Calgary vs Boston:

• What to know:
  • Calgary is coming in losing 6 in a row
  • Jonathan Huberdeau’s injury will most likely keep him out of action tonight.
  • Dan Vladar could get the start tonight with Jacob Markstrom starting and losing the last four games. 
  • Vladar was drafted by Boston and then traded to Calgary for a 3rd round draft pick.
  • Vladar faced Boston last year in a revenge game and shut them out en route to a Flames 4-0 win. 
  • Linus Ullmark has started the last five Boston games, winning four of them. Ullmark has faced the Flames four times (3 with Buffalo losing two / 1 with Boston winning).
• What should happen:
  • With Boston coming in 11-2 on the year and Calgary losing 6 straight this should be an expected win for Boston. 
  • Jonathan Huberdeau being out adds to the expectation of Boston winning. 
  • Calgary should start Vladar in net for the revenge narrative after shutting Boston out last year and Markstrom losing four in a row. 
• Expected Gameflow:
  • Even with Huberdeau out Calgary took the Devils to the last second of the game. 
  • Even though Calgary is on a six game losing streak, they’ve held leads in games against Edmonton (up 2-1, lost 3-2) Seattle (Up 4-2, lost 6-5), New Jersey (Up 1-0, went down 3-1, then tied it 3-3 before losing in overtime), the Islanders (up 3-1, lost 4-3 in OT), and 1-0 again to New Jersey before losing 3-2.
  • People will assume this should be an easy win for Boston seeing Calgary on a six game losing streak and the Bruins record.
  • This game should be more back and forth and higher scoring than expected. 
• What I will be betting on:
  • There is a value on Calgary +145 to include in a long shot parlay.
  • I will update this as the day goes on but right now I project Vladar to start who hasn’t had the best start of the season. Keith Kinkaid could get the start for Boston. 
  • Both offenses are averaging over 3 goals per game with Calgary giving up 3.33 per game with Boston giving up 2.38 per game. IF Boston does win tonight, this game should put the score at 3-2 at minimum going into the 3rd period. 
  • My best bet on this game is betting this game to go over 5.5 goals expecting both offenses to produce 
• What could go wrong:
  • Both Vladar and Ullmark turn in top performances. The odds of this are not likely with the amount of offensive opportunities I expect both teams to have.
  • Calgary struggles worse than they’ve been and Boston wins 3-1 or 4-1. 

Edmonton vs Carolina:

• What to know:
  • Freddy Andersen missed last night’s game due to tweaking something per Rod Brind’amour and could miss tonight as well. 
  • Pyotr Kochetkov could get the start tonight. Kochetkov went 3-0 with a 2.42 in three regular season games before going 1-2 with a 3.49 in four appearances in the playoffs. 
  • Evander Kane will be out for 3-4 months with a lacerated wrist after the scary scene that took place against the Lightning on Tuesday.
  • Edmonton comes in with the most goals scored in the West with a total of 53.
  • Jack Campbell has been horrific in net for Edmonton. Even though he sports a 6-3 record, he’s giving up close to four goals per game. 
  • Carolina’s offense is one of the lowest scoring offenses in the East 
  •  
• What should happen:
  • Depending who starts in net for Carolina will determine how this game will go. Carolina coming off a shutout loss to Florida last night should be a motivator for them to press the net and want to get to Jack Campbell as often as possible.
  • If Kochetkov is in net, Edmonton should be able to put up a high scoring one sided pace with Carolina struggling to match it. Even with Kane out Edmonton’s offense should be fine.
• What I will be betting on:
  • Edmonton’s team total sits at 3 right now meaning 2.5 alt line is juiced to only -182. I’m inclined to jump on that line now because if any reports come out that Andersen isn’t starting, the team total should jump to 3.5 
• What could go wrong:
  • Andersen starts. 

Ottawa vs New Jersey:

• What to know:
  • Two teams who are on different sides of the spectrum. Devils come in 10-3 while Ottawa comes in 4-8 on the year. 
  • The Devils are fifth in the league in goals for with 3.62 per game while Ottawa is sixth in the league in goals against with 3.67 goals against. 
• What should happen:
  • The Devils should see this as an easy matchup for them.
  • The Devils top line of Jack Hughes, Nico Hieschier, and Jesper Bratt have been phenomenal all being healthy and playing together leading the Devils out to the strong start they’ve had.
• What I will be betting on:
  • This is a matchup where I am betting solely on the different levels of talent with the Devils being home. I am expecting the Devils to be able to score tonight and don’t want to worry about what Ottawa does offensively. With New Jersey’s team total being 3.5 at only -129 this is a line im willing to put two units on and live or die by the result. 
• What could go wrong:
  • The Devils have their first bad game in a while and are unable to break through on Ottawa and Anton Forsberg. 

