Last night I went 5-7 in the NHL, losing 0.78 units. Not horrible. The field is set for the Stanley Cup Playoffs making a pretty meaningless nine game slate tonight with just a few teams playing for seeding. Let’s win!
I’m going to be going quite light these next few days with all the teams in the playoffs having their spots clinched. There isn’t much besides a bit of seeding for some teams to play for, and for the teams that are out of the playoffs, they’re just waiting to go to Cancun this weekend. With that, lineups will look quite different with teams not really playing for anything and resting stars for the playoffs. So I’m being pretty selective and reading games a bit differently.
Bruins vs. Devils (7:00)
The only thing that matters in this game is that the Bruins can clinch the first Wild Card spot with a win and lock in a matchup in the first round against the Sabres with a win of any kind. I’d think they’d rather face Buffalo than Carolina. I like Boston to win here and head to my town on Saturday, so I’ll take them for half a unit.
Islanders vs. Hurricanes (7:00)
Completely meaningless game here. The Isles are out of the playoffs and the Hurricanes are awaiting either the Bruins or the Senators, with first overall in the East clinched. I’ll lay off this game completely.
Flyers vs. Canadiens (7:00)
Both of these teams are in the playoffs but only the Habs are playing for something. The Flyers are locked in third place in the Metro and will be going to Pittsburgh to face the Pens in the first round. The Habs though are still playing for home ice, needing a win and a Lightning loss to get home ice in the first round. The price at -305 because of that makes sense. I’ll take Montreal in regulation for a unit.
Blue Jackets vs. Capitals (7:00)
Meaningless game with both of these teams eliminated from playoff contention with the Flyers getting in. This could be Ovi’s final game, but based on him waving off the handshake line against the Pens on Saturday, I’d bet he comes back next year for one more season. I’ll lay off this game entirely.
Wild vs. Ducks (8:00)
Both of these Western Conference teams are in the playoffs, but just the Ducks are playing for something. The Wild are locked into third in the Central and will face Dallas, and they’re already resting half their lineup for the playoffs. The Ducks are the only team with two games left that are in the playoffs and playing for something. They’re just a point back from the Oilers with a game in hand to get home ice in the first round, only a point ahead of the Kings to be swept by the Avs in the first round, and they can still win the division, three points back from the Golden Knights with a game in hand. I’ll take the Ducks here for half a unit, especially with Minnesota in the second half of a back to back.
Mammoth vs. Jets (9:00)
This game doesn’t mean much. The Mammoth are in the first Wild Card spot with two games to play and a point ahead of the Kings. They’ll want to hang onto that to play the winner of the weak Pacific Division rather than getting swept by the Avalanche. The Jets have been hot lately, but are out of the playoffs. I’ll parlay the Mammoth ML with Clayton Keller to get a point for a unit.
Flames vs. Avalanche (9:00)
Meaningless game here. The Flames are horrendous and out of the playoffs, while the Avalanche have the President’s Trophy locked up, awaiting who their opponent will be in the second Wild Card spot in the West. I’ll lay off this game.
Blues vs. Penguins (9:30)
Meaningless cross conference matchup. The Blues are in the second half of a back to back, eliminated from playoff contention, while the Penguins are preparing for their first round matchup against the Flyers, with home ice locked up. I’m not touching this game, expecting the Pens to likely sit a bunch of guys.
Canucks vs. Kings (10:00)
Awful matchup in the Pacific. The Canucks have the best lottery odds at first overall pick Gavin McKenna locked up as the worst team in the NHL. The Kings are still playing for something though, with two games remaining. They have their spot in the playoffs clinched but are in the second Wild Card spot, playing Colorado if they get less than two points in these last two games, and they’ll get swept in that series for sure. They could still move up to the first Wild Card spot to play the winner of the Pacific Division, and although they can’t win the division, four points back from Vegas and not even close to the tiebreaker of regulation wins, they can still get home ice in the first round with an Oilers regulation loss in their final game and the Ducks losing both of their two final games. They’re also just a point back from the Mammoth (in the first Wild Card spot) and the Ducks (in third place in the Pacific) to change who their matchup will be. Even in the second half of a back to back and probably resting some guys, I like the Kings to win here on the road. I’ll take them for half a unit.
Bets
.5u Bruins ML (-155)
1u Canadiens in regulation (-160)
.5u Ducks ML (-145)
1u parlay: Mammoth ML/Clayton Keller over 0.5 point (-140)
.5u Kings ML (-165)
Record: 929-1033-2 (-103.44 units)
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