Second bad losing night in a row on the NHL yesterday, going 5-14 to lose 6.54 unit, with almost every underdog winning. Let’s bounce right back on tonight’s big eight game Friday night slate!
Maple Leafs vs. Golden Knights (7:00)
Fantastic cross conference game as Mitch Marner returns to Toronto for the first time to play his former team. These teams just played last week in a fantastic game, with the Leafs getting out to a 3-1 lead on the road, then blowing that along with 4-2 and 5-3 leads, with Tomas Hertl scoring with seven seconds left to force overtime with Jack Eichel winning it 6-5 for Vegas at home with his fourth point of the night as all the stars, including Marner getting two points. The Maple Leafs are on the outside looking in on a playoff spot in the East with a 24-17-9 record, struggling a bit right now as they come into tonight with just one win in their last five games, coming off a 2-1 overtime loss at home against the Red Wings on Wednesday night. They’re playing pretty well right now though with a 9-2-4 record in their last 15 games. The Golden Knights lead the weak Pacific Division with a 24-13-12 record, in the second half of a back to back tonight after a 4-3 loss in Boston, with their comeback effort falling short after the Bruins scored three goals in the span of 54 seconds in the first period. That was the Knights’ second loss in a row after going on a seven game win streak. I think Vegas is the slightly better team here, but I’d give Toronto the slight edge to win this one at home. I don’t like it enough to bet on though. I do like the over though, which I’ll take for a unit. I’ll also parlay Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews to each get a point for a unit. I’ll also take Eichel and Marner to each get over 1.5 points for half a unit each.
Blackhawks vs. Lightning (7:00)
Huge cross conference mismatch here. The Blackhawks have been terrible, but they come into tonight off two wins in a row, in the second half of a back to back tonight coming off a shocking 4-3 shootout win in Carolina last night. They’re 21-22-7 on the season, struggling on both ends of the ice, especially offensively. The Lightning are fantastic on both ends of the ice, a point back from the Red Wings for first place in the Atlantic Division with a 31-13-4 record. Coming off a 4-1 win at home against the Sharks on Tuesday, they’ve gone 13-0-1 in their last 14 games. Chicago surprisingly won the first game between these teams 3-2 on the road in October. Especially with the Blackhawks in the second half of a back to back, I absolutely love Tampa to win here on the road. The moneyline is nuts at -310, but I’ll take them in regulation for 2 units. I’d lean the under here, but not enough to lay the -142 in what I think could be a blowout. I’ll also take Nikita Kucherov to get over 1.5 points for a unit.
Stars vs. Blues (8:00)
Lousy game here in the Central. The Stars are a very good team, comfortably in third place in the division with a 28-14-9 record, but they’re struggling big time right now now with just three wins in their last 14 games, in the second half of a back to back tonight after getting shut out 1-0 in Columbus last night. The Blues have been one of the worst teams in the league all year, with a 19-23-8 record, struggling on both ends of the ice. Coming off a 3-1 loss in Winnipeg on Wednesday, they have just just two wins in their last seven games. St. Louis did win the first game between these teams 3-1 at home back in October. Even in the midst of their struggles and in the second half of a back to back, Dallas is the way better team here. I like them to win at home and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it at 5.5. I’ll also parlay Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson to each get a point for a unit. They may get their best player, Mikko Rantanen back in the lineup tonight after an illness since he was at morning skate, but even if he plays I don’t think it’s worth adding him to that parlay.
Avalanche vs. Flyers (9:00)
Another huge mismatch for this cross conference game. The Avalanche have been spectacular, leading the NHL this season with a 34-5-9 record with both the best offense and the best defense in the league. They’re in a bit of a slump though right now, if you even want to call it that, with just one win in their last four games (they’ve gone 1-1-2 in that span), coming off a 2-1 shootout loss at home to the Ducks on Wednesday in a crazy game where they just couldn’t find the back of the net as they outshot Anaheim 41-16. The Flyers have come crashing down, now out of a Wild Card spot with a 23-17-9 record. They have just one win in their last eight games, blowing an early 3-0 lead on Wednesday night in Utah, as they gave up Clayton Keller’s game tying goal with 35 seconds left and then Keller’s game winner in OT to lose 5-4. The Avs won the first game between these teams 3-2 on the road last month and I love them to bounce back here tonight at home. I’ll take them to win in regulation, parlayed with MacKinnon to get a point for 1.5 units. I’ll also take the over for half a unit, and I’ll go back to my player props here. I’ll parlay Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar to each get a point for a unit, and I’ll take MacKinnon to get over 1.5 points for a unit.