Philadelphia vs Columbus:

• What to know:
  • Columbus is coming in as one of the worst teams in the league right now and are really struggling.
  • Elvis Merzlikins has been having a horrific start to the season and may be the worst starting goalie in the league right now.
  • Carter Hart is not only playing Vezina like but also Hart Trophy like for Philly going 6-0-2 with a 1.97 GAA. 
  • Joonas Korpisalo gets the start for Columbus today who has never faced the Flyers in his time.
  • When looking at the history following me, the Flyers vs Blue Jackets have been a game I always targeted over the years. In sports there are specific trends some will bet on and follow (i.e Washington vs Pitt overs). This game falls into that category. These two teams are in completely different places than they were in those times. We’ve been able to cash in on this matchup so if you have not followed this trend over the years, it may be a game worth staying away from.
  • Since 2018, 9 of 12 games between these two saw 6 goals or more scored.
• What to expect:
  • Carter Hart has been stelar this season. He has the ability to lock down a Columbus team that is second worst in the league in terms of goals per game with only 2.5.
  • Johnny Gaudreau and Patrick Laine have not clicked yet but a matchup with the Flyers could help them get going. THe problem is Carter Hart has been too good in net to expect an easy game.
• What I will be betting on:
  • The over 5.5 is going to be my play, but you have to understand this is a trend play that I have had great success with over the years. I am hoping that Korpisalo being in net for Philly makes their side of the total easier to get to the 2-3 goal mark with Columbus being able to contribute their half as well. If you are stressed for units or wins or losses, this is a game you would want to fade since I am going against the outcome expectations based on matchup and Hart starting.

Vegas vs Buffalo:

• What to know:
  • Jack Eichel returns to Buffalo where he’s going to get the shit booed out of him. This game matters for both sides and makes it unbettable for me. They have already faced off against each other with Buffalo winning and Eichel being a -1 on the day with 0 goals or 0 assists.
  • Eichel however is playing like the team MVP for Vegas this season leading them with 15 points and having them out to a 12-2 record.
• What to expect:
  • Vegas is the more rounded, better team and shouldn’t have trouble scoring tonight but rivalries and how personal this game is to Buffalo can change that script. 
  • This is a game that I feel is altered by the narrative coming into it and harder to project. On paper this should be a game where the Knights score 3+ but I’m not comfortable laying -177 to get 3, and if they do go off and score 4+ it should be a game we could pick up live at worst.

Rangers vs Detroit:

• What to know:
  • The Rangers get a rematch of their recent loss to Detroit in overtime.
  • As mentioned last time these two teams played, Detroit is a team that the Rangers franchise struggles with lately. 
  • THe Rangers have lost three in a row and blew a two goal lead in the third to the Islanders. 
  • Detroit is second in the Atlantic racking up an extra three points from OTL, otherwise they’d be sitting second to last being 7-6 overall. 
  • The Rangers have struggled offensively averaging only 2.79 goals per game this season with Chris Kreider being a major factor. Kreider has been getting many chances but has not been able to finish at the pace he was last season scoring 50+ goals. 
• What to expect:
  • The Rangers are a better team than they’re playing like lately. I expect a full rebound game tonight. The team took the loss to the Islanders pretty hard las game and came out saying so. They feel they “deserved” to win that game (they didn’t ‘deserve’ it. They blew it and were handed a gift goal when Varlamov flipped the puck out of his own glove thinking he’d get a whistle. They collapsed and they paid the price for it and now they’re hungry. 
  • I expect the Rangers to come out in full force tonight pissed off over these last two losses and blowing a 2-0 to Detroit in that loss should provide extra motivation.
  • Alex Nedeljkovic is not comparable to Igor Shesterkin in net but is good. 
• What I’m betting on:
  • The Rangers should come out putting up a minimum of 3 goals on him tonight so I will be double dipping on the ML and the team total. This is a must win game for the Rangers in terms of where they are this week and the Red Wings are a team they need to take control of from start to finish.
  • I expect one of the best all around games from the Rangers and even a possible shutout by Shesterkin. 
• What could go wrong:
  • The Wings are not as bad of a team as they’ve been in the past and Ned has proven he can play top performances at times in his stint with Carolina when he went 15-5-3 with a 1.9 GAA. He has not played as well in his time in Detroit but had his best game of the season against the Rangers. What could go wrong is that he repeats that performance.