| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | +0.04 |
| Last 30 Days | 31 | 33 | 0.00 | +15.18 |
| Season to Date | 61 | 68 | 0.00 | +21.76 |
All plays are for 2 units
Arizona +127 over CAROLINA
5:00 PM EST. OT included. Hockey is a funny game. Here we have been backing the Hurricanes all season because they have been undervalued while dominating puck possession time and shots on goal. We have ripped up plenty of tickets this year on the ‘Canes after they would outshoot their opponent by 15 shots or more and lose by three goals. Carolina’s extremely weak goaltending has been the reason it has lost so may games. Last night, as a pooch at home to the Habs, Carolina finally gets dominated in the shots on net category, 39-38 and beat Montreal, 3-2. Cam Ward had a great game last night but expecting Ward to have consecutive good games in less than a 24-hour period is completely unreasonable. The more likely scenario is that stiff gets yanked in this one after allowing four goals on the first 10 shots. The point is, the ‘Canes remain a huge risk as the chalk because they don’t score enough and because Ward is awful.
The Coyotes, meanwhile, are in a slump and the market is eating it up. Arizona will play the fourth game of a five-game trip here and the only thing they have to show for their efforts is damaged dignity after being outscored 15-5 over those three losses to Nashville, Detroit and Buffalo. The Coyotes play too hard and care too much for this to continue much longer. This is a team with a lot of young guys but they have NHL caliber talent throughout the lineup. Every GM in the league would love to have some of the elite potential of at least a half dozen players on the ‘Yotes. Reports out of practice are that the Coyotes had a very spirited practice yesterday. Dave Tippett is one of the best coaches in the game and knows how to motivate and keep his guys focused. The Coyotes have come off the rails a bit recently but it won’t be long before they get back on track. Arizona could not have handpicked a better assignment than this one to put them back on track. Refusing a price like this against Carolina’s poor production and weak goaltending is not in our toolbox.
Winnipeg +188 over CHICAGO
5:00 PM EST. OT included. Chicago is still a tough team. Despite losing some key players via free agency or trade, Chicago has picked up points in eight of its last 10 games. However, the Blackhawks are just 13-13 and they’re finding that winning isn’t as easy as it used to be. The opposition always gets a little extra jacked up to play this team because they are the champs. Chicago may be in a difficult spot here too. The Blackhawks have travelled for 10 consecutive games so this will their 11th straight in which they’ve had to board a plane to get to their next game. It started with a road game in St. Louis on November 14. From there, Chicago came home for one game against Calgary before heading out for an exhausting six-game trip through Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles. After that trip, Chicago came home for one more game against Minnesota before heading out again for a game in Ottawa. This is the game after playing in Ottawa on Thursday. The Blackhawks have been poor in OT recently too, which sure doesn’t hurt our chances should the game get to that point. The Blackhawks are giving up plenty of scoring chances as well. There is a god chance the Blackhawks will be flat here. This has to be a tired group. However, even if the Blackhawks aren’t flat, we still give the Jets a legit shot.
Winnipeg got a serious booster shot with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck has started three of Winnipeg's last four games and has come away victorious each time. He was especially impressive in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Capitals. Solid goaltending resonates throughout the entire lineup. It changes everything. It gives players the confidence to be creative without the fear of messing up. Winnipeg’s goaltending before Hellebuyck showed up was brutal. The Jets seemed to be in a deep hole almost every game because of it. With Hellebuyck in goal, Winnipeg has outscored the opposition 11-3 in three games. Now playing with more confidence and seeing results, Winnipeg is dangerous once again. It’s amazing what a string of victories can do to a teams’ psyche. The Jets have a winning attitude again to go along with all that talent. The market has forgotten just how good these Jets can be so now would be the time to play them before a market adjustment kicks in.
Note: There is no guarantee that Hellebucyk will start today. We would assume he is in goal but in case he is not, Michael Hutchison has sick career numbers against Chicago so the bet will still be a go.
Buffalo +111 over EDMONTON
OT included. This is the perfect setup for the Sabres. Edmonton has won two in a row over Boston and Dallas. Almost the entire betting world bet the Stars to defeat Edmonton on Friday night and those folks are certainly not anxious to bet against Edmonton again here. The Oilers have won three of their last four games over Pittsburgh, Boston and Dallas with their only loss over that span coming in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Toronto is a city that every team gets jacked up to play in. That’s four intense games in a row with three resounding victories. The last two victories came after Edmonton returned home from a tough, five-game road trip. The Oil have not felt the effects of that road trip on the scoreboard yet but this enemy will very likely bring it out. It’s also worth mentioning that all those aforementioned three wins by Edmonton occurred in OT, which added to the excitement or the high that they experienced. Truth is, Edmonton could just as easily have lost those three games and we’d we writing about its seven-game losing streak instead.
Buffalo is so primed for a good game here. It is the Sabres first game of a three-game trip to the Canadian West Coast and they’re feeling pretty good about themselves after winning three of their last four and scoring four goals or more in four straight. The return of Evander Kane to the Sabres lineup has injected even more life into them. Kane’s passion and enthusiasm is infectious and while he can be a loose cannon from time to time, right now he’s happy and so are the Sabres that they picked him up. Kane is a great hockey player when he’s focused and it’s no coincidence that Buffalo is scoring more since his return. The Sabres now have two legit scoring lines and four lines that can produce. Every team in this league would take a fourth line consisting of Nicolas Deslauriers, David Legwand and Marcus Foligno. This is not last year’s Sabres. Buffalo is a legit team that has been a tough out all year and they’re just getting tougher each week. Jack Eichel may just be the best consolation prize that this league has seen in a very long time. Man, are these Sabres ever live here in this spot. Invest.
