Dave Cokin
Bonus Play Tuesday 9:05 PM
Tulsa got rolling in the second half and ended up with the comfortable win over Oral Roberts as the Monday Bonus Play. Tonight’s comp is in the NHL, where I’ve been playing very sporadically, but I’ve got a game I like this evening.
65 PREDATORS at 66 AVALANCHE
Take: PREDATORS -135
At first glance, this line seems high, considering Nashville has won only two road games all season. But I like the chances of the Predators grabbing two points tonight as they challenge the Avalanche.
First off, the Preds have gotten hot. They’re on a 7-3 run over their last ten games, and two of the losses are the two games that goalie Pekka Rinne didn’t play. This is a good hockey team and after muddling their way through the early portion of the schedule, it definitely appears that the Predators are starting to get it together.
Colorado is a bad hockey team. The Avalanche are absolutely feeble on offense, having scored a meager 44 goals in 20 games to date. Goalie Calvin Pickard has actually been outstanding for the Avs and he’s basically keeping them in games when he gets the call. Pickard is already confirmed as the starter for this game. His presence worries me a bit, but very little else does about this Avalanche team.
But even with Pickard in goal, I prefer the Nashville side here. The Preds own a big special teams advantage based on recent form and they’re a team that sure looks like it’s heating up. Nashville pretty well dominated Colorado in the one prior meeting this season, and I would not be surprised to see a similar result tonight. I’ll spot the price on the money line with Nashville.
