Losing day on the NHL yesterday, going 11-12 but taking some big L’s to drop 3.54 units. Tonight we have just a small two game slate again before yet another huge 14 game card tomorrow. Unbelievable bad scheduling. Let’s bounce back!
Islanders vs. Kings (7:00)
Pretty boring cross conference game to get the night started. The Islanders are having a solid season, tied with the Penguins in second and third place in the Metro Division with a 37-23-5 record, two points ahead of the chasing Blue Jackets. They’re coming back home off two overtime wins in a row after a 4-3 OT win in St. Louis on Tuesday. The Kings haven’t had a great season, but with a 26-23-15 record, they’re still just a point back from the Sharks for the second Wild Card spot in the West. Coming off a 2-1 overtime loss in Boston on Tuesday, they’ve gone 3-2-1 in their last six games, but still just have those three wins in their last eleven games. One of those wins came a week ago when these teams played the first time this year in LA, getting out to a 3-0 lead and riding that to a 5-3 win. I like the Islanders to answer back tonight at home on Long Island and I’ll take them for half a unit. On the season, both of these teams have been very good on the back end, but have struggled offensively, which makes me like the under, but they’re both trending over lately, so I’ll stay off the total. I’ll also take a half unit shot on a parlay of Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin, Mathew Barzal, and Bo Horvat to each get a point.
Blues vs. Oilers (8:00)
This is actually a pretty solid Western Conference matchup with the way both of these teams have been playing out of the break, both in the second half of a back to back (and both costing me money in their games). The Blues shocked me last night with a 3-1 win in Carolina, and after a horrendous first half of the year, they’ve played well since the Olympics break, with a 5-0-1 record in their last six games to improve to 26-29-10 on the year. They’re still likely missing the playoffs though, six points back from the Sharks for the second Wild Card spot in the West with a bunch of teams in front of them. Statistically St. Louis has been awful on both ends of the ice. Last night the Oilers got killed in Dallas, losing 7-2, with Connor McDavid being held scoreless (losing two bets for me) and actually fighting. They’re in third place in the Pacific with a 32-26-8 record, two points back from Vegas for home ice in the first round and three points back from the Ducks for the division lead. Edmonton’s been inconsistent, with a 4-3 record since the break, with a very good offense, but playing awful on the back end. These teams split their first two games, with the Blues winning 3-2 at home in November, and the Oilers answering with a 5-0 shutout in January at home. I’d lean the Oilers win here on the road, but not enough to bet them with how well St. Louis has played lately. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet that either, since defensively the Blues have been kind of impressive lately against decent offenses. I do love McDavid tonight after how pissed off he has to be from last night’s blowout. I’ll take him to get over 1.5 points for a unit, and I’ll parlay him, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard to each get a point for half a unit.
Bets
.5u Islanders ML (-142)
.5u parlay: Adrian Kempe/Artemi Panarin/Mathew Barzal/Bo Horvat point each (+238)
1u Connor McDavid over 1.5 points (-110)
.5u parlay: Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl/Evan Bouchard 1+point each (-140)
Record: 762-817-2 (-51.63 units)
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A Town's Zone 