Since the Avs found a way to lose 8-6 at home to the Canucks last night which shows the parity of the NHL with the worst team beating the best team in the league, I went 2-7 last night to lose 5.52 units. Huge 14 game slate tonight, let’s bounce back here.
Senators vs. Sabres (7:00)
Huge night for the Buffalo Sabres franchise with this game, as we can clinch a spot in the playoffs for the first time in a LONG 14 years with a win tonight in Ottawa. This should be a great game here between these Atlantic Division teams. The Senators are just two points out of the playoffs behind the Blue Jackets for the second Wild Card spot in the East. They’re on a three game losing streak though, losing 6-3 on the road to the Panthers on Tuesday to fall to 38-26-10 on the season. My Sabres could clinch tonight, tied with the Canes at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 46-21-8 record, two points ahead of the Lightning. We’re coming off two wins in a row after a nice 4-3 win in a great game at home against the Islanders on Tuesday. Buffalo won both previous games between these teams, 8-4 at home in the first week of the season for their first win of the year and then 3-2 in overtime on the road in December. I like my boys to get in the playoffs and end this drought tonight, completing the season sweep, and I’ll take them for half a unit. I also like the over, which I’ll take for half a unit, and I’ll parlay Tage Thompson, Tim Stutzle, and Brady Tkachuk to each get a point for half a unit. Tonight’s the night the world begins again!
Lightning vs. Penguins (7:00)
Fun game here between these two playoff teams in the East. The Lightning are two points out of first place in the East, behind the Sabres and Hurricanes with a 46-22-6 record. They’re coming off a 4-1 loss at home against the Habs on Tuesday, ending an eight game point streak. The Penguins are playing well with Sid and Geno back in the lineup, in second place in the Metro division with a 38-21-16 record, three points ahead of the Isles. They’ve won three of their last four games, coming off a 5-1 win at home against the Red Wings in the second half of a back to back on Tuesday. These teams split their first two games, with the Pens winning 4-3 on the road in December and the Bolts answering back with a 2-1 shootout win in Pittsburgh in January. I like Tampa to win here at home and I’ll take them for half a unit. I like the over better though, which I’ll take for a unit. I’ll also go with parlay here since I expect plenty of goals and for half a unit take Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin to each get a point for half a unit along with half a unit on Kucherov to get over 1.5 points after he got left off the scoresheet in his return to the lineup on Tuesday.
Panthers vs. Bruins (7:00)
Big mismatch here in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers are in last place in the Atlantic with a 36-35-3 record with their back to back Cup run coming to an end due to a ton of injuries. They ended a three game losing streak on Tuesday with a 6-3 win at home against the Senators. The Bruins have been hot, comfortably in the first Wild Card spot in the East with a 43-24-8 record, two points behind the Habs for third in the Atlantic. They’re on a four game win streak, coming off a big 6-3 win at home against the Stars on Tuesday and have won six of their last seven games. Florida won both previous games between these teams, 4-3 on the road in October and 5-4 at home in a shootout at home in February. I like Boston to avoid the season sweep here and I’ll take them for a unit. I like the over as well, which I’ll take for half a unit. Along with that, I’ll parlay David Pastrnak and Matthew Tkachuk to each get a point for half a unit.
Rangers vs. Canadiens (7:00)
Terrible Eastern Conference mismatch in this game. The Rangers are on a three game win streak, coming off a 4-1 win at home against the Devils in the Battle of the Hudson on Tuesday, but they’re the worst team in the East and eliminated from playoff contention with a 31-35-9 record. They’re awful at home, with a 12-18-7 record at MSG. The Habs have played fantastic hockey as of late, two points behind the Lightning for home ice in the first round, who they beat 4-1 on Tuesday on the road. That was their sixth straight win and they’ve gone 11-3 in their last 14 games, but the Bruins are hot on their tail, just two points behind them in the first Wild Card spot. New York shockingly has won both previous games between these teams, winning 4-3 on the road in October and 5-4 in overtime at home in December. I don’t see the Canadiens getting swept by the Rags on the season and I’ll take them for a unit at a much cheaper price than I expected here. I’d slightly lean the over, but with both of these teams trending under lately, I’ll lay off it. I’ll also parlay Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Mika Zibanejad to each get a point for half a unit.
