I came back from the break with a solid night on the NHL yesterday, going 6-1 to win 2.5 units. Tonight we have a huge twelve game slate, let’s keep rolling!
Just like yesterday, I’m mainly keeping it light tonight out of the break, especially on player props.
Bruins vs. Blue Jackets (7:00)
Solid game here in the East to get the night started. The Bruins are in the second Wild Card spot in the East, having a way better season than expected, with a 32-20-5 record. The Blue Jackets started the year horribly, but have improved a ton, going into the break on a seven game win streak with eleven wins in their last twelve games after making their coaching change. This game’s a complete toss up to me, and I’ll stay off it completely.
Canadiens vs. Islanders (7:00)
Decent matchup here in the East by these two teams both sitting in playoff spots right now. The Habs are in a three way tie with the Sabres and Red Wings for second and third in the Atlantic and the first Wild Card spot in the East, with a 32-17-8 record, going into the break hot with a 4-0-1 record in their last five games. Their offense has been very good, but their defense and goaltending has been a struggle at times. The Islanders went into the break with two wins in a row, and are in third place in the Metro with a 32-21-5 record, a point behind the Penguins and two points ahead of the Capitals. I’d lean Montreal wins here at home, but don’t like it enough to bet them in the first game out of the break. I’d slightly lean the over, but I’ll stay off that as well. I did consider taking Cole Caufield to get over 1.5 points after getting left off Team USA, but I’ll lay off it tonight.
Senators vs. Red Wings (7:00)
Not the best game here in the Atlantic Division. The Senators have struggled this year, towards the bottom of the standings with a 28-22-7 record, but they were hot heading into the break, with five wins in their last six games. The Red Wings are in their three way tie with the Sabres and Habs for the second two spots in the Atlantic and first Wild Card spot with a 33-19-6 record, but were in a slump going into the break, winning just one of their five games. Detroit won the first two games between these teams, 5-3 on the road and then 4-3 at home in January. I’d lean the Red Wings win again here on the road, but not enough to bet it. The total’s a complete toss up to me. If this wasn’t the first game out of the break, I’d be all over player props in this matchup, but don’t love any of them in the first game back, so I’ll lay off this game completely as well.
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (7:00)
Who would’ve thought that these two teams would be at the bottom of the Atlantic Division this year? They’re both struggling this season and likely missing playoffs. The Panthers have dealt with a ton of injuries and I could see them shutting guys down for the rest of the season now. They’re in last place in the division with a 29-25-3 record and it’s looking like we won’t be having a three peat this year. Florida went into the break with just one win in their last six games. Toronto’s in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming back from the break with a 4-2 loss in Tampa last night, ending a three game win streak that they took into the break. They’re having a terrible year, with an awful defense despite their offense being pretty solid, just two points ahead of Florida with a 27-22-9 record. The Leafs won both previous games between these teams 4-1, on the road in December and then at home in January. I’d lean Toronto wins again here on the road, but don’t think they’re worth betting in the second half of a back to back. I’d slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet that either. I will take a player prop parlay boosted up with William Nylander and Auston Matthews to each get a point for .4u units (max I could do boosted).
Penguins vs. Devils (7:00)
Not a great game here in the Metro. The Penguins have been having a way better year than expected, in second place in the Metro Division with a 28-15-12 record, a point ahead of the Islanders. Heading into the break they beat my Sabres 5-2 on the road and were hot, with a 7-1-1 record in their last nine games. They took a big hit during the Olympics break though, with their leader, Sidney Crosby now out for a month with a injury he sustained in Milan. Sid’s been having a great year, leading them in points, goals, and assists. The Devils have struggled this year, with just a 28-28-2 record. They’re in the second half of a back to back, losing 2-1 in a tight game last night at home to the Sabres and are now on a four game losing streak. These teams split their first two games this season, with the Devils winning 2-1 in a shootout at home in November and Pittsburgh answering with a 4-1 win at home in January. I’d lean the Pens wins here, especially with Jersey in the second half of a back to back, but don’t trust them enough to bet them without Sid in the lineup. I’d slightly lena the under, but not enough to bet it either. I’ll lay off this game completely.
Hurricanes vs. Lightning (7:00)
Great game here in the East in what I expect to pretty easily be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals this year between the two division leaders. Both of these teams have played fantastic hockey on both ends of the ice. The Hurricanes went into the break on a three game win streak, on a ten game point streak with an 8-0-2 record in that span to give them an eight point lead for the Metro Division with a 36-15-6 record. The Lightning are the hottest team in hockey lately, leading the Atlantic by eight points with a 38-14-4 record and looking unstoppable in the East. They came out of the break last night with a 4-2 win at home against the Leafs to extend their win streak to six in a row, with a 20-1-1 record in their last 22 games. Tampa won the first game between these teams in a show back in December, winning 6-4 at home. I’d lean they win here again on the road, but in the second half of back to back, I don’t think they’re worth betting on. The total’s a toss up to me with Jonas Johansson likely starting in goal tonight for the Lightning since Vasy played last night, so I’ll stay off the total. I’ll take Nikita Kucherov to get over 1.5 points for a unit.
