Great bounce back night for me on the NHL yesterday, going 14-7 to win 4.33 units. Tonight we have another huge ten game slate, let’s crush it again!
Senators vs. Canucks (7:00)
Horrendous cross conference matchup to start off the night. The Senators are in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 20-19-5 and there’s plenty of turmoil in that locker room and in the media in Ottawa. Coming off a 3-2 loss at home to the Panthers on Saturday, they’re on a four game losing streak, with just two wins in their last nine games. The Sens offense has been pretty good, but their defense and goaltending has been bad. The Canucks have been awful on both ends of the ice, in dead last in the NHL with a 16-24-5 record. They’re on a seven game losing streak with just one win in their last ten games, in the second half of a back to back tonight, giving up three unanswered goals in the third period to lose 6-3 in Montreal (double winner for me). I’d lean the Sens get something right here and get a win on home ice, but absolutely not enough to bet on at -230. That price is horrible. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet that either. I don’t love any player props either, so I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Penguins vs. Lightning (7:00)
Pretty solid Eastern Conference matchup. The Penguins are coming off two losses in a row after a six game win streak, getting shut out 1-0 in Boston on Sunday. They’re currently on the outside looking in on a Wild Card spot in the East with a 21-14-9 record. The Lightning are one of the hottest teams in hockey, a point behind the Red Wings for the Atlantic Division lead. They’re in the second half of a back to back, coming into tonight at 28-13-3, extending their win streak to ten in a row last night with a big 5-1 win in Philly (big double winner for me). Tampa’s been fantastic on both ends of the ice. In the first game between these teams last month, after the Pens blew a 3-0 lead halfway through the game, Evgeni Malkin got Pittsburgh the 4-3 win on the road in Tampa with a late goal with 2:43 left in regulation. Even in the second half of a back to back, I like the Bolts to stay hot here, and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I like several player props in this game. I’ll parlay Nikita Kucherov, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin to each get a point for a unit, I’ll take Sid and Kuch to each get over 1.5 points individually, and I’ll parlay them together for half a unit each.
Capitals vs. Canadiens (7:00)
This should be a fun game in the East. The Capitals are struggling a bit as of late, with just five wins in their last 16 games to fall to 23-17-6 on the season, coming off a 3-2 loss in Nashville on Sunday, tied with the Sabres and the Bruins for the second Wild Card spot in the East. The Habs meanwhile are playing great. They’re 26-14-6, in third place in the Atlantic, in the second half of a back to back tonight, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period last night to beat the Canucks 6-3 at home. Montreal’s been very good offensively, but they’ve struggled on the backend, yet they’re on an 9-2-2 run in their last 13 games. The first game between these teams back in November in Montreal was closer than the final score looked, with the Caps winning 8-4 on the road, scoring three goals in the last four minutes of the game. With the Canadiens in the second half of a back to back, I’d slightly lean Washington wins here at home, but not enough to bet them. I’d also lean the over, but not enough to bet that either. I will go back to my usual Habs player props though and I’ll parlay Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield to each get a point for half a unit.
Blue Jackets vs. Flames (7:00)
Pretty lousy cross conference matchup here. The Blue Jackets have been awful, in last place in the East with a 19-19-7 record, struggling on both ends of the ice. As an organization they made a big move last night, firing head coach Dean Evason and hiring Rick Bowness as their next bench boss. On Sunday, Columbus ended a four game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win in Utah. The Flames ended a four game losing streak (after going on a stretch of nine wins in their prior twelve games) on Saturday with a 2-1 win in Pittsburgh on Saturday. They’ve been good defensively, but terrible offensively, with a 19-22-4 record coming into tonight. Calgary won the first game between these teams in a blowout, winning 5-1 at home. I’d slightly lean with the coaching change that the Jackets get a win here at home, but definitely not enough to even consider betting them. I’d also lean the under, but not enough to bet that either. I do like some player props though in this game and I’ll parlay Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko to each get a point for half a unit.
Bruins vs. Red Wings (7:30)
Interesting game here in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins have turned it back around after a six game losing streak, winning five of their last six games, improving to 25-19-2 on the season, coming off a 1-0 shutout win at home against the Penguins on Sunday. The Red Wings have been playing awesome hockey, leading the Atlantic by a point over the Lightning. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight after a fantastic game, beating the Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime at home as they put Sergei Fedorov’s #91 up in the rafters. That was Detroit’s fourth straight win and they’re 14-4-1 in their last 19 games. These teams split their last two games, each winning by a goal at home, with the Bruins getting a 3-2 shootout win in November and Detroit answering with a 5-4 win in December. I’d slightly lean the Red Wings win here on the road, but I don’t think it’s worth betting with them in the second half of a back to back. The total on this game is a complete toss up to me. I considered a handful of player props in this game, but I’m going to keep it relatively simple. I’ll parlay Lucas Raymond and David Pastrnak to each get a point for a unit, and I’ll take Pasta to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Blues vs. Hurricanes (8:00)
Huge mismatch here in this cross conference game, coming in at a way cheaper price than I would have expected. The Blues are awful, playing terrible on both ends of the ice, on a three game losing streak after a 4-2 loss in Vegas on Saturday, dropping to 17-21-8 on the season. The Hurricanes on the other hand have been fantastic, leading the Eastern Conference with a 28-14-4 record. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, having a four game win streak come to an end last night with a 4-3 overtime loss in Detroit. Carolina’s the way better team here and I like them to bounce back. I’ll take the Canes for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it at 6.5. I’ll also parlay Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho to each get a point for half a unit.
