Solid day on the NHL yesterday with some incredible hockey to start off February, as I went 7-4 to win 4.09 units. Loaded week coming up before the Olympic break, let’s crush it on tonight’s ten game slate!
Panthers vs. Sabres (7:00)
Big game here to start off the night in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers have been struggling and are in real danger of missing the playoffs after three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals, now eight points back from the Sabres for their second Wild Card spot in the East. They’re on a three game losing streak, falling to 28-23-3 on the season as they’re coming off a 2-1 loss at home to the Jets on Saturday. The Sabres are a point back from the Bruins for the first Wild Card spot and two behind the Habs for the third place spot in the Atlantic. After a five game win streak, we lost a key game to Montreal at home on Saturday night, playing well, but not lighting the lamp to lose 4-2 in a very fast paced, fun game. We’re 31-18-5 on the season and still one of the hottest teams in hockey, with a 20-4-1 record in our last 25 games. This team’s good. These teams split their first two games this season in Buffalo, with the Sabres winning with a 3-0 shutout at home back in October and then lost 4-3 at home in a grind of a game a few weeks ago. I like the Sabres to win here on the road and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the under slightly at 6.5, but not enough to bet it. I also like a player prop parlay here and I’ll take Tage Thompson, Sam Reinhart, and Matthew Tkachuk to each get a point for half a unit.
Penguins vs. Senators (7:00)
Not the best matchup here in the East. The Penguins have been fantastic, shocking the hockey world this year. They’re comfortably in a playoff spot, in second place in the Metro Division with a 28-14-11 record. Coming off a 6-5 win at home against the Rangers on Saturday, they’re on a six game win streak, with a 13-2-2 record in their last 17 games. They’ve played great on both ends of the ice. The Senators have been pretty lousy this year, tied with the Leafs for last place in the Atlantic with a 26-21-7 record, but they’re coming into tonight on a three game win streak following a 4-1 win at home against the Devils on Saturday. Although their offense has been good, their defense and goaltending has been struggling. In the first game between these teams, the Sens won with a 4-0 shutout at home in December. I love the Pens to answer back here at home and I’ll take them for a unit along with half a unit on the alternate -1.5 puck line at a really nice +275 price. I also like the over, which I’ll take for half a unit. Additionally, I’ll parlay Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Tim Stutzle, and Brady Tkachuk to each get a point for half a unit.
Capitals vs. Islanders (7:00)
This is such a boring Metro Division matchup. After a pretty lousy losing run, the Capitals have played a bit better as of late, with a 3-1-1 record in their last five games to improve to 27-22-7 on the season, coming off a overtime win on Saturday against the Hurricanes after a 4-3 shootout win in Detroit on Thursday. They’re still four points behind the Islanders for the third playoff spot in the Metro, but statistically have played well on both ends of the ice this year. The Isles hold that third spot in the Metro with a 30-20-5 record. They had a three game win streak end on Saturday night at home, giving up the game winner to the Predators with 1:14 left in regulation. Their defense and goaltending has been very good, but offensively this team has struggled all year. The Caps are 2-1 this season against the Isles, winning 4-2 on the road in the first week of the season, losing 3-1 at home on Halloween, then winning 4-1 on the road late in November. I’d slightly lean Washington wins here at home, but didn’t even consider betting it. I thought the total on this game would be 5.5, but with both teams trending over, that pushed it to 6.5, and I like the under, which I’ll take for half a unit.
Wild vs. Canadiens (7:30)
Fantastic cross conference matchup here. Both of these teams have been very good, currently sitting in playoff spots. The Wild are coming off a huge 7-3 win in Edmonton on Saturday night, comfortably in second place in the Central with a first round matchup against the Stars pretty much locked in, just jockeying with Dallas for home ice. They have a 32-14-10 record, playing great on both ends of the ice, coming into tonight on a three game win streak with a 6-1-1 record in their last eight games. The Habs are playing really well too, in the third place spot in the Atlantic with a 31-17-7 record, a point ahead of the Bruins and two ahead of the Sabres. They’re coming off a 4-2 win in Buffalo in a key game on Saturday night for their third straight win. The offense has been very good for Montreal, but their defense and goaltending has been quite inconsistent. The Canadiens won the first game between these teams 4-3 at home a couple weeks ago. I like Minnesota to win here at home, and I’ll take them for half a unit. I really like the over, which I’ll take for a unit. I’ll also parlay Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield (still can’t believe he isn’t an Olympian), Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Quinn Hughes to each get a point for half a unit. I’ll also take a half unit shot on Suzuki to get over 1.5 points.
Predators vs. Blues (8:00)
This is a pretty terrible Central Division matchup. The Predators were playing well for a bit but have come crashing back down again, ending a three game losing streak on Saturday with a 4-3 win on Long Island with a late goal with 1:14 left in regulation, just their second win in their last seven games. They’re now 25-23-6 on the season, still four points back from the second Wild Card in the West. The Blues have been awful, in last place in the Central with a 20-26-9 record. They’re coming off a 5-3 loss at home to the Blue Jackets on Saturday and have just one win in their last seven games. Nashville’s 2-1 against the Blues this year, all in December, winning 7-2 at home, then 5-2 on the road, before losing 3-2 in St. Louis. I’d lean Smashville wins here at home, but not enough to bet them. These teams have both struggled on both ends of the ice. I do like the over though at 5.5, and I’ll take it for half a unit since neither team can keep the puck out of their own net. The only player prop I like in this game is Ryan O’Reilly to get a point, but at -205, I don’t think he’s worth betting.