Flames vs. Capitals (9:00)
Pretty boring cross conference matchup. The Flames haven’t been great this year, with a good defense, but a pathetic offense. They’re 21-24-5, coming off two losses in a row after a 4-1 loss at home on Wednesday to the Penguins. The Capitals are slumping big time, falling out of a playoff spot with a 24-21-6 record, coming off a 4-3 loss in Vancouver on Wednesday where they blew a 2-0 lead in the first period and then fell short of their comeback effort. That was their fourth straight loss, and they have just five wins in their last 20 games. I’d lean the Caps win here on the road, but I can’t trust them enough to bet them right now. The total at 5.5 is a complete toss up, so I’ll stay off this game entirely.
Canucks vs. Devils (10:00)
Horrendous cross conference game here. The Canucks are horrendous, the worst team in the league with a 17-28-5 record. They ended an eleven game losing streak on Wednesday night with a 4-3 win at home against the Capitals where they erased a 2-0 first period deficit. They’re terrible on both ends of the ice. The Devils have been playing much better lately, although their offense still stinks. Coming off a 2-1 win in Edmonton on Tuesday, they have four wins in their last five games to improve to 26-22-2 on the year, but they’re still outside of the playoffs. Vancouver won the first game between these teams 2-1 on the road last month. I like Jersey to answer back here on the road and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’ll also take the under for half a unit, not expecting much here.
Sharks vs. Rangers (10:00)
I wouldn’t say this is a great cross conference game by any means. The Sharks have surprised a lot of people on the back of a spectacular season for Macklin Celebrini, tied with the Kraken for the second Wild Card spot in the West with a 25-21-3 record. They’re still not good though, especially defensively. Coming off a 4-1 loss in Tampa on Tuesday, they have eight wins in their last twelve games. The Rangers have been a complete joke this year, now struggling on both ends of the ice big time, so even their good defense and goaltending is completely gone with Igor Shesterkin on the IR. What a dumpster fire going on in MSG. They’re coming off a 4-3 loss in LA on Tuesday, and have just one win in their last eight games, falling to 21-24-6 on the season. I like San Jose to win here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to lay the -135 on the 6.5. I’ll also parlay Celebrini with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad to each get a point for half a unit.
Kraken vs. Ducks (10:00)
Boring game in the Pacific to end the night. Both of these teams aren’t great, but with how weak that division is, they’re both in playoff spots. The Kraken ended a four game losing streak on Wednesday with a 4-1 win at home against the Islanders to get into the second Wild Card in the West with a 22-18-9 record. They’ve been good defensively this season, but they’ve struggled to light the lamp. The Ducks have played the opposite style with a horrible, with a great, young offense but horrible goaltending and defense. They’re coming into the night though in third place in the Pacific with a 26-21-3 record, on a five game win streak after a nine game losing streak, coming off a SHOCKING 2-1 shootout win in Colorado on Wednesday, they’re the got completely outplayed, getting outshot 41-16 in a fantastic night for Lukas Dostal between the pipes. Seattle won both previous games between these teams 3-1, at home in the first week of the season and then on the road last month. I’d lean the Ducks win here on the road to stay hot, but not enough to bet them. I’d also lean the under, but not enough to bet that either, so I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Bets
1u Golden Knights/Maple Leafs over 6.5 (+102)
1u parlay: Eichel/Stone/Marner/Matthews 1+ point each (+169)
.5u Jack Eichel over 1.5 points (+140)
.5u Mitch Marner over 1.5 points (+237)
2u Lightning in regulation (-175)
1u Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points (-110)
1u Stars ML (-162)
1u parlay: Jason Robertson/Wyatt Johnston 1+ point each (-106)
1.5u parlay: Avalanche in regulation/Nathan MacKinnon over 0.5 point (-165)
.5u Avalanche/Flyers over 6.5 (-110)
1u parlay: Nathan MacKinnon/Martin Necas/Cale Makar 1+ point each (-167)
1u Nathan MacKinnon over 1.5 points (-145)
.5u Devils ML (-150)
.5u Devils/Canucks under 5.5 (+115)
.5u Sharks ML (-122)
.5u parlay: Macklin Celebrini/Artemi Panarin/Mika Zibanejad 1+ point each (+132)
Record: 532-559-1 (-41 units)
Please follow me:
Instagram: @atownszone
Twitter: @atownszone
If you like the site and my work, share it with your friends!
… and tell Dave Portnoy to hire me at Barstool…
A Town's Zone 