Sportswagers
Montreal @ SAN JOSE
Montreal -109 over SAN JOSE
OT included. The Canadiens are one of the few teams in the league that you can feel pretty confident about should the game go into OT or a shootout. It’s for that reason we’re in favor of playing them with OT included as oppose to spotting a half puck on the road. Besides that, the Habs are red-hot. Montreal has won four in a row and six of its past eight. Its only two losses over that span occurred against Florida and Ottawa. Against Ottawa, Dustin Tokarski was in goal and the Habs lost despite outshooting the Sens, 44-39. In the other loss to Florida, Montreal outshot them 39-21 and lost in OT. The Canadiens could easily be on an eight-game winning streak. Over their current four-game winning streak they have outscored the opposition 17-5. When Montreal is scoring goals like they are now, they instantly become one of the toughest teams in the NHL to defeat because Carey Price gives up very little. Price’s is in such good form that he’s in the opposition’s head before the opposition even steps on the ice. Having that psychological edge makes Price even better. We also like that Montreal begins a four-game, West Coast trip here, as teams are often at their best in the first game of an extended trip.
Then there’s San Jose, a talented team that lacks everything but talent. The Sharks have been in a playoff position the entire year up until very recently. They are now five points back of Minnesota and eight points behind Winnipeg for the final two playoff (Wild Card) positions. They have also fallen behind Los Angeles. In other words, the Sharks are finished. If they had a different mindset or a burning desire to win, we wouldn’t count them out with 19 games remaining but they don’t. Instead, San Jose is a team that has always crumbled when the going gets tough. They’re in crumble mode now with three losses in a row and 11 losses in their last 13 games. Outside of a 5-2 victory over the defenseless Stars, the Sharkies have scored two goals or less in the five other games over their last six. We get hot versus cold, we get true intensity against very little and we get Carey Price over Antti Niemi. The best part is that we get it for under a dime. Pencil us in for that.
Our Pick
Montreal -109 (Risking 2.18 units - To Win: 2.00)
Nashville @ N.Y. RANGERS
N.Y. RANGERS -110 over Nashville
OT Included. The Predators own the most points in the NHL but it can all be attributed to their 26-5-1 record at home. Have you seen this team play on the road lately? Well, it’s not a pretty sight. Nashville is a different team on the road, especially over the past six weeks in which they have three road wins in nine games. Those victories occurred against Buffalo (2-1), Florida (in a game they were completely dominated in and won it in OT) and Pittsburgh. The Preds are just 15-16 overall on the road and right now they are struggling big time. In fact, Nashville’s only two wins over its last six games came against Buffalo and Colorado with the latter being in Nashville. Pekka Rinne, who was on fire for the first four months of the season has been nothing but average since he returned from an injury on February 10. The market is giving Nashville way too much credit on the road here because of its overall record and that’s something we are going to attack.
The Rangers are 20-7-5 at home. Their only regulation loss over their past 10 homes games occurred by a score of 1-0 against Montreal. Over its past 20 home games, New York is 16-4. Two of those four losses occurred in the first game back from a West Coast trip. The Rangers are as good as any team out there and we’re not just talking about the East. Rarely do they get outworked or outplayed. The addition of Keith Yandle makes them instantly better, especially on the PP, where Yandle led the league in assists playing for the offensively challenged Coyotes. The Preds overall record is better than the sum of its parts. You can never underestimate the intangibles that make a good team a great one but that does not apply to the Predators on the road. The Rangers are great team, both on the road and at home and we’re thrilled to be spotting such a cheap price with this juggernaut at home, where they rarely lose.
Our Pick
N.Y. RANGERS -110 (Risking 2.12 units - To Win: 1.93)
Carolina @ CHICAGO
Carolina +180 over CHICAGO
OT included. Antoine Vermette is not Patrick Kane. Kimmo Timonen hasn’t played in almost a year and he’s 40-years-old so chances are he’s not going to be flying out there. Timonen may eventually help Chicago but he’s a big liability in his first few games because he's as rusty as an old bicycle and can't keep up with the speed of the game. Patrick Sharp is dealing with some off-ice issues that have become a distraction. Sharp has three goals this year. Despite all of that, the Blackhawks are still tough as shoe leather but they’re struggling right now with four losses over their past six games. Chicago’s only victories over that span both came against the Panthers and one of those was in OT. The Blackhawks have recent home losses to Colorado (4-1), Boston (6-2) and Detroit (3-2), not to mention a 4-0 loss at Tampa on Saturday. Carolina is playing as good or better than all those teams.
