Lousy day on the NHL yesterday, going 2-8 to lose 6.25 units for a pretty bad weekend of hockey. Big nine game slate for a Monday going up against an NFL Playoff game, let’s bounce back!
Sabres vs. Panthers (7:00)
This should be a pretty fun game tonight in the Atlantic Division to get the night started. The Sabres are the hottest team in the NHL right now, on a three game win streak with 13 wins in our last 14 games to improve to 24-15-4, right in the Wild Card mix, coming off a 5-3 win at home on Saturday night against the Ducks. The Panthers have struggled through a ton of injuries this year, and have been pretty inconsistent with 23-18-3 record. Coming off a 3-2 win in Ottawa on Saturday night, they have just two wins in their last six games. Buffalo shut out the Panthers 3-0 at home in the first game these teams played back in October. I like my Sabres to stay hot here, and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the under at 6.5, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Sam Reinhart (coming back to Buffalo) and Tage Thompson to each get a point for half a unit.
Red Wings vs. Hurricanes (7:00)
Great game here between the top two teams in the East, who each lead their divisions. The Red Wings are having a great season, leading the Atlantic Division with a 27-15-4 record, a point ahead of Tampa. They come into tonight on a three game win streak after shutting out the Habs 4-0 in Montreal on Saturday. The Hurricanes are the best team in the Eastern Conference at 28-14-3, on a four game win streak coming off a 3-2 win at home against the Kraken on Saturday night, playing really well on both ends of the ice. Carolina won the first game between these teams 5-2 at home a few weeks ago. I think they’re the more complete, better team and I’d lean they win tonight at home, but not enough to bet them at -155 on the road. I’d lean the under very slightly, but didn’t even consider betting the total. I will take a long shot here though and parlay Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Sebastian Aho, and Seth Jarvis to all each get a point for .2 of a unit.
Rangers vs. Kraken (7:00)
What a boring cross conference matchup here. The Rangers have been horrible, especially at home, where they’re just 5-11-4. They’re struggling big time right now, with a 20-20-6 record and just one win in their last seven games, getting blown out 10-2 in Boston in a matinee to start Saturday morning (easy double winner for me in that game). Through the season their defense has been solid, but that’s been a struggle lately, as evidenced by the ten goals they gave up on Saturday, and their offense has been awful all year. The Kraken are 20-15-8 on the year, and have been good defensively, but haven’t been great offensively. They’re coming off two losses in a row with a 3-2 loss in Carolina on Saturday night, ending a ten game point streak where they went 8-0-2. The first game between these teams in Seattle in November went to overtime, with the Rags winning 3-2 on the road. With the way New York is playing right now, especially at home, I like the Kraken to answer back here, and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the under, and really considered betting it, even at 5.5, but with the struggles for the Rags, I don’t think it’s worth betting. I do like some player props on the Rangers side of this game, and I’ll parlay Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad to each get a point for half a unit.
Flyers vs. Lightning (7:00)
Tonight these solid Eastern Conference teams meet for the third time this season and the second time in Philly in three days as the Lightning look to complete their season sweep of the Flyers. After winning the first game between them with a 3-0 shutout at home in November, they dominated their second game as well on Saturday night, with a 7-2 win on the road in Philly. The Flyers have been exceeding my expectations this year, with a very good defense making up for their lousy offense as they come into tonight sitting in a playoff spot in the East with a 22-13-8 record. The Lightning have been on fire, a point back from the Red Wings for the Atlantic Division lead with a 27-13-3 record. They’re playing great on both ends of the ice and they’re on a nine game win streak. I like the Bolts to finish off the season sweep here on the road and I’ll take them for a unit, parlayed with Nikita Kucherov to get a point. I’d lean the over, but not quite enough to bet them. I’m also right back on Kucherov here and I’ll take him to get over 1.5 points for a unit, which he’s done in each of his last eight games.
Canadiens vs. Canucks (7:30)
Huge mismatch in this cross conference game. The Habs have been quite good this year, despite their lousy defense. They had a three game win streak come to an end on Saturday with a 4-0 shutout loss at home to the Red Wings, but are 25-14-6 on the season with an 8-2-2 record in their last twelve games. The Canucks meanwhile are the worth team in the league with a 16-23-5 record on the season, playing awful on both ends of the ice, coming into tonight on a six game losing streak with just one win in their last nine games, getting shut out 5-0 in Toronto on Saturday night (very easy winner for me parlaying with Auston Matthews to get a point. The first game between these teams was actually close back in October, with Vancouver blowing a 2-0 lead at home to lose 4-3. I fully expect the Canadiens to finish off the season sweep at home tonight with an easy bounce back here, and I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also lay the -145 for a unit on a parlay for Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield to each get a point.