Flyers vs. Red Wings (7:00)
Not the most interesting matchup in the Eastern Conference here, but it’s an important one with both of these teams just two points back from the Blue Jackets for the second Wild Card spot in the East. The Flyers are coming off a 6-4 loss in our nation’s capital on Tuesday (glad I stayed off that one) that ended a three game win streak, but they’ve gone 12-4-1 in their last 17 games to improve to 37-25-12 on the year. The Red Wings have been awful the last couple months, falling to 39-27-8 on the season. Coming off a 5-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, they have just one win (against my Sabres unfortunately) in their last five games and only seven in their last 21. Philly won the first game between these teams 5-3 on the road last Saturday. I’d slightly lean they win again here, but not enough to bet it. The total’s a complete crapshoot, and I considered betting a few player props but can’t seem to get those right on the Detroit guys, so I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Hurricanes vs. Blue Jackets (7:00)
If the playoffs started tonight this would be a first round matchup in the Metro Division, with the 47-21-6 Hurricanes tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with the tiebreaker over the Sabres and the Blue Jackets are in the second Wild Card in the East with a 38-25-12 record, two points ahead of the Flyers, Senators, and Red Wings. These teams just played for the third time this season on Tuesday, with the Canes winning 5-2 on the road, after the Blue Jackets won 5-1 at home earlier this month, and Carolina winning 4-1 at home in December. Columbus comes into tonight on a four game losing streak. I like Carolina to win again here and I’ll lay the -192 on them for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not quite enough to bet it at 6.5. I’ll also parlay Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Zach Werenski, and Kirill Marchenko to each get a point for half a unit.
Devils vs. Capitals (7:30)
Pretty boring Metro Division matchup here. The Devils are out of the playoffs with a 38-34-2 record and they’re coming off a 4-1 loss on the road to the Rangers on Tuesday, but have played much better since the Olympics break, going 10-5 in their last 15 games. The Capitals are on a three game win streak, coming off a big 6-4 win at home against the Flyers on Tuesday and are now just three points back from the Blue Jackets for the second Wild Card in the East with a 38-28-9 record. The Caps are 2-1 this year against Jersey, losing 3-2 in a shootout at home in November, winning 4-3 in overtime on the road in December and then winning 2-1 at home a couple weeks ago. I’d slightly lean Washington wins here on the road, but not enough to bet it. I’d also lean the over, but not enough to bet that either. The only player prop I like here is Jack Hughes, but he’s too expensive to bet on his own and I don’t like anyone else enough to parlay him with (I did consider taking Ovi in it), so I’ll stay off this game completely.
Stars vs. Jets (8:00)
A month ago this would’ve been an awful mismatch in the Central Division, but with how these teams have both played as of late, it makes it actually a pretty solid and interesting game. The Stars are still comfortably in second place in the Central, six points ahead of the Wild for home ice in the first round with a 44-19-12 record, but they’re struggling big time right now. Coming off a 6-3 loss in Boston on Tuesday, they have just one win in their last seven games. The Jets on the other hand have been hot, crawling out of their awful spot in last to now be just two points back from the Kings for the second Wild Card spot in the West. Coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Chicago on Tuesday, they’ve won four of their last five games to improve to 32-30-12 on the season. Dallas will look to complete the season sweep here tonight at home, winning 5-4 on the road in the first game of the season, 4-3 on the road in December, and then 4-3 in overtime at home in February. I’d lean the Stars get out of this slump with a win here at home, but don’t trust them to bet it. I’d also slightly lean the under, but not enough to bet that either. I won’t stay off this game completely though, and I’ll parlay Jason Robertson, Mikko Rantanen, Kyle Connor, and Mark Scheifele to each get a point for half a unit. I thought about adding Wyatt Johnston to that to juice it up a bit, but don’t really think it’s worth it.
Wild vs. Canucks (8:00)
Huge mismatch out West in this game. The Wild haven’t played great lately, with just three wins in their last nine games, coming off a 6-3 loss in Boston on Saturday, but they’re pretty much locked in to third in the Central with a 41-21-12 record. The Canucks are the worst team in the NHL, already eliminated from playoff contention with a pathetic 22-44-8 record and they’re in the second half of a back to back tonight. Last night they pulled off the biggest shocker of the season, beating the Avalanche 8-6 on the road as +380 underdogs, the biggest mismatch on the books of the years. That lost me a ton of money, showing how much parity is in this league that the best team in the league could lose to the worst team at home. Still fucking sucked though. That was just Vancouver’s sixth win in their last 36 games, ending a six game losing streak. These teams split their first two games, with the Wild winning 5-2 at home in November and the Canucks answering with a 4-2 win at home in December. I don’t see any shot that the Canucks win here two nights in a row on the road against good teams. I’ll take the Wild puck line for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to take it at 6.5. I’ll also parlay Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Quinn Hughes to each get a point for half a unit.
