Fantastic bounce back night for me on the NHL yesterday, going 11-8 to win 4.19 units. Huge, needed that. Let’s win again on tonight’s five game slate!
Capitals vs. Stars (7:00)
Really fun cross conference matchup to get the night started between two good teams. The Capitals are having a solid season, currently in the first Wild Card in the East with a 22-15-6 record. They’ve struggled a bit as of late, with just four wins in their last 13 games, coming off a 7-4 win at home against the Ducks on Monday night. The Stars are one of the top teams in the NHL, really only trailing the Avalanche with their 25-10-8 record, but they’re struggling big time right now. Dallas is in the second half of a back to back, coming off a 6-3 loss in Carolina last night (that I hit a fantastic five leg +450 parlay on and went 3-0 in with plenty of goals), for their sixth straight loss. The first game between these teams in Dallas was a grind back in October, with the Stars winning 1-0 in a shutout at home. With the Stars in the second half of a back to back, I’d lean the Caps win here, but not enough to bet them on this losing streak. I do like the over in this game though, which I’ll take for half a unit. I’m back on all my usual player props here too on Dallas. I’ll parlay Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston to each get a point for a unit, and I’ll take Rantanen to go over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Canadiens vs. Flames (7:30)
Interesting cross conference game. The Habs are having a pretty solid season so far, sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 23-13-6 record. They’ve picked up at least a point in all but one of their last nine games, bouncing back from a 2-0 shutout loss in St. Louis on Saturday with a big 4-3 overtime win in Dallas on Sunday. Their young offense has been good all season, but their defense has struggled. The Flames started the season horribly, but they’ve improved to 18-20-4 with nine wins in their last 14 games, but they’ve lost their last two in a row, coming off a 5-1 loss at home to the Kraken on Monday night (lousy loss on my under in that game). Calgary’s been very good on the back end, but their offense hasn’t generated much. The first game between these teams in Calgary back in October went to overtime with the Canadiens winning 2-1 on the road. I like Montreal to win again here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the under at 6.5, but I’m not touching the total in this game with the complete opposite styles of hockey these teams play. The plays I really like on this game are Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki to each get a point, which I’ll parlay for a unit.
Blackhawks vs. Blues (9:30)
Horrible matchup at the bottom of the Central Division, but I could see this being a pretty fun game. The Blackhawks are shockingly on a three game win streak, all impressive wins against the Stars, Capitals, and most recently Golden Knights, who they beat 3-2 in overtime at home to improve to a still lousy 17-18-7 with Connor Bedard nearing his return from a freak injury. The Blues have been terrible too, but come into tonight off two wins in a row, following up Friday’s 4-3 win at home against Vegas with a 2-0 shutout win at home against the Habs on Saturday. Both of these teams have struggled on both ends of the ice. Chicago has a slight edge both on offense and defense, but I think the Blues are the slightly better team. I’d lean they win here on the road, and I’d slightly lean the over, but I’m not touching this game whatsoever.
Mammoth vs. Senators (9:30)
Not the best cross conference game here in the slightest. Utah hasn’t been great after their hot start to the year, coming into tonight with a 20-20-3 record, after a 3-2 overtime win on the road against the Rangers on Monday night. Defensively the Mammoth have been pretty good this year, but they’ve struggled to light the lamp. Meanwhile the Senators, who are also having a bad year at the bottom of the Atlantic, have played well offensively but have had their issues on the back end. They’re coming off a 5-3 loss at home to the Red Wings on Monday, falling to 20-16-5 on the season with just two wins in their last six games. Ottawa won the first game between these teams 4-2 at home in November. I’d slightly lean they win here on the road, but not enough to bet them. I’d lean the over, but don’t see any value in betting it at 6.5, so I’ll lay off it. I do like some player props though, and I’ll parlay Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk to each get a point for half a unit.
Kings vs. Sharks (10:30)
This should be a fun rivalry matchup in California despite neither of these teams being great. The Kings are coming off two big wins in a row at home against the Wild, beating them 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday and following it up with a 4-2 win on Monday, but they have just six wins in their last 16 games, with an 18-14-9 record on the season. Although their defense and goaltending has been good, their offense is awful. The Sharks have exceeded a ton of people’s expectations, with a 21-18-3 record coming into tonight. That success has been on the back of Macklin Celebrini, who’s absolutely a Hart candidate along with the likes of MacKinnon, McDavid, and Kucherov, who has 64 points and 23 goals in their first 42 games this year (can’t believe we’re already halfway through the season). San Jose’s won four of their last fives games, in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 5-2 win at home against the Blue Jackets last night (with a late empty netter for Celebrini hitting a nice player point parlay for me). With Celebrini leading their offense, they’ve been good offensively, outscoring their defensive issues, really struggling on the back end. These teams split their first two games in San Jose, with the Kings winning 4-3 on the road in October and the Sharks answering with a 4-3 overtime win in November. Especially with the Sharks in the second half of a back to back, I’d expect LA to win here, but the price at -258 is ridiculous with the Kings not able to light the lamp. I’ll lay off the side with it that expensive. I do like the over, which I’ll take for half a unit, and I’ll take Celebrini to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Bets
.5u Capitals/Stars over 6.5 (+104)
1u parlay: Mikko Rantanen/Jason Robertson/Wyatt Johnston 1+ point each (+120)
.5u Mikko Rantanen over 1.5 points (+160)
.5u Canadiens ML (-148)
1u parlay: Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield 1+ point each (-147)
.5u parlay: Brady Tkachuk/Tim Stutzle 1+ point each (+114)
.5u Kings/Sharks over 6.5 (+110)
.5u Macklin Celebrini over 1.5 points (+158)
Record: 396-423-1 (-45.23 units)
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