Carolina vs Tampa Bay:

• There isn’t much here to look at. It’s not a game I want to bet on. 
• Freddy Andersen vs Andrei Vasilevskiy is an elite goaltending matchup.
• This would have been the Eastern Conference FInals matchup last year had Andersen played. 
• I lean Carolina because they have fresher legs but it should be a low scoring 3-1 / 3-2 type win if Freddy plays well. 

Vegas vs Ottawa:

• Vegas looked slow yesterday against Washington and I worry you will see the same effect on Pitt and Toronto here with Vegas traveling and playing the East. Vegas is the much better team and in a 7 game series Vegas would win 4-1 or 4-2. I don’t trust them enough in a one off matchup this early in the season with a streaking Vegas team. The line is only -139 for a reason so Vegas themselves are skeptical.
• Ottawa’s team total is 2.5 and has interest to me. I’m not overly confident in this matchup since there’s not enough history here for me. Vegas has dominated the series winning 7 of the 8 times they’ve played. This is a different Ottawa team that they’ve seen in the past and this Vegas team is built differently too. I project this game to be a 2-1, 2-2, 3-2 type game in the third period with Ottawa being tied or ahead.If I am wrong, Vegas will be leading 4-1. I want Ottawa’s total in this game. 

Washington vs Detroit:

• Detroit has not been playing well lately and outside of the 2-1 win over Minnesota on Saturday that we all remember too well, they’ve been pretty embarrassed. 
• Washington should be able to out pace and outscore Detroit the majority of the game so I would expect this to be a 4-5 affair for Washington. Why I hesitate is because Washington has been banged up and T.J. Oshie is out . Washington allowed us to recoup our Vegas team total bet on Tuesday by only putting up two goals so I worry tomorrow will be a game where they get stuck in the mud. Over 5.5 -165 has my interest most.

Boston vs Rangers:

• Not a game worth betting in my opinion. Boston has been the better team but mid-season this should be an even matchup. I’d give Boston the early edge here.
• Boston has played at the Garden once in their last seven matchups which is abnormal.
• Jeremy Swayman is hurt but I think he sucks anyway so I would confirm that Linus Ullmark is in net if you do plan on betting Boston, otherwise you’re stuck with Keith Kinkaid. 

Montreal vs. Winnipeg:

• Not worth betting for me. Winnipeg is the better team but I don’t want to lay -215. Too much could go wrong in a matchup like this. When there’s this many games on a slate, a matchup like this isn’t a favorable one to narrow down too. The lines are too big where you’re either laying heavy juice on a heavy money line, or betting an over priced team total because they’re playing the Canadiens. I’ve seen Montreal play too well at times to jump on Winnipeg’s numbers here. If the Jets do blow them out, who cares, you’d be laying over -200 or sweating out 4 goals to win. 

Islanders vs Blues:

• As a fan, I am biased here. I really like the Islanders team total of 2.5 here and will be on it small for a unit. 
• The Isles have been clicking as of late winning four in a row while St. Louis has been reeling, losing their last five. The Isles have looked like the better team as of late but they’re still the Islanders and do everything wrong. I expect the Isles to at least get to three goals tomorrow win or lose so I do feel it is the safest bet. If Sorokin is in net tomorrow it makes me like the Islanders a lot more to win. 

Minnesota vs Seattle:

• I hope by now you know how much I love this Seattle team. If you read my pre-season article you’d have read how much I love this offense to play above expectations and how much I believe this defense and goaltending will be the reason the Kraken don’t make it too far. 
• Minnesota is in the same boat. They have scored 3 or more goals in every game this season except for Saturday. Again, I know. 
• 5.5 tomorrow is going to be juicy but I like it. Even if Marc-Andre Fleury starts, he hasn’t played well enough for me to think Seattle doesn’t net at least two tomorrow. Minnesota should win but Seattle is playing even further above expectations than I expected and I may have been the highest person on them. Last night’s win over Calgary was a huge win for them and it’s going to give this team a lot of confidence. Last night was a statement win for this team and this offense, but their defensive play still gave up 4 goals. 
• Tomorrow is a ladder game for me here but 5.5 is definitely a top play. 

Chicago vs Los Angeles:

• You have two bad teams defensively that can both score. This total should be 7 and the fact that we’re getting 7 at +175 is a joke. 
• If both goaltenders play their best games of their lives tomorrow so be it but the chances are this game ends in the 5-4 range. Two ladder Thursday with the WIld game and this game. 
• I look at this game like the Sharks and Ducks game we hit live last night.