Finally a winning night for me on the NHL yesterday, going 4-2 to win 1.78 units. About time. Let’s crush today’s eleven game slate and get rolling!
Penguins vs. Jets (1:00)
Cross conference mismatch to start off the day. The Penguins are in second place in the Metro Division with a 34-18-16 record, a point ahead of the Blue Jackets and Islanders. They’re coming off picking up a point on Wednesday night with a 6-5 overtime loss in Carolina. Pittsburgh’s been solid on both ends of the ice. The Jets have had a terrible season, but are still only five points back from the Kings for the second Wild Card spot in the West with their 28-29-11 record. They’re coming off two losses in a row, losing 6-1 in Boston on Thursday. Winnipeg won the first game between these teams 5-2 at home in November. I like the Pens to answer back here and I’ll take them for a unit. I also like the over, which I’ll take for half a unit. Additionally, I’ll parlay Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kyle Connor, and Mark Scheifele to each get a point for half a unit.
Predators vs. Golden Knights (2:00)
Wouldn’t say this Western Conference matchup is great. The Predators aren’t great this year, but they’re actually just a point back from the Kings for the second Wild Card spot in the West with a 31-28-9 record. They’re coming off two wins in a row, beating the Kraken 3-1 at home on Thursday night. Statistically they haven’t been great on either end of the ice. The Golden Knights are in third place in the Pacific now with a 31-24-14 record, a point back from the Oilers for home ice in the first round. They’ve gotten shut out in their last two games, losing 4-0 at home to the Mammoth on Thursday after getting shut out 2-0 by the Sabres on Tuesday. These teams split their first two games in Vegas, with the Preds winning 4-2 on the road on New Year’s Eve and the Knights answering with a 7-2 win at home in January. I’d lean Vegas wins here on the road in Smashville in this matinee, but didn’t even consider betting it. I’d slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet that either. I thought about some player props, but don’t like any enough at their prices to bet em, so I’ll stay off this game entirely. I gotta be more selective with how bad my picks have turned out, especially on the point parlays.
Kings vs. Sabres (4:00)
Not a great cross conference game here. The Kings haven’t been great this year, but with how weak the bottom of the West is, they’re in the second Wild Card spot in the West with a 28-24-16 record, a point ahead of Seattle and Nashville. Their defense and goaltending has been pretty good, but their offense is pathetic. The Sabres are a complete wagon, leading the Atlantic Division with a 43-20-6 record, two points back from the Hurricanes for first overall in the East and four points ahead of the Lightning. We’re on a three game win streak, coming off two shutout wins in a row to start this West coast road trip, beating the Sharks 5-0 on Thursday after beating Vegas 2-0 on Tuesday. The Sabres won the first game between these teams pretty easily at home in January, winning 4-1. I like my boys to win again here on the road and I’ll take them for 1.5 units. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Tage Thompson, Artemi Panarin, and Adrian Kempe to each get a point for half a unit.
Wild vs. Stars (4:00)
Fantastic matchup here in the Central Division between the two teams likely to play in the first round of the playoffs. The Wild are struggling right now though, in third place in the division with a 39-19-12 record. They’re coming off a 2-1 loss at home to the Blackhawks on Thursday and have just one win in their last five games. They took another hit with their best player, Kirill Kaprizov out day to day with a lower body injury. The Stars have been the hottest team in the NHL recently (along with my Sabres), four points back from the Avs for first place, coming off a 2-1 shootout win on the road in Colorado and have gone 15-1-1 in their last 17 games. What’s even more impressive is that they’re doing it without Mikko Rantanen in the lineup. This team could absolutely win the Cup. These teams split their first two games this year, both winning 5-2 at home, with Dallas winning in October and Minnesota winning in December. I like the Stars to win here on the road, especially with Kirill the Thrill out, and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d slightly lean the over at 5.5, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston to each get a point for half a unit.
Sharks vs. Flyers (4:00)
Not the best cross conference game here. The Sharks are on a three game losing streak, coming off a 5-0 shutout loss at home to my Sabres on Thursday night, but are still just two points out of the second Wild Card spot in the West with a 32-29-6 record. The Flyers are more than likely out of the playoffs, but they’ve played better as of late with a 6-2-1 record in their last nine games to improve to 33-23-12 on the season, coming off a 4-3 shootout win in LA on Thursday night. Philly won the first game between these teams 4-1 at home in December. I’d slightly lean they win again here on the road, but not enough to bet them. I’d also lean the under, but not enough to take that either. The only player prop I like is Celebrini in this one, he’s too expensive to bet individually and I don’t like anyone else in this game to parlay him with, so I’ll stay off this game entirely.
Blue Jackets vs. Kraken (5:00)
This cross conference game isn’t great. The Blue Jackets struggled for the first half of the season, but since January they’ve been fantastic, now finding themselves in a playoff spot, tied with the Islanders in third place in the Metro Division with a 36-21-11 record. Coming off a 6-3 win at home against the Rangers on Thursday, they’ve gone 18-2-4 in their last 24 games. The Kraken are a point behind the Kings for the second Wild Card spot in the West, with a 31-28-9 record. They haven’t been great, coming off a 3-1 loss in Nashville on Thursday, especially struggling offensively. Columbus won the first game between these teams 2-1 in a shootout on the road back in November. I like them to win again at home tonight and I’ll take the Jackets for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Zack Werenski and Kirill Marchenko to each get a point for half a unit.