Blackhawks vs. Sharks (8:30)
Pretty terrible Western Conference matchup here. The Blackhawks have been awful, on a five game losing streak with just two wins in their last ten games to fall to 21-25-9, coming off a 4-2 loss at home to the Blue Jackets on Friday night. They’ve especially been bad defensively. The Sharks aren’t great, especially struggling defensively, but with Macklin Celebrini leading the way in his fantastic sophomore season, they’re just two points back from the Kings and Mammoth for the second Wild Card in the West. San Jose is coming off a 3-2 loss in Calgary on Saturday night, but have played well lately with a 10-5-1 record in their last 16 games. I like the Sharks to win here on the road and I’ll parlay them with Celebrini to get a point for half a unit. I’d lean the under at 6.5, but not enough to bet it.
Stars vs. Jets (8:30)
This is a pretty big mismatch in the Central Division. The Stars have been fantastic, comfortably in third place in the division with a 32-14-9 record, playing for home ice against the Wild in the first round, who they’re just a point behind. After a bit of a slump, Dallas is now on a four game win streak, coming off a 3-2 win on the road in Utah on Saturday. They’ve played well this year on both ends of the ice. The Jets have been horrible, with a 22-25-7 record, a huge drop off from winning the President’s Trophy last year, especially struggling offensively. They’re coming off a 2-1 win on the road against the Panthers on Saturday and have a 3-3-2 record in their last eight games. Dallas won both previous games on the road between these teams, with a 5-4 win in the first week of the season and then a 4-3 win in December. I like the Stars to win again here and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet it a 5.5. I’ll also go with all my go-to guys for player props in this game and I’ll parlay Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Mark Schiefele, and Kyle Connor to each get a point for half a unit.
Avalanche vs. Red Wings (9:00)
Great cross conference matchup here for the second half of a back to back between two very good teams that have both been slumping right now. When these teams played in Detroit on Saturday afternoon, the Avs dominated their way to a 5-0 win on the road on a three point game for Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche are the best team in the NHL with a 36-8-9 record with an impressive 20-2-4 record at home. They’ve been in a slump though, with Saturday’s win being just their third in their last nine games. The Red Wings are in second place in the Atlantic with a really tight race in that division, but they’re in a bit of a slump too, on a three game losing streak. I like Colorado to win again here and I’ll lay the -192 for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it at 6.5. On the player props I got way too cute with it on Saturday, but I’ll keep it relatively simple in this one. I’ll parlay Nathan MacKinnon to get over 1.5 points with Cale Makar to get a point for a unit, and I’ll go back to Lucas Raymond, who hasn’t gotten a point in his last three games to get one for half a unit. He’s due.
Mammoth vs. Canucks (9:30)
Terrible matchup in the West here. The Mammoth have been having a pretty good year, tied with the Kings for the second Wild Card in the West with a 28-23-4 record, but have just one win in their last four games, coming off a 3-2 loss at home to the Stars on Saturday. Utah’s played well on both ends of the ice. The Canucks are the worst team in the league, playing horrible on both ends of the ice. They’re just 18-31-6 on the season, and coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Leafs on Saturday at home, they have just two wins in their last 17 games. This team’s fucking awful. The Mammoth won the first game between these teams easily, 4-1 on the road in December. I like Utah to win again here at home and I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I’d lean the under slightly, but not enough to bet it.
Flames vs. Maple Leafs (10:00)
Lousy cross conference Canadien matchup to end the night. The Flames have been pretty terrible, with a 22-26-6 record on the year, playing pretty well defensively but with one of the worst offenses in the NHL. They ended a five game losing streak on Saturday with a 3-2 win at home against the Sharks, just their fourth with in their last 14 games. The Leafs have been just marginally better with the opposite style of hockey, a good offense, but an awful defense. They’re 25-21-9 on the year, in last place in the Atlantic, ending a six game losing streak on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win in Vancouver. They’ll get a nice boost tonight with William Nylander returning to the lineup. Toronto won the first game between these teams 4-3 at home back in October. With Nylander back, I like the Leafs to win here and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it at the -125 price with Toronto trending over. I’ll also parlay Nylander in his return with Auston Matthews to each get a point for a unit.
Bets
1u Sabres ML (-105)
.5u parlay: Tage Thompson/Sam Reinhart/Matthew Tkachuk 1+ point each (+174)
1u Penguins ML (-102)
.5u Penguins -1.5 (+275)
.5u Senators/Penguins over 6.5 (-105)
.5u parlay: Crosby/Malkin/Stutzle/Tkachuk 1+ point each (+340)
.5u Capitals/Islanders under 6.5 (-108)
.5u Wild ML (-130)
1u Wild/Canadiens over 6.5 (-110)
.5u parlay: Suzuki/Caufield/Kaprizov/Boldy/Hughes 1+ point each (+284)
.5u Nick Suzuki over 1.5 points (+190)
.5u Predators/Blues over 5.5 (-125)
.5u parlay: Sharks ML/Macklin Celebrini over 0.5 point (+115)
1u Stars ML (-148)
.5u parlay: Rantanen/Robertson/Johnston/Schiefele/Connor 1+ point each (+291)
1u Avalanche ML (-192)
1u parlay: Nathan MacKinnon over 1.5 points/Cale Makar over 0.5 point (-109)
.5u Lucas Raymond over 0.5 point (-142)
1u Mammoth in regulation (-165)
.5u Maple Leafs ML (-115)
1u parlay: Auston Matthews/William Nylander 1+ point each (-105)
Record: 623-662-1 (-45.48 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 