Yesterday’s big NHL slate was a grind. I went 14-16, but won 0.62 units, so I’ll take it. Let’s win on today’s decent six game slate to start March off hot!
Penguins vs. Golden Knights (1:00)
Solid cross conference matchup to start off the day. The Penguins are in the second half of a back to back, blowing a 2-0 lead yesterday to lose 3-2 in a shootout on the road against the Rangers. They’re tied in second place in the Metro Division with the Islanders with a 30-15-13 record, playing well on both ends of the ice. The Golden Knights had a three game winning streak end on Friday, losing 3-2 on the road to the Capitals, but they still lead the weak Pacific Division, three points ahead of Anaheim with a 28-17-14 record. Since Crosby is going to be out for Pittsburgh for the next month, and they’re in the second half of a back to back, I’d slightly lean Vegas wins here on the road, but not enough to bet them. I’d also slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet that either. I won’t completely stay off this game though, and I’ll parlay Evgeni Malkin, Jack Eichel, and Mark Stone to each get a point for half a unit.
Mammoth vs. Blackhawks (4:00)
Big mismatch in the Central. The Mammoth have been really solid, in the first Wild Card spot in the West with a 31-24-4 record, coming off an impressive 5-2 win at home against the Wild on Thursday. The Blackhawks have been awful, struggling on both ends of the ice, on a three game losing streak with just one win in their last nine games, dropping to 22-28-9 on the season. They’re in the second half of a back to back today, coming off a 3-1 loss on the road in Colorado yesterday (triple winner for me). Chicago won the first game between these teams in the first week of the season, 3-1 at home. Especially with the Hawks in the second half of a back to back, I like Utah to win at home. The books do too, with the moneyline coming in at -310, so to bring that down, I’ll parlay the ML with Clayton Keller to get a point for half a unit. I’d very slightly lean the over, but at 6.5 I don’t think it’s worth betting.
Sharks vs. Jets (4:00)
Lousy game here in the West. The Sharks have been struggling, but ended a five game losing streak with a 5-4 win at home last night in a fantastic game against the Oilers to improve to 28-25-4 on the year, still five points back from Seattle for the second Wild Card spot in the West. The Jets have been awful, a huge drop off from winning the President’s Trophy last year, completely out of the playoffs with a 23-26-9 record. They’re coming off a 5-4 overtime loss on Friday in Anaheim. San Jose won the first game between these teams 2-1 at home in November. I’d lean they win again here at home, but in the second half of a back to back, I don’t trust them enough to bet on. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet that either. I’ll parlay Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Macklin Celebrini to each get a point for a unit.
Wild vs. Blues (5:00)
Huge mismatch for this Central Division matchup. The Wild have been spectacular, in third place in the division, a point back from the Stars for home ice in the first round with a 35-15-10 record. They’re coming off a 5-2 loss in Utah on Friday that ended a six game win streak, but have gone 9-2-1 in their last twelve games, playing great on both ends of the ice. The Blues have been awful, in last place in the division with a 21-29-9 record, in the second half of a back to back tonight coming off a 3-1 loss at home to the Devils yesterday. They have struggled big time on both ends of the ice and will likely be sellers at the deadline this week, with just two wins in their last eleven games. Minnesota won the first game between these teams easily on the road with a 5-0 shutout in the fist game of the season. I expect another easy, bounce back win for the Wild here and I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I’ll also parlay Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, and Matt Boldy to each get a point for a unit. I considered taking each of them to get 2 points too, but I’ll just keep it simple since none of the prices on 2 points are great on those three guys.
Islanders vs. Panthers (6:30)
Pretty solid matchup here in the East. The Islanders come into tonight on a four game win streak, in the second half of a back to back after a 4-3 overtime win in Columbus yesterday to improve to 34-21-5 on the year, tied with Pittsburgh for second and third place in the Metro. They’ve been very good defensively, but have struggled offensively. With all their injuries this season, the Panthers haven’t been great, at the bottom of the Atlantic with a 30-26-3 record, coming off a 3-2 loss at home to the Sabres on Friday night. Florida won the first game between these teams 4-1 in December. I’d lean they win again here on the road, but definitely not enough to bet it. I’d also lean the under, but not enough to bet that either. I considered a few player props on Reinhart, Tkachuk, and Marchand in this one, but with how well the Isles have played defensively, I don’t think they’re worth betting. I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Ducks vs. Flames (8:00)
Not the best matchup in the Pacific Division to end the night. The Ducks come into tonight on a four game win streak, in second place in the division with a 32-23-3 record, a point ahead of the Oilers and three back from Vegas. Their offense, led by their young core has been very good, but Anaheim has struggled on the back end. The Flames are coming off a 2-0 shutout loss in LA last night, but have three wins in their last five games. They’ve been awful this year, with a 24-28-6 record, playing the opposite style of hockey than the Ducks, with a very good defense and solid goaltending but a terrible offense. The first game between these teams in January went to overtime with the Ducks winning 4-3 on the road. I’d lean Anaheim wins here again at home, but don’t think they’re worth betting at -180. The total’s a toss up to me, so I’ll lay off this game entirely and end my night of hockey early.
Bets
.5u parlay: Evgeni Malkin/Jack Eichel/Mark Stone 1+ point each (+130)
.5u parlay: Mammoth ML/Clayton Keller over 0.5 point (-165)
1u parlay: Kyle Connor/Mark Scheifele/Macklin Celebrini 1+ point each (-110)
1u Wild in regulation (-150)
1u parlay: Kirill Kaprizov/Matt Boldy/Quinn Hughes 1+ point each (-110)
Record: 686-734-1 (-44.27 units)
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