Last night the Lightning let me down in Winnipeg, so it was a losing night for me on the NHL, going 5-7 to lose 2.96 units. Let’s bounce back on this seven game slate for deadline day!
Red Wings vs. Panthers (7:00)
Not the best matchup in the Atlantic. The Red Wings have been a bit inconsistent as of late, three points back from the Lightning and the Sabres for first place in the Atlantic and two ahead of the Habs with a 35-20-7 record. They’re coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at home on Wednesday to the Golden Knights. The Panthers are struggling right now and their Cup run’s over, in last place in the division with a 30-29-3 record as they’ve struggled with a ton of injuries. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, extending their losing streak to four in a row with a 4-2 loss last night in Columbus and they have just two wins in their last eleven games. Detroit won the first game between these teams 4-1 at home in October. I like them to win again tonight and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the over, but don’t think its worth betting at 6.5. I also like a few player props. I’ll take Dylan Larkin to get a point for half a unit, and I’ll parlay Alex DeBrincat, Matthew Tkachuk, and Lucas Raymond to each get a point for half a unit.
Stars vs. Avalanche (8:00)
Fantastic matchup between the top two teams in the Central Division, both playing great hockey and being contenders to win the Cup. The Stars are six points back from the Avs with a 38-14-9 record, coming off their tenth straight win on Tuesday, beating the Flames 6-1 on the road. They bolstered their defense today, acquiring Tyler Myers from the Canucks. The Avalanche have been spectacular, leading the NHL on both ends of the ice, with a 41-10-9 record. They made the biggest move of the deadline, sending a haul to Calgary to get Nazim Kadri back. They’re on a three game win streak after blowing out the Ducks 5-1 on the road on Tuesday with five wins in their last six games. The first game between these teams in the first week of the season went to a shootout, with the Stars winning 5-4 on the road. I’d slightly lean the Avs here, but not enough to bet them. I do like the over, which I’ll take for half a unit. I’ll also take a handful of player props here. I’ll parlay Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Cale Makar, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston to each get a point for a unit, and I’ll take MacKinnon to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Blackhawks vs. Canucks (8:30)
Horrendous matchup in the West. Both of these teams are awful and got worse today. The Blackhawks are 23-28-10, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss in Winnipeg on Tuesday, and they have just two wins in their last eleven games. The Canucks are even worse at 18-36-7 on a seven game losing streak after blowing an early 2-1 lead against the Hurricanes in the first period to lose 6-4 (huge hit on the puck line for me in that game with the empty netter with 44 seconds left. They have just two wins in their last 21 games. They’re awful. These teams split their first two games with Vancouver winning 3-2 in a shootout on the road in October and the Chicago answered with a 5-2 win on the road in November. I’d expect the Blackhawks win tonight at home, but this isn’t a team worth betting at -155, even against an auto-fade that the Canucks are. I’d lean the over, but both of these teams are so bad offensively, it isn’t worth touching this game. Who the fuck cares.
Oilers vs. Hurricanes (9:00)
Pretty good cross conference matchup here. The Oilers have been inconsistent a ton this year, with a very good offense but a brutal defense and horrendous goaltending. They’re coming off a 5-4 overtime win at home against the Sens on Tuesday (easy over win for me) but have just two wins in their last seven games, in third place in the Pacific, three points back from the Ducks and a point ahead of the Kraken. The Hurricanes are the best team in the Eastern Conference with such a clutch empty netter from Nikolaj Ehlers with 14 seconds left to hit my puck line as they beat the Canucks 6-4 on the road on Wednesday. They have a 15-2-3 record in their last 20 games, playing great on both ends of the ice. When these teams played for the first time this season in November in Carolina, the Oilers won 4-3 on the road in overtime. I like the Canes to answer back here and I’ll take them for a unit. I also like the over, which I’ll take for a unit as well. I’ll also parlay Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Connor McDavid, and Leon Draisaitl to each get a point for a unit, and I’ll take McDavid to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Ducks vs. Canadiens (9:00)
This should be a really fun cross conference game. The Ducks are on a great run right now, bouncing back from a 5-1 loss in Colorado on Tuesday with a 5-1 win at home against the Islanders on Wednesday for their 13th win in their last 16 games to improve to 34-24-3 on the season. They’re just a point back from the Golden Knights for first in the Pacific Division. The Habs are coming off a 7-5 loss in San Jose on Tuesday night and have a 5-1-2 record in their last eight games, in the first Wild Card in the East with a 33-18-9 record, two points back from the Red Wings for third in the Atlantic. I’d slightly lean the Ducks win here at home, but didn’t even consider betting it. I love the over here though, with both of these teams being very good offensively, but struggling on the back end. I’ll take the over for 1.5 units. I’ll also parlay Cutter Gauthier, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield to each get a point for half a unit.
Golden Knights vs. Wild (10:00)
Decent matchup in the West. The Golden Knights lead the weak Pacific Division, a point ahead of the Ducks with a 29-19-14 record, coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Detroit on Wednesday to end a three game losing streak. They’ve been very inconsistent though this year. The Wild have been fantastic, in third place in the Central, likely just playing for home ice against the Stars in the first round. After two surprising losses in a row in Utah and at home against the Blues, they bounced back with a huge 5-1 win at home against the Lightning on Tuesday. Minnesota won both previous games between these teams this year, winning 3-2 in overtime at home in November and then 5-2 on the road in December. I like the Wild to complete the season sweep here and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Quinn Hughes to each get a point for half a unit.
Sharks vs. Blues (10:00)
Kind of a lousy game in the West to end the night. The Sharks come into tonight on a three game win streak after a high scoring show, winning 7-5 at home against the Habs on Tuesday night. That moves them just three points back from the Kraken for the second Wild Card in the West with a 30-25-4 record on the back of an incredible sophomore season for Macklin Celebrini. Although their offense has been solid, they’re bad on the back end. The Blues have been horrible, in last place in the Central with a 23-29-9 record. Coming off a 3-2 win in Seattle on Wednesday, they do surprisingly have three wins in their last four games, but got worse at the deadline, trading Brayden Schenn to the Isles and Justin Faulk to the Red Wings today. They’ve struggled on both ends of the ice all year. I’d lean San Jose wins here at home, but not quite enough to bet them at -142. I’d also slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet that either. My only play on this game will be Macklin Celebrini to get over 1.5 points for half a unit.
Bets
1u Red Wings ML (-150)
.5u Dylan Larkin over 0.5 point (-168)
.5u parlay: Alex DeBrincat/Lucas Raymond/Matthew Tkachuk 1+ point each (+172)
.5u Avalanche/Stars over 5.5 (-130)
1u parlay: MacKinnon/Necas/Makar/Robertson/Johnston 1+ point each (+200)
.5u Nathan MacKinnon over 1.5 points (+100)
1u Hurricanes ML (-120)
1u Hurricanes/Oilers over 6.5 (-130)
1u parlay: Seth Jarvis/Sebastian Aho/Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl point each (+148)
.5u Connor McDavid over 1.5 points (-120)
1.5u Canadiens/Ducks over 6.5 (-110)
.5u parlay: Cutter Gauthier/Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield 1+ point each (+154)
.5u Wild ML (-110)
.5u parlay: Jack Eichel/Kirill Kaprizov/Matt Boldy/Quinn Hughes 1+ point each (+216)
.5u Macklin Celebrini over 1.5 points (+126)
Record: 716-760-2 (-42.55 units)
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