Rangers vs. Flyers (8:00)
Terrible matchup in the Metro. The Rangers have been awful, in last place in the Eastern Conference and a complete tire fire. They’re just 22-29-6 on the season, going into the break on a four game losing streak, and they’ve been even more pathetic at home, with just a 6-15-4 record at MSG. The Flyers started the season hot, but came crashing down, now 25-21-11 on the year, with just three wins in their last 16 games. Both of these teams have struggled on both ends of the ice. New York won both previous games between them, winning 5-4 in a shootout at home in December, then 6-3 on the road in January. I’d slightly lean Philly wins here on the road and I’d lean the under since neither team could like the lamp, but I’m not touching this game.
Blues vs. Kraken (8:00)
Pretty lousy game in the West. The Blues will likely be sellers at the deadline, in last place in the Central Division with a 20-28-9 record. They went into the break on a three game losing streak, struggling on both ends of the ice, especially defensively, with just one win in their last nine games. The Kraken have struggled offensively, but have been good on the back end this season. They’re in the second Wild Card in the West with a 27-21-9 record, in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming out of the break with a 4-1 loss in Dallas last night (I should’ve bet the Stars there), but have five wins in their last seven games. The first game between these teams in St. Louis in November went to overtime with the Kraken winning 4-3 on the road. I like Seattle to bounce back here and I’ll take them for half a unit at + money, even in the second half of a back to back. I’d lean the over at 5.5, but not enough to bet it.
Predators vs. Blackhawks (8:00)
This Central Division game isn’t great. The Predators have struggled on both ends of the ice, but still have an outside shot at making the playoffs, four points back from the Kraken for the second Wild Card spot in the West with a 26-24-7 record. The Blackhawks have been terrible, with a 22-26-9 record. These teams split their first two games, each winning on the road, with a 4-3 Preds win in Chicago in November and a 3-0 shutout answer back from the Blackhawks in Nashville in January. I’d lean Smashville wins at home tonight, but not enough to bet them. The total’s a toss up, cause although both of these teams can’t score, they both can’t keep the puck out of their own net. I’ll lay off it.
Avalanche vs. Wild (9:00)
Fantastic matchup between two of the top three teams in the Central Division, who I can both see winning the Cup this year. The Avs came out of the break with a 4-2 win in Utah last night after going into the break in quite the slump, leading the NHL with an impressive 38-9-9 record and an even better 21-3-4 record at home. The Wild have been spectacular as well (and I’m considering betting some Cup futures on them). They’re likely playing for home ice against the Stars in the first round, a point back from Dallas after the Stars won last night, with a 34-14-10 record. They went into the Olympics break hot, on a five game win streak, with an 8-1-1 record in their last ten games. These teams split their first two games this year in Minnesota, with the Wild winning 3-2 at home in a shootout in November and then losing 5-1 in December. This game’s a complete toss up to me, and I’ll lay off both the side and the total. I thought about doing my whole list of usual player props in this matchup, but I’ll proceed with caution in the first game for Minnesota out of the break. I will jump on MacKinnon to get over 1.5 points though for half a unit in a pissed off effort after losing in the gold medal game to Team Canada and sitting out last night.
Sharks vs. Flames (10:00)
Not the best game here in the Pacific. The Sharks are having a way better year than most people could’ve expected, with Mackin Celebrini leading the way with 81 points, 28 goals, and 53 assists in this sophomore season, and he shined for Team Canada during the Olympics. San Jose’s 27-24-4, five points back from the Kraken for the second Wild Card in the West. The Flames have struggled this year, 23-27-6 on the season, and they’re likely to be sellers at the deadline, playing boring hockey with a good defense and solid goaltending, but a terrible offense. Calgary’s 2-1 on the season against the Sharks, winning 2-0 at home in November, losing 6-3 on the road in December, then winning 3-2 at home in January. I like the Sharks to tie up the season series here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet it.
Kings vs. Oilers (10:00)
Decent matchup in the Pacific to end the night, with both of these teams in the second half of a back to back, coming out of the break with losses in high scoring games last night. The Kings are three points out of a playoff spot with a 23-20-14 record, on a four game losing streak after a 6-4 loss at home to the Golden Knights last night, in a third period that saw seven goals. LA’s been very good defensively this year, but they’ve struggled offensively. The Oilers are a point back from the Ducks, in third place in the Pacific with a 28-23-9 record. They’ve struggled in the opposite fashion, playing great offensively but bad on the back end. Last night they blew a 4-2 lead going into the third period to lose 6-5 in Anaheim. The first game between these teams was close, with the Kings winning 4-3 in a shootout in Edmonton in January. I’d lean the Oilers answer back here on the road, but not enough to bet them. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet that either at 6.5. I do like several player props in this game though. I’ll take Connor McDavid to get over 1.5 points for a unit, and I’ll take Leon Draisaitl and Artemi Panarin, who got two points in his Kings debut last night to get over 1.5 points for half a unit each.
Bets
.4u parlay: Auston Matthews/William Nylander 1+ point each (+225)
1u Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points (-110)
.5u Kraken ML (+120)
.5u Nathan MacKinnon over 1.5 points (-105)
.5u Sharks ML (-130)
1u Connor McDavid over 1.5 points (-135)
.5u Leon Draisaitl over 1.5 points (+105)
.5u Artemi Panarin over 1.5 points (+170)
Record: 668-704-1 (-38.97 units)
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