Wild vs. Devils (8:00)
Another huge cross conference mismatch here. The Wild have been fantastic this season, only behind the Avalanche in the standings with a 26-11-9 record. They’re coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Islanders on Saturday night (swinging my night to a loser), picking up a least a point in 15 of their last 17 games. The Devils meanwhile are completely broken. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, on a four game losing streak, coming off a 4-3 loss in Winnipeg against one of the worst teams in the league last night, falling to 22-21-2 on the season with just two wins in their last ten games. Back in October when both of these teams were playing way different than they are now, the Devils won 4-1 at home. I fully expect Minnesota to answer back here and I’ll take them for 1.5 units. I’d lean the over at 5.5, but not enough to bet it since Jersey can’t score and the Wild are great defensively. I’ll also parlay my two reliables, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy to each get a point for a unit. Additionally, I’ll throw in another half a unit on that same parlay with Quinn Hughes added in their to get a point against his brothers Jack and Luke.
Blackhawks vs. Oilers (8:30)
This isn’t a great matchup in the West, and quite the mismatch to me, but the Blackhawks are actually playing pretty decent right now so it makes it a bit of an interesting game. Chicago’s coming off a 3-0 shutout win in Nashville on Saturday for their fifth win in their last six games to improve to a still lousy 19-19-7 on the season. They’ve struggled on both ends of the ice. The Oilers have been inconsistent, with a great offense, but a lousy defense. They’re in second place in the weak Pacific Division, coming off a 4-3 shootout loss at home against the Kings in a great game on Saturday. Edmonton won the first game between these teams 3-2 in overtime at home in November and I like them to win again here. I’ll take them for a unit. I’d slightly lean the over here, but at 6.5, juiced up to -120, I don’t think it’s worth taking. I’ll also parlay Connor McDavid to get 2 points with Leon Draisaitl to get a point for half a unit.
Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs (10:00)
I wouldn’t say this cross conference game is great, but it absolutely should be a fun one. The Avalanche are far and away the best team in the league, and possibly in history, with a 33-4-7 record. They’re pretty much perfect at home, with a 19-0-2 record in Denver. They’re coming off a 4-0 shutout win at home on Saturday night against the Blue Jackets, with all three of MNM getting left off the score sheet entirely, which almost makes it even more impressive. Toronto’s playing well right now, on a nine game point streak with a 7-0-2 record in that span to improve to 22-15-7 on the season. Coming off a 5-0 shutout win at home against the Canucks on Saturday, they’re on a three game win streak. I like the Avs to end that run here at home, and I’ll take them in regulation as an auto-bet for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I love player props in this game. With MacKinnon, Necas, and Makar not getting a point on Saturday, I love them all to get on the board tonight. I’ll parlay those three to each get a point for a unit. Additionally, I’ll add Auston Matthews and William Nylander to that for another half a unit. I’ll also take MacKinnon to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Kings vs. Stars (10:00)
This should be a decent game in the West to end the night with how these teams are playing right now, despite it being a big mismatch when you look at the standings. The Kings have looked awful offensively most of the year, with a very good defense, but lately their offense has picked it up. Coming off a 4-3 shootout win in Edmonton on Saturday night, they’ve gone 3-1-1 in their last five games, after a run of just two wins in their previous ten games, improving to a still lousy 19-15-10 on the season. The Stars have looked great all year on both ends of the ice, but they’re in a slump lately, falling to 26-10-9 on the year with just one win in their last eight games. On Saturday they blew a 4-2 lead a little less than halfway through the third period to go on to lose 5-4 in overtime in San Jose. These teams split their first two games in Dallas, with the Kings winning 3-2 on the road in October and the Stars answering in December with a 4-1 win at home in December. I like Dallas to bounce back here and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but at 5.5, I don’t think it’s worth betting with both teams trending over lately. I’ll also parlay Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston to each get a point for half a unit, and I’ll take Rantanen to get over 1.5 points for half a unit as well.
Bets
.5u Sabres ML (-110)
.5u parlay: Sam Reinhart/Tage Thompson 1+ point each (+118)
.2u parlay: DeBrincat/Raymond/Larkin/Aho/Jarvis 1+ point each (+669)
.5u Kraken ML (+120)
.5u parlay: Artemi Panarin/Mika Zibanejad 1+ point each (-120)
1u parlay: Lightning ML/Nikita Kucherov over 0.5 point (-115)
1u Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points (+124)
1u Canadiens in regulation (-110)
1u parlay: Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield 1+ point each (-145)
1.5u Wild ML (-175)
1u parlay: Kirill Kaprizov/Matt Boldy 1+ point each (-133)
.5u parlay: Kirill Kaprizov/Matt Boldy/Quinn Hughes 1+ point each (+114)
1u Oilers ML (-155)
.5u parlay: Connor McDavid over 1.5 points/Leon Draisaitl over 0.5 point (+110)
1u Avalanche in regulation (-150)
1u parlay: Nathan MacKinnon/Martin Necas/Cale Makar 1+ point each (-145)
.5u parlay: MacKinnon/Necas/Makar/Matthews/Nylander 1+ point each (+292)
.5u Nathan MacKinnon over 1.5 points (-148)
.5u Stars ML (-120)
.5u parlay: Mikko Rantanen/Jason Robertson/Wyatt Johnston 1+ point each (+117)
.5u Mikko Rantanan over 1.5 points (+164)
Record: 441-456-1 (-37.48 units)
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