Dallas vs. New York Islanders
I am starting this article with this game. When writing up the Isles Hawks game the other night, there was one very important sentence I started to type and left out, and that sentence was how important Lane Lambert’s job relied on winning this game, and if they did not, his job would be all but gone. Well, the Isles lost, and Lane Lambert was fired. The shock of this firing was the replacement. The Isles turning to Patrick Roy was a complete shock. Patrick Roy was the coach who started the league pulling the goaltender down two or more goals. I hate Patrick Roy. He’s a grimy p.o.s and his son is no better. Check youtube when you have a chance to look at what a d-bag his son is. The Isles needed this though. They are a much better team on paper than they have been performing and Roy will bring an intensity to this team they have been lacking. There will be no bullshit and I would categorize Roy as a John Tortorella-esque coach. I hate Roy, but I love the move for them. We cashed two plays on Dallas yesterday making up for their performance against Philly and we’re going to find ways to target them. If there was a prop for total penalty minutes in the game I would max bet it. There’s a lot to unpack here. Ilya Sorokin needs a rest. And hasn’t had a full game off since December 20th and hasn’t had more than four days off since November 2nd. Sorokin has lost six of seven and needs to rest tomorrow. Chances are he will start again, especially in Roy’s debut. I expect the Isles to come out of a cannon tomorrow. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to win or even score. What I do expect is bodies to fly, this game to get chippy, and Roy to really set a precedent of who the Isles are going to be. I expect to see a lot of Matt Martin tomorrow and the fourth line of him and Cal Clutterbuck to see some extra ice time, as well as the top line of Matt Barzal and Bo Horvat to display some extra puck control and skill. Dallas on the other hand should come in and perform more like they did against Philly than they did last night against New Jersey.
Ottawa vs. Philadelphia:
We have won on this matchup this season, hitting Ottawa and the over. Philly is playing their third game in four days and with both Ersson and Hart playing yesterday, and Ersson starting against Dallas, both netminders should be a bit worn. I’m surprised to see Ottawa come in as the dogs here. Ottawa did lose five straight on a Western Conference road trip, and again to Colorado and Winnipeg at home knocking them down to 4-12-1 against the West this year. Depending on who gets confirmed in net will determine how I play this one. If Sogaard is in net, I see this game going over. If Korpisalo is in net, I will be taking Ottawa to win.
Minnesota vs. Carolina:
Not much to say about this matchup. It’s not one I watch often. When Carolina wins, they’re usually high scoring wins. When Minnesota wins, they’re usually low scoring. I expect Carolina to come out on top. I’m not sure this matchup is worth a play. I’m going to break down the rest of the slate and leave this game up to all of you depending on how you feel about the rest of the games.
Detroit vs. Tampa Bay:
There was a period where the Wings won two games in 25 matchups against the Lightning from 2016-2021 and we rode the Lightning a lot during that time going back to the Elite days. Over the past two years the matchup has leveled out. With Tampa coming off three straight cup appearances in the past four years and Detroit rebuilding, I expect a lot more out of Detroit in these matchups. Andrei Vasilevskiy had the night off against Buffalo yesterday and pushing our Lightning total of three was extremely frustrating after getting two early goals in the first. Resting Vas yesterday makes sense with his 14-2 record against the Wings in his career and he holds a 2.08 GAA against them. I’m not overly concerned in this matchup, but the one thing I highly recommend is HEDGING the Lightning if they get a one or two goal lead heading into the third. I’m concerned the Wings could wear them down by the third and catch the Lightning sleeping as they are an older and seasoned team that we’re used to. Alex Lyon has never faced the Lightning before and that should pose a problem for him and I see him being more star struck than elite. We could see three lightning goals in the first, or by early second at worst. I would not be surprised to see Lyon pulled in this matchup. I like the idea of Kucherov and Stamkos for over 1.5 points each, especially with Stamkos being +160 on that line. I’d really like to see the Lightning top line come out firing and take control of this game early. If they don’t break this game open by the third, it could be Detroit’s for the taking.
New York Rangers vs. Anaheim Ducks:
To be determined after the finish against the Kings.
Toronto vs. Seattle:
I don’t think the matchup between Seattle and Edmonton could have gone any more on par than what I expected. Seattle put up their two, Edmonton his their 3.5 team total, won the game, and we hit our three unit bet on the game over 5.5. A late major penalty by Yanni Gourde really affected the way the end of that game played out. I am going back to my expectations of Seattle that we saw against the Rangers. Toronto, on the other hand, has one win in their last six games and just gave up six goals against the Canucks. Toronto is in a prime rebound spot against Seattle. I will be looking at a ladder on the Toronto team total. Toronto’s stars should shine and run this score up especially with Beniers out and Yanni Gourde suspended for his hit Thursday night against Mattias Ekholm.
