Slight losing night for me yesterday on the NHL despite going 7-5, as I lost 0.64 units. Big nine game slate tonight, let’s bounce back!
Maple Leafs vs. Islanders (7:00)
Pretty lousy matchup in the East to get the night started. The Leafs are on a three game point streak after a horrendous eight game losing streak, coming off a shocking 4-2 win in Minnesota on Sunday after losing 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday in Buffalo. They’re a point out of last place in the Atlantic in this horrible season for them with a 29-27-12 record, and they’ll be without Auston Matthews for the rest of the year. Toronto’s offense has been decent this year, but their defense and goaltending is so bad. The Islanders have played the opposite style of hockey, with a good defense and great goaltending, but a struggling offense, winning a lot of low scoring games. They’ve won three of their last four games, coming off a 3-2 win at home on Saturday against the Flames, and are in third place in the Metro with a 38-24-5 record, two points behind the Penguins and two points ahead of the chasing Blue Jackets. The Isles won the first game between these teams 4-3 in overtime at home on Long Island in January. I’d lean they win again here on the road, but not enough to bet them. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet that either. The only player prop I like here is William Nylander to get a point, but he’s too expensive to bet on his own, and there’s no one else I like to parlay him with, so I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Canadiens vs. Bruins (7:00)
Pretty solid matchup between these two playoff teams in the Atlantic Division, separated by just a point in the standings. The Habs are coming off two losses in a row, losing 4-3 at home to the Ducks on Sunday to fall to 36-20-10 on the season. They’re tied with the Red Wings for third in the Atlantic and the first Wild Card spot in the East, a point ahead of the Bruins and three ahead of the Blue Jackets that are chasing the Wild Card spots. Montreal’s offense has been very good, but their defense and goaltending has struggled. The Bruins are in the second Wild Card with a 37-23-7 record. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Jersey last night and have been inconsistent lately with a 5-3-4 record in their last twelve games. Boston’s 2-1 against the Canadiens this season, winning 3-2 on the road in November, losing 6-2 at home in December, and bouncing back with a 4-3 win at home in January. I like the Habs to tie up the season series here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I also like the over, which I’ll take for half a unit as well. Along with those, I’ll parlay Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and David Pastrnak to each get a point for half a unit.
Blue Jackets vs. Hurricanes (7:00)
Fun matchup in the Metro Division. The Blue Jackets are right on the brink of a playoff spot, just two points back from the Islanders and Bruins for third in the Metro or the second Wild Card spot in the East. They’re coming off 2-1 shootout in Philly on Saturday, and they’ve been hot lately, with a 16-2-4 record in their last 22 games to improve to 34-21-11 on the season. The Hurricanes are the best team in the Eastern Conference with a 42-18-6 record, coming off a 4-2 win in Tampa on Saturday. They’ve been fantastic on both ends of the ice. The first time these teams played this year in December, Carolina won 4-1 at home. I like them to win again tonight although I expect this to be a closer game than that last matchup, and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Zach Werenski, Kirill Marchenko, Seth Jarvis, and Sebastian Aho to each get a point for half a unit.
Blackhawks vs. Wild (7:30)
Huge mismatch in this Central Division game. The Blackhawks have been horrible this year, in last place in the division with a 25-30-11 record, coming off a 4-0 shutout loss in Vegas on Saturday night after two OT wins in a row in a home and home against the Mammoth. They’ve struggled on both ends of the ice. The Wild are coming into tonight on a three game losing streak and have been in a slump, surprisingly losing 4-2 at home against the Leafs on Sunday. Both previous games between these teams shockingly went to overtime, with the Wild winning both 4-3, in OT on the road in November and then needing a shootout to win at home in January. I like them to get right here and don’t see it going past 60 minutes, but I’ll still go with the moneyline for a unit since it’s less than -200. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Quinn Hughes to each get a point for a unit.
Jets vs. Predators (8:00)
Lousy matchup here in the Central. Both of these teams aren’t completely out of the playoffs despite having bad seasons. The Jets are coming off two wins in a row, off a 3-2 win at home against the Blues on Sunday after shocking the Avs with a 3-1 win on Saturday afternoon and have gone 6-2-2 since the break to improve to 28-28-10, just five points back from the Kraken for the second Wild Card spot in the West. The Preds are a point better with a 29-28-9 record. They’ve struggled though, with just two wins in their last eight games since the break, coming off a 3-1 loss in Edmonton on Sunday. Winnipeg won both previous games between these teams, 4-1 at home in October and then 5-2 on the road in November. I’d lean they complete the season sweep at home tonight but not a chance I’m betting them. I’d also lean the under with two lousy offenses, but I’m not betting that either. I won’t stay off this game completely though, and I’ll parlay Kyle Connor, Mark Schiefele, and Ryan O’Reilly to each get a point for half a unit.
