| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 2 | 2 | 0.00 | +0.94 |
| Last 30 Days | 31 | 33 | 0.00 | +13.44 |
| Season to Date | 32 | 37 | 0.00 | +7.52 |
Boston +150 over N.Y. ISLANDERS
OT included. The Bruins are taking back this much because it’s their third game in four days and tail-end of back-to-backs after playing in Montreal last night. This one also goes off a little earlier (5:00 PM EST) than usual so it’ll be Boston playing two games in less than 24 hours. Had Boston defeated the Habs, we may have stayed away from this one but they didn’t and now the B’s have lost three straight. The other two losses occurred against Washington and Dallas. Just to recap, Boston has lost three straight to Montreal, Washington and Dallas. Combined, that trio is 34-8. Boston played nose-to-nose against the opposition in all of them and even outshot Dallas 39-19. These are young guys in great physical shape. Too much weight gets put on the “tired” angle when it means very little. Coming off successive games against three juggernauts, the Bruins now take a step down in class when facing these beatable Islanders.
By contrast, the Islanders have played New Jersey (x2), Calgary, Carolina and Buffalo in five of their past six games. The Isles have one win in their last five games, a 2-1 victory over the Devils. Over those last five games, the Islanders have scored two goals or less in all of them. That’s eight goals combined over their last five games. Statistically, there isn’t a lot to like about the Islanders in this price range. Their strength of schedule ranks 22 out of 30 teams. They rank 15th in shots against per game and 18th in shots for. Their analytics numbers aren’t very good either, as the Isles rank 22nd in puck possession. Then there’s that issue about the Barclays Center again. It’s void of atmosphere. The building has no life whatsoever and it matters, as there is nothing for the home side to feed off of. In the end, we’re absolutely going to attempt to take advantage of the market putting way too much emphasis on the B’s being tired. We trust that they’re more hungry than tired.
Dallas -½ +150 over DETROIT
Regulation only. 3:00 PM EST. We are all aware of the Stars great start and it’s no fluke. This team is loaded with offensive talent and they’re playing with a ton of confidence too. Defensively, Dallas keeps improving. The addition of Johnny Oduya has been stabilizing back there while the emergence of John Klingberg has been a thing of beauty. The Dallas Stars are a force this season.
The Red Wings are 7-6 and have won three in a row. They are still a popular team in the market and even more so when they play at The Joe. Unless you have watched this team play a bunch of games, you’re probably not aware of how sloppy and beatable they have become. Despite winning three in a row over the Maple Leafs (in OT), Bolts and Senators, Detroit was outshot in all of them. In 13 games played, the Red Wings have not had more than 30 shots on net in any game thus far and rank dead last in that department with an average of 25.8 shots on net per game. That works out to a mere eight shots on net per period and doesn’t take into consideration OT games. The Red Wings rank 28th in shots on net per game, ahead of only Philadelphia and Ottawa. Analytically, Detroit is the weakest team in the NHL after 13 games and the fact that they’re over .500 is completely distorted. They have accomplished all that by playing the weakest schedule in the league thus far (ranked 30 out of 30 teams). Detroit has played one game this season in 13 against a top-10 team and lost, 4-1 to the Canadiens. After a heavy dose of Toronto, Ottawa and Carolina, Detroit will now play its second game against a monster and they are ill-prepped to do so.