Canadiens vs. Islanders (7:00)
Interesting matchup here in the Eastern Conference. The Habs are struggling a bit as of late, with just one win in their last four games, coming off a 3-1 loss in Detroit on Thursday. They’re tied with the Red Wings and Bruins for third in the Atlantic and the two Wild Card spots in the East with a 37-21-10 record. The Islanders are tied with the Blue Jackets for third place in the Metro and are a point behind that three way tie for the two Wild Card spots with a 39-25-5 record. These teams play the complete opposite styles of hockey, with a very good offense for the Habs, but terrible play on the back end, and a very good defense and stellar goaltending for the Isles with a pretty pathetic offense. The first game between these teams a little less than a month ago in Montreal went to overtime, with the Isles winning 4-3 on the road. I’d slightly lean the Habs win here at home to answer back and would slightly lean the over, but not enough to bet either. I will take a parlay on the Montreal side though with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky to each get a point for half a unit.
Senators vs. Maple Leafs (7:00)
The Battle of Ontario doesn’t have much luster to it this year. The Senators started the year pretty terrible, but they’re on a tear now flying up the standings, now five points back from the three way tie for playoff spots in the Atlantic. Coming off a 3-2 win at home against the Isles on Thursday, they’ve gone 12-3-2 in their last 17 games to improve to 35-24-9 on the season. The Leafs have been awful, at the bottom of the Atlantic like the Titanic with a 29-28-13 record, with Auston Matthews shut down for the rest of the season. They’re in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Hurricanes last night. These teams split their first two games this year in Toronto with the Leafs winning 7-5 at home in December and the Sens answering with a 5-2 win on the road in February. I like Ottawa to stay hot here on the road but with the moneyline at -290, I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. I’d lean the over, but with both teams trending under lately, I’ll lay off it. I’ll also parlay William Nylander, Tim Stutzle, and Brady Tkachuk for half a unit.
Canucks vs. Blues (7:00)
Pretty awful matchup here in the West. The Canucks are the worst team in the NHL with a pathetic 21-39-8 record, playing horrendous hockey on both ends of the ice, coming off a 6-2 loss at home against the Lightning on Thursday night. The Blues aren’t a whole lot better with their 27-30-11 record. They were kind of hot coming out of the break, but come into tonight off two losses in a row after a 2-1 shootout loss in Calgary on Wednesday night the first time I’ve bet them all season. These teams split their first two games, each winning on the road back in October, with the Blues winning 5-2 and the Canucks answering with a 4-3 shootout win. I’d expect St. Louis to keep that road trend going and win on the road here, and I guess I’ll go back to them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Red Wings vs. Bruins (8:00)
Big game here in the Atlantic Division that’s huge for the playoff race in the East. These teams are currently tied for the two Wild Card spots, also tied with Montreal for the third spot in the Atlantic. Detroit’s coming off two wins in a row, beating the Habs 3-1 on Thursday to improve to 38-23-8. The Bruins bounced back from overtime losses in Jersey and Montreal with a much needed 6-1 win at home against the Jets on Thursday. The Boston offense has been better, while Detroit’s been better on the back end. The Red Wings are 1-1-1 this year against the B’s, losing 3-2 in a shootout in November on the road, winning 5-4 at home in December, then getting shut out 3-0 in Boston in January. The side and total on this game are complete toss ups to me. I considered a handful of player props here. I’ll parlay David Pastrnak and Alex DeBrincat to each get a point for half a unit, and I’ll take Lucas Raymond on his own to get a point for half a unit.
Oilers vs. Lightning (10:00)
Fun cross conference matchup to end the night. The Oilers have been quite inconsistent this year, but with how weak the Pacific Division is, they’re in second place, three points back from the Ducks and a point ahead of the Golden Knights with a 34-27-9 record. After two wins in a row, they just got shut out 4-0 on Thursday and embarrassed once again by Florida after losing two straight Cups to them. After a bit of a slump to fall to second in the Atlantic, the Lightning are back to winning, with three wins in their last four games, with 6-2 wins in Vancouver on Thursday and Seattle on Tuesday to improve to 42-21-4 on the season, still four points back from my Sabres. The first game between these teams in Tampa back in November went to overtime, with the Bolts winning 2-1 at home. I like the Lightning to win again here and I’ll take them for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it at 6.5, juiced up to -135. I like a handful of player props too. I’ll parlay Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Evan Bouchard to each get a point for half a unit, then I’ll take McDavid and Kucherov to each get 2 points, both individually and parlayed together for half a unit each.
Bets
1u Penguins ML (-155)
.5u Penguins/Jets over 6.5 (+100)
.5u parlay: Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin/Kyle Connor/Mark Scheifele point each (+256)
1.5u Sabres ML (-125)
.5u parlay: Tage Thompson/Artemi Panarin/Adrian Kempe 1+ point each (+156)
1u Stars ML (-130)
.5u parlay: Matt Boldy/Quinn Hughes/Jason Robertson/Wyatt Johnston pt each (+182)
1u Blue Jackets ML (-180)
.5u parlay: Zach Werenski/Kirill Marchenko 1+ point each (-125)
.5u parlay: Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield/Juraj Slafkovsky 1+ point each (+112)
1u Senators in regulation (-175)
.5u parlay: William Nylander/Tim Stutzle/Brady Tkachuk 1+ point each (+174)
.5u Blues ML (-142)
.5u parlay: David Pastrnak/Alex DeBrincat 1+ point each (-125)
.5u Lucas Raymond over 0.5 point (-150)
1u Lightning ML (-135)
.5u parlay: Connor McDavid/Nikita Kucherov/Evan Bouchard 1+ point each (-135)
.5u Connor McDavid over 1.5 points (-110)
.5u Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points (-105)
.5u parlay: Connor McDavid/Nikita Kucherov 2+ points each (+234)
Record: 803-878-2 (-69.11 units)
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