The Hurricanes have outshot each of their past 12 opponents and it’s been by a wide margin more times than not. They went into Long Island on Saturday and completely overwhelmed the Islanders in a 5-3 victory but that’s a flattering score to the Islanders. It might as well have been 7-0 because that’s how dominant the ‘Canes were, outshooting the Islanders 41-24. They also fired away 38 shots on Washington the game before in a 3-0 victory. Carolina has won three in a row while outscoring the opposition 12-4 and outshooting them by a whopping 114-76. It doesn’t end there either. Carolina’s dominance over the opposition has been going on for well over a month. The ‘Canes have a poor record because of some extremely poor “puck luck” for the first three months of the season but now the puck is going in. Winning in Chicago is always tough but the ‘Canes are playing too well right now to ignore in this spot. There could also be an adjustment period for the Blackhawks, as they try new lines and welcome a couple of new players. For a team that is as hot and confident as the Hurricanes are right now, the price is right and the timing is right also.
Our Pick
Carolina +180 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 3.60)
Montreal @ SAN JOSE
Montreal -109 over SAN JOSE
OT included. The Canadiens are one of the few teams in the league that you can feel pretty confident about should the game go into OT or a shootout. It’s for that reason we’re in favor of playing them with OT included as oppose to spotting a half puck on the road. Besides that, the Habs are red-hot. Montreal has won four in a row and six of its past eight. Its only two losses over that span occurred against Florida and Ottawa. Against Ottawa, Dustin Tokarski was in goal and the Habs lost despite outshooting the Sens, 44-39. In the other loss to Florida, Montreal outshot them 39-21 and lost in OT. The Canadiens could easily be on an eight-game winning streak. Over their current four-game winning streak they have outscored the opposition 17-5. When Montreal is scoring goals like they are now, they instantly become one of the toughest teams in the NHL to defeat because Carey Price gives up very little. Price’s is in such good form that he’s in the opposition’s head before the opposition even steps on the ice. Having that psychological edge makes Price even better. We also like that Montreal begins a four-game, West Coast trip here, as teams are often at their best in the first game of an extended trip.
Then there’s San Jose, a talented team that lacks everything but talent. The Sharks have been in a playoff position the entire year up until very recently. They are now five points back of Minnesota and eight points behind Winnipeg for the final two playoff (Wild Card) positions. They have also fallen behind Los Angeles. In other words, the Sharks are finished. If they had a different mindset or a burning desire to win, we wouldn’t count them out with 19 games remaining but they don’t. Instead, San Jose is a team that has always crumbled when the going gets tough. They’re in crumble mode now with three losses in a row and 11 losses in their last 13 games. Outside of a 5-2 victory over the defenseless Stars, the Sharkies have scored two goals or less in the five other games over their last six. We get hot versus cold, we get true intensity against very little and we get Carey Price over Antti Niemi. The best part is that we get it for under a dime. Pencil us in for that.
Our Pick
Montreal -109 (Risking 2.18 units - To Win: 2.00)
Nashville @ N.Y. RANGERS
N.Y. RANGERS -110 over Nashville
OT Included. The Predators own the most points in the NHL but it can all be attributed to their 26-5-1 record at home. Have you seen this team play on the road lately? Well, it’s not a pretty sight. Nashville is a different team on the road, especially over the past six weeks in which they have three road wins in nine games. Those victories occurred against Buffalo (2-1), Florida (in a game they were completely dominated in and won it in OT) and Pittsburgh. The Preds are just 15-16 overall on the road and right now they are struggling big time. In fact, Nashville’s only two wins over its last six games came against Buffalo and Colorado with the latter being in Nashville. Pekka Rinne, who was on fire for the first four months of the season has been nothing but average since he returned from an injury on February 10. The market is giving Nashville way too much credit on the road here because of its overall record and that’s something we are going to attack.
