coming off a 4-3 overtime win at home against the Leafs on Saturday, they have four wins in their last six games. The Devils haven’t been all that great. They’re 22-18-2 and coming off a 3-1 loss at home on Sunday to the Hurricanes, they’ve won just two of their last seven games. Both of these teams have been good defensively, but terrible offensively. The Isles won both prior games between them, 3-2 on the road in OT in November and then 2-1 at home a couple weeks ago. I’d lean they win again here on the road, but I’m not touching it. I do like the under though, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Maple Leafs vs. Panthers (7:30)
Fun game here in the Atlantic Division, with both of these teams sitting on the outside looking in on a Wild Card. The Leafs have seemingly turned it around lately, on a six game point streak with a 4-0-2 record in their last six games to improve to 19-15-7 with Auston Matthews playing fantastic right now with Nylander on the IR. All year Toronto’s been good offensively, but bad on the back end. The Panthers bounced back with a big 2-1 win at home against the Avalanche on Sunday after getting embarrassed with a 5-1 loss in the Winter Classic “at home” on Friday. With all their injuries, they’re 22-16-3 on the season and have played well lately with a 10-4-1 record in their last 15 games. The Leafs won the first game between these teams 4-1 on the road early in December. I’d lean the Panthers answer back here on the road, but not enough to bet them. I’d also lean the over, but not enough to bet that either at 6.5. I do like some player props though and I’ll parlay Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, and Auston Matthews to each get a point for half a unit.
Jets vs. Golden Knights (8:00)
Both of these teams are playing horrible right now in what going into the season would have been a fantastic matchup. The Jets are completely broken, in dead last in the NHL with a 15-21-4 record. Coming off a 4-2 loss in Ottawa on Saturday, they’re on a pathetic nine game losing streak with only three wins in their last 21 games. The Golden Knights are leading the very weak Pacific Division, but have struggled a ton lately as well, with just one win in their last nine games, on a five game losing streak of their own to drop to 17-11-12 on the season, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss in Chicago on Sunday. I like the Knights to win here on the road and I’ll take them for half a unit at a pick’em. The total at 5.5 is a complete toss up to me. I’ll also parlay Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Jack Eichel, and Mark Stone to each get a point for half a unit.
Oilers vs. Predators (9:00)
This is actually a solid matchup in the West after a bad start to the season for both of these teams. The Oilers are tied with Vegas at the top of the Pacific with a 20-16-6 record, coming off a 5-2 loss at home to the Flyers on Saturday. They have a great offense led by two of the best players in the world, but they’ve struggled on the back end. The Predators were one of the worst teams in the league to start the year, but coming off a 4-3 win in Calgary on Saturday, they’ve improved to 19-18-4 on the season with 13 wins in their last 19 games. I like Edmonton to win here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it at 6.5. I’ll also take Connor McDavid to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Sharks vs. Blue Jackets (10:00)
Lousy cross conference matchup here to get into the late games. The Sharks are 20-18-3 on the year, having a three game win streak come to an end on Saturday with a 7-3 loss at home to a far superior Lightning team. The Blue Jackets are playing pretty well lately too, improving to 18-16-7 on the year, with a 4-1-1 record in their last six games, coming off a 5-4 overtime loss at home to the Penguins in the second half of a back to back on Sunday. Columbus is the better team here, and I’d lean they win on the road, but not enough to bet it. I do like the over though, which I’ll take for half a unit. I’ll parlay Macklin Celebrini, who’s on fire this year, with Kirill Marchenko and Zach Werenski to each get a point for half a unit, and I’ll take Celebrini to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Kraken vs. Bruins (10:00)
Boring cross conference game to end the night. The Kraken are playing pretty well right now, improving to 19-14-7 on the season, on a three game win streak and eight game point streak with a 7-0-1 record in their last eight games. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 5-1 win in Calgary last night. Offensively Seattle has struggled all year, but they’ve been good on the back end. The Bruins are coming off two wins in a row, off a 3-2 overtime win in Vancouver on Saturday, after they had gone on a six game losing streak. They’re now 22-18-2 on the year after their great, unexpected start. I’d lean Boston wins here on the road, but not enough to bet them. I really considered the under here, but at 5.5, I don’t think it’s worth betting. I wanted to bet Pastrnak to get a point, but it’s priced way too high, and there’s no one to parlay him with, so I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Bets
1u Sabres ML (-166)
.5u Avalanche ML (-118)
1u parlay: MacKinnon/Kucherov/Makar/Necas 1+ point each (+132)
.5u parlay: MacKinnon/Kucherov 2+ points each (+310)
.5u Nathan MacKinnon over 1.5 points (-115)
.5u Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points (+134)
.5u Flyers ML (-155)
1u Hurricanes/Stars over 6.5 (+100)
.5u parlay: Rantanen/Robertson/Johnston/Jarvis/Aho 1+ point each (+450)
.5u Mikko Rantanen over 1.5 points (+180)
.5u Devils/Islanders under 5.5 (-110)
.5u parlay: Marchand/Reinhart/Matthews 1+ point each (+156)
.5u Golden Knights ML (-110)
.5u parlay: Connor/Scheifele/Eichel/Stone 1+ point each (+185)
.5u Oilers ML (-155)
.5u Connor McDavid over 1.5 points (-148)
.5u Blue Jackets/Sharks over 6.5 (-135)
.5u parlay: Celebrini/Marchenko/Werenski 1+ point each (+118)
.5u Macklin Celebrini over 1.5 points (+120)
Record: 385-415-1 (-49.42 units)
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