Pick: Avalanche (+105)
There’s a full slate of NHL games tonight. If you’re wondering which game you should spend your time watching, look elsewhere. The Avs have won 2 of their last 10 games and the Flyers have won 1 in their last 7. This isn’t going to be what you might call “a barn burner”. However, I like the Avs to roll on the road here for the sake of making money. Duchene, MacKinnon, and Landeskog are all world class offensive threats and I don’t see any equal parts on the Flyers’ roster.
Saint Louis @ New Jersey
Pick: Blues (-135)
If you haven’t sat down and watched Vladimir Tarasenko play a game of hockey you haven’t lived. This Russian snipe show and his team head into the bowels of America (also known as New Jersey) to take on a hot Devils squad. The Devils are 8-2 in their last 10 after starting the season off 0-3-1. The Blues are 10-3-1 on the season and are consistently defeating good hockey clubs. I’m talking about a 6-5 win over Chicago, a 4-0 win over Nashville, a 3-2 win against Minnesota, and a 2-0 win versus Tampa. The Blues have been defeated in regulation 3 times and once in overtime. Those losses were against the Wild, the Habs, the Islanders, and the Kings. That tells me it takes a damn good hockey team to beat this Blues squad. The Devils are not that team.
Vancouver @ Columbus
Pick: Canucks (EVEN)
Vancouver’s record is 6-4-5 right now. Six of their games have gone beyond 60 minutes of play. One could argue the Canucks are merely a couple shots away from being a 9-10 win team right now. The Blue Jackets on the other hand are 4-11-0 through their first 15. Their roster, on paper, should yield much better results. We live in the real world though and for the sake of making money the ‘Nucks are the pick in this match up.
Buffalo @ Tampa Bay
Pick: Buffalo +1.5 (-170)
Captain Jack and the Sabres head on down to the warm state of Florida to take on the Lightning in what is a closer game than most people think. Buffalo is 6-8-0 right now. More importantly, 50% of their losses have been by 1 goal. Basically, the Sabres have a 50/50 chance of covering this spread. I think Buffalo is a solid team that can win on any given night right now. They could win this game; most likely they will not but there is a decent chance they will cover the spread.
Calgary @ Florida
Pick: Panthers (-140)
The Panthers are 3 days removed from a West Coast trip which featured them losing 3 straight games to Anaheim, San Jose, and LA. Despite their 5 game losing streak, I think Florida is the team to roll with here. The Panthers have shown they can play some damn good hockey so far this season. Maybe they are not a team to take on the road? Time will tell on that but, tonight they are at home taking on a Calgary Flames team who’s best players are Jiri Hudler and Johnny Gaudreau (more commonly known as Johnny Hockey). The Panthers have Jaromir Jagr for God’s sake. Jiri Hudler was a 2nd and 3rd line player on the Wings. If you put a decent player on a terrible team he’s going to have better stats. Someone has to score the goals. That doesn’t make him a great player though. I got nothing against Johnny Hockey. His enthusiasm and obvious love for what he gets to do for a living are palpable. That’s great for hockey. The Panthers have Jaromir Jagr though… and his Mullet.
Ottawa @ Nashville
Pick: Predators -1.5 (+165)
The Blues and the Penguins are the only 2 teams who have beaten the Predators at home this season. I don’t think the Senators amount to anything near either of those clubs. Basically, the only teams beating Smashville at home right now are teams that have plans to contend for a Stanley Cup; not teams hoping to make the playoffs.
Arizona @ Los Angeles
Pick: Kings -1.5 (+130)
The Kings are 9-2 after losing the first 3 games of the season. More importantly, probably, is the fact that the Coyotes finished a game in Anaheim (they won 4-3) around 1am EST and have to suit up and play again in Los Angeles in about 18 hours. The NHL schedule ROCKS!! Kings roll at home against a tired and injury prone Coyotes team. Side note: why is the NHL suddenly obsessed with back to back games?
NY Islanders @ San Jose
Pick: Islanders (EVEN)
The Islanders haven't lost 3 games in a row yet this season. They head into this game riding a 2 game losing streak and I think it ends here. The Sharks are going to have a tough time containing Tavares and Okposo, I believe.
Nutz's Bonus Picks
TOR @ DAL
Pick: Stars (-1.5) (+130)
This might be the sucker bet of the week, but you have to lay the points with a team as hot as the Stars right now. Though Toronto's lone victory came against Dallas earlier this year, the Leafs can expect an amped up Stars squad to come out determined to show that their early season matchup was a fluke. With Tyler Seguin leading the way I expect a 5-1 blowout to continue the Stars' dominance of the goal line spread.
Winnipeg @ Minnesota
Pick: Jets (+120)
I flip flopped on this pick all morning. One one hand you have the Wild who have morphed into a solid contender, but lost Zach Parise for a few games. On the other you have the Jets who are a bit of a surprise this season and are a solid bet for a wild card this season. I'm going Jets because you get better odds and I think the Wild are going to struggle to put teams away without Parise (7 goals, no one else on the team has more than 4). If you're looking for an easy win, add Jets +1.5 in a parlay tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment