NHL
Monday, February 6
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Pucking the trends: NHL betting news and notes
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Every week, we update you on who's hot, who's not and situational betting spots in the National Hockey League.
HOT TEAM: Buffalo Sabres
There are hotter teams out there in the league, but when you have a chance to put Buffalo up here this late in the year, it’s worth it simply because of the value you can grab with the Sabres.
Buffalo isn’t likely to make a miracle run to the postseason like it did last year, but it’s important to point out that the Sabres have points in their last four games - winning three of those - and haven’t lost a game in regulation since Jan. 21.
Goaltender Ryan Miller is back in his comfort zone, as he notched his 235th career victory against the Islanders Saturday night. In posting the 4-3 shootout victory, he overtook Dominik Hasek with the most wins in franchise history.
Of course, they still need help on offense. Jason Pominville has 17 goals and 48 points, and Thomas Vanek has 19 goals and 41 points, but no one else has more than 26 of the latter. For now, they seem to be getting by and have saved coach Lindy Ruff’s job along the way.
COLD TEAM: Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche and their young legs seem to be running out of steam as points become more precious in the Western Conference. On Saturday, Colorado blew a 2-1 lead to Vancouver in the final seconds, as the Canucks pulled goaltender Roberto Luongo. The Avalanche then lost in a shootout, pushing their losing streak to five.
Through Saturday night, the Avalanche, who haven’t won since Jan. 21, were three points out of the No. 8 postseason spot in the West and had two teams to jump - Minnesota and Dallas - to get there. What’s worse, they were just one point ahead of 12th place and fading fast.
Point production has been a problem and that will probably be their downfall this season. Ryan O'Reilly has 38 points, and Paul Stastny (32) and Milan Hejduk (30) have been decent, but there's not much else there. And that’s not going to be enough to hang in the ultra-competitive West.
OVER PLAY: San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have won three of four and things seem to be going well. But it's important to note a mild over run with an important stretch ahead of them. San Jose, which lost at Phoenix 5-3 on Saturday night, will return home for two games, but then embark on an eight-game trip out East.
They've been playing some up-and-down hockey and as the miles stack up on this trip, and the legs get tired. In other words, their defense may slip up a bit as fatigue sets in. Heading into Wednesday’s game against Calgary, San Jose had posted three consecutive overs, against Phoenix, Dallas and Columbus.
They still have plenty of offense with five players posting 30 or more points, including forwards Joe Thornton (44), Logan Couture (41), and Patrick Marleau (41). And before you know it, their ever-changing over/under record (23-27 through Saturday) may be even across the board.
UNDER PLAY: St. Louis Blues
The Blues, with new head coach Ken Hitchcock leading the way, continue to be one of the better under buys out there.
St. Louis lost to Nashville 3-1 Saturday. It was the Blues' second straight finish below the total and pushed the under streak to four games. In fact, headed into Tuesday's game against Ottawa, St. Louis was riding a 10-game stretch in which only one over was cashed (six unders, three pushes).
St. Louis has a healthy combination of two-way forwards, which has been the biggest key to the unders, and David Backes has led the way. Not only does he have 16 goals and 37 points, he is also a plus-15 and has 41 blocks. And that kind of play isn’t going anywhere, so consider the Blues a healthy under play the rest of the way.
Surveying the schedule:
-- The Rangers had a light week after the all-star break, but it picked up Sunday with a flurry. New York hosted Philadelphia a few hours before the Super Bowl, kicking off a seven-game stretch that will cover just 12 days. Expect goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to snag a few games off in that run as head coach John Tortorella eyes the postseason.
-- Phoenix has been one of the more inconsistent teams out there this season, and the Coyotes better hope they’re on one of their upswings this week. Monday’s game against Detroit will open a run of four games in a six-day span, and the opponents aren’t easy. In addition to the Red Wings, the Coyotes will meet the Stars (Tuesday), Flames (Thursday), and Blackhawks (Saturday).