Oilers vs. Blackhawks (9:00)
This game isn’t great. The Oilers are climbing up the Pacific Division standings, on a four game win streak coming off shutting out the Kraken 3-0 at home on Tuesday. They’re now 38-28-9 on the season, two points behind the Ducks for first place in that pillow fight of a division and three points ahead of Vegas for home ice in the first round. The Blackhawks are the worst team in the Central with a 27-34-14 record, on a four game losing streak coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Jets on Tuesday. Edmonton won both previous games between these teams, winning 3-2 in overtime at home in November and then 4-1 on the road in January. I like them to complete the season sweep and I’ll take them in regulation for a unit, along with half a unit on Connor McDavid to get over 1.5 points. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Golden Knights vs. Flames (10:00)
This Pacific Division matchup isn’t great, but I could see it being a decent game. The Golden Knights ended a three game losing streak in their first game under John Tortorella, winning 4-2 at home on Monday night against the Canucks. They’re 33-26-16, three points back from the Oilers for home ice in the first round, and four ahead of the Kings in the second Wild Card spot (the Mammoth already have a better record than Vegas in the first Wild Card). The Flames are 31-35-8 on the season, outside of the playoff picture and coming off a 9-2 blowout in Colorado on Monday, but they’ve played better lately with a 5-1-1 record in their last seven games. The Knights are 2-1 this year against Calgary, winning 4-2 on the road in October, then 6-1 at home four days later, before losing 6-3 on the road in December. I like Vegas to win here and I’ll take them in regulation for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it. I’ll also parlay Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Mitch Marner to each get a point for half a unit.
Sharks vs. Maple Leafs (10:00)
Lousy cross conference matchup. The Sharks are on a three game win streak, in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 4-3 win at home against the Ducks last night, improving to 35-31-7 on the year to get within a point of the Kings for the second Wild Card in the West. The Leafs have played better lately too, with the same amount of points but way out of the playoff picture in the East, in second last in the Atlantic with a 32-30-13 record. Coming off a 5-4 overtime win in Anaheim on Monday, they’ve won three of their last four games. San Jose won the first game between these teams 3-2 in overtime back in December on the road. With the Sharks in the second half of a back to back, I’d slightly lean Toronto wins here, but not a chance in hell I’m touching the side in this game. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it at 6.5. I will parlay Macklin Celebrini and William Nylander to each get a point for half a unit as my only play on this one.
Kraken vs. Mammoth (10:00)
Boring game out West. The Kraken are struggling, coming off a 3-0 shutout loss in Edmonton on Tuesday to fall to 32-30-11 on the season. They’re still only three points back from the Kings for the second Wild Card in the West, but they’ve only won one of their last seven games and three of their last 13 games. The Mammoth are pretty comfortably in the first Wild Card in the West with a 38-30-6 record, but they haven’t been stellar lately either, coming off a 6-2 win in LA on Saturday. Utah won both previous games between these teams in high scoring games at home, 5-3 in December and 6-3 in January. I like them to complete the season sweep here on the road and I’ll parlay their moneyline with Clayton Keller to get a point for half a unit.
Kings vs. Predators (10:30)
Very important, but lousy game here in the Wild Card race in the West to the end the night, with the Preds a point back from the Kings for the second Wild Card spot. LA’s in the second half of a back to back tonight, coming off a 2-1 overtime win at home against the Blues, just their second win in their last seven games to improve to 30-26-18. The Preds are on a three game losing streak, falling to 34-31-9 on the year, coming off a 3-2 loss in Tampa on Sunday. The first game between these teams went to a shootout in October, with Smashville winning 5-4 at home. I’d slightly lean the they win again here on the road with the Kings in the second half of a back to back, but I’m not touching the side. I’d lean the under since neither of these teams can score, but I’m not touching that either. I’ll end my night with a half unit parlay on Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin, and Filip Forsberg to each get a point.
Bets
.5u Sabres ML (+100)
.5u Senators/Sabres over 6.5 (-105)
.5u parlay: Tage Thompson/Tim Stutzle/Brady Tkachuk 1+ point each (+202)
.5u Lightning ML (-170)
1u Lightning/Penguins over 6.5 (-115)
.5u parlay: Kucherov/Guentzel/Crosby/Malkin 1+ point each (+248)
.5u Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points (-125)
1u Bruins ML (-162)
.5u Bruins/Panthers over 6.5 (-102)
.5u parlay: David Pastrnak/Matthew Tkachuk 1+ point each (-150)
1u Canadiens ML (-125)
.5u parlay: Suzuki/Caufield/Slafkovsky/Zibanejad 1+ point each (+186)
1u Hurricanes ML (-192)
.5u parlay: Aho/Jarvis/Werenski/Marchenko 1+ point each (+238)
.5u parlay: Robertson/Rantanen/Connor/Scheifele 1+ point each (+168)
1u Wild -1.5 (-166)
.5u parlay: Kirill Kaprizov/Matt Boldy/Quinn Hughes 1+ point each (-105)
1u Oilers in regulation (-140)
.5u Connor McDavid over 1.5 points (-130)
.5u Golden Knights in regulation (-150)
.5u parlay: Jack Eichel/Mark Stone/Mitch Marner 1+ point each (-106)
.5u parlay: William Nylander/Macklin Celebrini 1+ point each (-155)
.5u parlay: Mammoth ML/Clayton Keller over 0.5 point (+116)
.5u parlay: Adrian Kempe/Artemi Panarin/Filip Forsberg 1+ point each (+150)
Record: 870-963-2 (-93.86 units)
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