Oilers vs. Sharks (9:00)
This should be a really fun game in the Pacific. Both previous games were a ton of fun in high scoring matchups, with the Oilers winning 4-3 at home in overtime in January and then the Sharks answering with a blast of a game, winning 5-4 at home three weeks ago. These teams have played similar hockey, with their stars leading the way for the offense, but playing horrible on the back end. The Oilers are in third place in the Pacific with a 33-26-9 record, bouncing back from two losses with a 3-1 win at home against the Predators on Sunday, a point back from Vegas for home ice in the first round and just two back from the Ducks for first place in the weak Pacific Division. They took a big loss today, as it was announced that Leon Draisaitl will be out for the remainder of the regular season. The Sharks have been fun on the back of Macklin Celebrini’s fantastic sophomore season, just a point back from the Kraken for the second Wild Card spot in the West. They’re 32-2-6, coming off a 7-4 loss in Ottawa on Saturday. I’d lean the Oilers win here at home, but don’t trust them enough to bet it. I love the over, which I’ll take for a unit. I’ll also take a handful of player props here. For half a unit I’ll parlay Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, and Evan Bouchard to each get a point, then I’ll also take McDavid and Celebrini to each get two points, both individually and parlayed together for half a unit each.
Golden Knights vs. Sabres (10:00)
This should be a solid cross conference matchup to get into the 10:00 slate with my Sabres on the West Coast after dark against my second favorite team. I was in attendance a few weeks ago for the first game between these teams this season, in Buffalo’s first home game back from the break, where we didn’t play great and almost crumbled away the win, but got the 3-2 victory at home. The Golden Knights are in second place in the weak Pacific Division, a point back from the Ducks for first place and a point ahead of the Oilers for home ice in the first round. They’re coming off two wins in a row after a pretty bad slump, shutting out the Blackhawks for a 4-0 win at home on Saturday. My Sabres are the hottest team in the NHL, leading the Atlantic Division with a 41-20-6 record, four points ahead of the Lightning and just two points back from Carolina for first place in the East. They bounced back from a 2-1 loss at home to the Caps on Thursday night with a big 3-2 shootout win at home against the Leafs on Saturday night. I like the Sabres to win again tonight and I’ll take my boys for half a unit. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Tage Thompson, Jack Eichel against his former team, and Mark Stone, who had two points in his return on Sunday, to each get a point for half a unit.
Canucks vs. Panthers (10:00)
Awful cross conference matchup. The Canucks are far and away the worst team in the NHL this year, with a pathetic 20-38-8 record, coming off a 5-2 loss at home to the Kraken on Saturday night. They’ve been horrendous on both ends of the ice. The Panthers after winning the Cup two years in a row and the East three years in a row, were so riddled with injuries this year that they’re missing the playoffs, in last place in the Atlantic with a 33-30-3 record. They had a three game win streak end on Sunday with a 6-2 loss in Seattle. Florida won the first game between these teams in a high scoring one at home, winning 8-5. I like the Panthers to win again here and I’ll parlay their moneyline with Matthew Tkachuk to get a point for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but I’m not touching it.
Kraken vs. Lightning (10:00)
Pretty big mismatch here to win the night, but it could be a little bit entertaining with the Bolts struggling right now. The Kraken are just hanging onto the second Wild Card spot in the West with a 31-26-9 record, tied with the Kings and just a point ahead of the Sharks. They’re coming off back to back wins on the weekend to get out of a slump, winning 6-2 at home against the Panthers on Sunday after a 5-2 win in Vancouver on Saturday. The Lightning fell to second in the Atlantic, now four points back from the Sabres and just two points ahead of the Habs and Red Wings for home ice in the first round. Coming off a 4-2 loss at home to the Hurricanes on Saturday, they have just two wins in their last nine games after looking like the defecto Eastern Conference champs going into the break. I still like Tampa to win here on the road and I’ll parlay them with Nikita Kucherov to get a point for half a unit. I considered a handful of other player props and parlays here (mainly Guentzel and Point, and Kucherov over 1.5), but at their prices I don’t think they’re worth it. I’d slightly lean the under at 6.5, but not enough to bet that either.
Bets
.5u Canadiens ML (-162)
.5u Canadiens/Bruins over 6.5 (-105)
.5u parlay: Nick Suzuki/Caufield/Slafkovsky/Pastrnak 1+ point each (+154)
.5u Hurricanes ML (-118)
.5u parlay: Werenski/Marchenko/Aho/Jarvis 1+ point each (+216)
1u Wild ML (-175)
1u parlay: Kirill Kaprizov/Matt Boldy/Quinn Hughes 1+ point each (-130)
.5u parlay: Kyle Connor/Mark Schiefele/Ryan O’Reilly 1+ point each (+134)
1u Oilers/Sharks over 6.5 (-145)
.5u Connor McDavid over 1.5 points (-154)
.5u Macklin Celebrini over 1.5 points (+145)
.5u parlay: Connor McDavid/Macklin Celebrini/Evan Bouchard 1+ point each (-130)
.5u parlay: Connor McDavid/Macklin Celebrini 2+ points each (+242)
.5u Sabres ML (+100)
.5u parlay: Tage Thompson/Jack Eichel/Mark Stone 1+ point each (+120)
.5u parlay: Panthers ML/Matthew Tkachuk over 0.5 point (-110)
.5u parlay: Lightning ML/Nikita Kucherov over 0.5 point (-145)
Record: 782-845-2 (-63.49 units)
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