Predators vs. Oilers (8:00)
Decent matchup here in the West. The Predators were horrendous to start the year, but they’ve played much better lately. Coming off a 3-2 win at home against the Capitals on Sunday they’ve improved to 21-20-4 on the year with 15 wins in their last 23 games. The Oilers are a point behind Vegas for the Pacific Division lead with a 23-16-7 record, in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 4-1 win in Chicago last night (nice double winner for me with Leon Draisaitl cashing my point parlay with a late goal with 44 seconds left). They’ve been a bit inconsistent though, with a very good offense but a lousy defense and bad goaltending. Edmonton won the first game between these teams easily last week, 6-2 at home. Even in the second half of a back to back, I like the Oilers to win again here and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet on it. I’ll also parlay Connor McDavid to get over 1.5 points and Leo Draisaitl to get a point for a unit.
Jets vs. Islanders (8:00)
Pretty boring cross conference matchup. The Jets have been awful, in last place in the Central after winning the President’s Trophy last year. They have won their last two games in a row though, beating the Devils 4-3 at home on Sunday after a big slump buster to beat LA 5-1 on Thursday. The Islanders have actually been pretty solid this season, especially defensively. They’re in second place in the Metro with a 25-15-5 record, and on a four game point streak after a big 4-3 overtime win in Minnesota on Saturday. Winnipeg won the first game between these teams 5-2 on the road on Long Island in the first week of the season. I like the Isles to win here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. This game should scream under, but both teams have trended over lately, so I’m not touching the total. I’ll also parlay Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele to each get a point for half a unit.
Mammoth vs. Maple Leafs (9:00)
Pretty solid cross conference matchup. The Mammoth have played well lately, improving to 22-20-4 on the season with a three game win streak coming to an end on Sunday with a 3-2 overtime loss at home against the Blue Jackets. Their defense and goaltending has been quite good this year, but they’re struggling offensively. The Leafs have seemingly figured out their issues lately and have turned around their season. Toronto’s now 23-15-7 on the year, on a four game win streak with an 8-0-2 record in their last ten games. They’re in the second half off a back to back tonight, coming off a huge win, beating the Avs on the road in Denver 4-3 in overtime on William Nylander’s game winner. Toronto won the first game between these teams 5-3 at home in November. I like them to stay hot and win again tonight on the road. I was originally going to just stay off the side with the Leafs in the second half of a back to back, but I can’t pass up the +124, so I’ll take it for half a unit. I’d lean the under here, but not enough to bet it juiced up to -130. The play I really like on this game is a parlay of Auston Matthews and William Nylander to each get a point, which I’ll take for a unit.
Ducks vs. Stars (10:00)
Not a great Western Conference game to end the night. The Ducks started the season so well with their electric young offense, but they’ve fallen apart big time. They come into tonight on a nine game losing streak with just two wins in their last 15 games to fall to 21-21-3, returning home after a 5-3 loss in Buffalo on Saturday. Anaheim’s defense has been awful all season. The Stars are one of the top teams in the NHL with a 27-10-9 record. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a tight 3-1 win in LA last night with Jason Robertson scoring the game winner with 3:46 left in regulation before Matt Duchene capped it off with an empty netter (with a huge assist on that for me from Mikko Rantanen to cash my point parlay with 18 seconds left). The first two games between these teams were some of the highest scoring games in the league so far this year, with the Ducks winning 7-5 in Dallas in November and the Stars answering with an 8-3 win in Anaheim in December. Even in the second half of a back to back, I like Dallas here, and I’ll take the Stars for a unit. I like the over as well, which I’ll also take for a unit. I’m right back on my usual player props in this game too. I’ll parlay Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, and Mikko Rantanen to each get a point for a unit and added another half unit on Mikko to go over 1.5 points.
Bets
.5u Lightning ML (-132)
.5u parlay: Nikita Kucherov/Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin 1+ points (+163)
.5u Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points (+105)
.5u Sidney Crosby over 1.5 points (+200)
.5u parlay: Nikita Kucherov/Sidney Crosby 2+ points each (+425)
.5u parlay: Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield 1+ point each (+100)
.5u parlay: Zach Werenski/Kirill Marchenko 1+ point each (-115)
1u parlay: David Pastrnak/Lucas Raymond 1+ point each (+108)
.5u David Pastrnak over 1.5 points (+158)
1u Hurricanes ML (-175)
.5u parlay: Sebastian Aho/Seth Jarvis 1+ point each (+113)
.5u Oilers ML (-128)
1u parlay: Connor McDavid over 1.5 points/Leon Draisaitl over 0.5 point (+130)
.5u Islanders ML (+105)
.5u parlay: Kyle Connor/Mark Scheifele 1+ point each (-145)
.5u Maple Leafs ML (+124)
1u parlay: Auston Matthews/William Nylander 1+ point each (+108)
1u Stars ML (-120)
1u Stars/Ducks over 6.5 (-124)
1u parlay: Wyatt Johnston/Mikko Rantanen/Jason Robertson 1+ point each (+104)
.5u Mikko Rantanen over 1.5 points (+145)
Record: 455-463-1 (-33.15 units)
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