The Rangers are 20-7-5 at home. Their only regulation loss over their past 10 homes games occurred by a score of 1-0 against Montreal. Over its past 20 home games, New York is 16-4. Two of those four losses occurred in the first game back from a West Coast trip. The Rangers are as good as any team out there and we’re not just talking about the East. Rarely do they get outworked or outplayed. The addition of Keith Yandle makes them instantly better, especially on the PP, where Yandle led the league in assists playing for the offensively challenged Coyotes. The Preds overall record is better than the sum of its parts. You can never underestimate the intangibles that make a good team a great one but that does not apply to the Predators on the road. The Rangers are great team, both on the road and at home and we’re thrilled to be spotting such a cheap price with this juggernaut at home, where they rarely lose.
Our Pick
N.Y. RANGERS -110 (Risking 2.12 units - To Win: 1.93)
Carolina @ CHICAGO
Carolina +180 over CHICAGO
OT included. Antoine Vermette is not Patrick Kane. Kimmo Timonen hasn’t played in almost a year and he’s 40-years-old so chances are he’s not going to be flying out there. Timonen may eventually help Chicago but he’s a big liability in his first few games because he's as rusty as an old bicycle and can't keep up with the speed of the game. Patrick Sharp is dealing with some off-ice issues that have become a distraction. Sharp has three goals this year. Despite all of that, the Blackhawks are still tough as shoe leather but they’re struggling right now with four losses over their past six games. Chicago’s only victories over that span both came against the Panthers and one of those was in OT. The Blackhawks have recent home losses to Colorado (4-1), Boston (6-2) and Detroit (3-2), not to mention a 4-0 loss at Tampa on Saturday. Carolina is playing as good or better than all those teams.
The Hurricanes have outshot each of their past 12 opponents and it’s been by a wide margin more times than not. They went into Long Island on Saturday and completely overwhelmed the Islanders in a 5-3 victory but that’s a flattering score to the Islanders. It might as well have been 7-0 because that’s how dominant the ‘Canes were, outshooting the Islanders 41-24. They also fired away 38 shots on Washington the game before in a 3-0 victory. Carolina has won three in a row while outscoring the opposition 12-4 and outshooting them by a whopping 114-76. It doesn’t end there either. Carolina’s dominance over the opposition has been going on for well over a month. The ‘Canes have a poor record because of some extremely poor “puck luck” for the first three months of the season but now the puck is going in. Winning in Chicago is always tough but the ‘Canes are playing too well right now to ignore in this spot. There could also be an adjustment period for the Blackhawks, as they try new lines and welcome a couple of new players. For a team that is as hot and confident as the Hurricanes are right now, the price is right and the timing is right also.
Our Pick
Carolina +180 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 3.60)
Dave Essler | NBA Sides
dime bet – 706 Brooklyn 6.0 (-120) vs 705 GSW
Analysis: Bovada does have +6 but I used -120 “just because” I don’t want grief and I DO want the hook. B2B for Golden State, last game of a road trip, and how much effort must they have used to come back from -26 at Boston last night. They’ve been on the road since the 22nd of February, and NINE of the last TEN games. They’ve got a five game lead (in the loss column) over Memphis. Brooklyn is batting .500 the last ten games, and sits a game out of a playoff spot, so they haven’t tanked yet.
dime bet – 706 Brooklyn 6.0 (-120) vs 705 GSW
Analysis: Bovada does have +6 but I used -120 “just because” I don’t want grief and I DO want the hook. B2B for Golden State, last game of a road trip, and how much effort must they have used to come back from -26 at Boston last night. They’ve been on the road since the 22nd of February, and NINE of the last TEN games. They’ve got a five game lead (in the loss column) over Memphis. Brooklyn is batting .500 the last ten games, and sits a game out of a playoff spot, so they haven’t tanked yet.
