Date | Match Up | Rating | Score | Result | Profit | Lead Time | Analysis |
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04-01-21 | Blue Jackets v. Lightning -265 | Top | 2-3 | Win | 100 | 14 h 23 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over Columbus. The defending Stanley Cup champions are on a rare 3-game losing streak after dropping a 3-1 decision to these Blue Jackets on Tuesday. I look for the Lightning to bounce back tonight, as they're 48-19 (+17 games on the moneyline) off a loss. And Tampa's an eye-popping 25-3 (+20 games on the moneyline) after not scoring 2+ goals in its previous game! Meanwhile, Columbus is a poor 4-9 (minus 5 games on the moneyline) off a win, and 23-36 (minus 16 games on the moneyline) when playing its 3rd road game in five days. Take the Lightning. |
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04-01-21 | Capitals v. Islanders -125 | Top | 4-8 | Win | 100 | 14 h 23 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the New York Islanders over the Washington Capitals. New York returns home today after losing back-to-back games at Pittsburgh on Saturday and Monday. And the Isles also play with revenge from a 3-1 loss at Washington on March 16. The good news for New York tonight is that it's 24-16 (+7 games on the moneyline) off back to back losses. And it's 26-13 (+14 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge from a game where it failed to score 2+ goals. Take the Islanders. |
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03-31-21 | Wild -152 v. Sharks | Top | 2-4 | Loss | -152 | 19 h 28 m | Show |
At 10:35 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Wild over the San Jose Sharks. The Wild come into this game off a 4-3 loss to San Jose, and have 4 games against the Avalanche and Golden Knights on deck, so this game is important for Minnesota to win, as it tries to jockey for playoff positioning in the rugged West division. The Sharks are 3-10 off a win this season, and 33-41 (minus 17 games on the moneyline) after scoring more than 3 goals, while the Wild are 8-2 when playing with revenge from a loss to its opponent earlier in the season. Take Minnesota. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-31-21 | Flyers v. Sabres +172 | Top | 1-6 | Win | 172 | 16 h 26 m | Show |
At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the Buffalo Sabres over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sabres have tied the all-time NHL record for the most consecutive losses at 18 and tonight they "go for" the outright record. But not so fast. You have to feel that if they're going to break out of their losing ways, it's going to be against the Flyers. For one thing, it almost happened on Monday, as the Sabres raced to a 3-0 lead by the end of the second period. But the Flyers came back in the final 20 minutes to tie it and then they won it OT, thus extending the Sabres' misery. But that was the second straight Flyers-Sabres contest that had gone into overtime, and you just feel that Philly is the shakiest team -- defensively anyway -- in the division right now. So we're counting on tonight being the night that the Sabres put one up in the win column (but don't count on a win streak after that). Philly's defense and goaltending has been awful of late. In their last 12 games, the Flyers have allowed a total of 54 goals, or a GAA of 4.50. Take the Sabres. |
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03-31-21 | Maple Leafs -133 v. Jets | Top | 3-1 | Win | 100 | 16 h 25 m | Show |
At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Winnipeg Jets. These two teams met earlier this month in Toronto, and the Jets took 2 of 3, including the most recent meeting by a 5-2 score. We'll take Toronto to avenge that defeat, as it's 52-31 when playing with revenge, including 12-2 this season. Meanwhile, the Jets come into tonight off a 5-2 win at Calgary. But the Jets are a horrible 69-93 (minus 23 games on the moneyline) off a road win, and 2-9 at home after scoring more than 4 goals in their previous game. Take Toronto. |
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03-30-21 | Stars -114 v. Predators | Top | 2-3 | Loss | -114 | 14 h 36 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Stars over the Nashville Predators. These two teams have split their four meetings this season, with the Predators taking two games earlier this month and the Stars taking two back in January. But both of the March contests went to overtime shootouts, with Nashville prevailing, 4-3 both times. However, the two January games were not nearly as close, with Dallas out-scoring Nashville 10-2 over the two games. Not only that, but in the two losses this month, the Stars dominated play and out-shot the Preds by a lopsided 68-42 total. The Preds come into tonight on a five-game win streak including that last victory against tonight's opponents. Unlike the other meetings, the Preds will have to face the Stars tonight without the services of arguably their top forward, Filip Forsberg who has sat out the last two games with an upper-body injury, and is unlikely to be available. The Predators are 3-13 (-15 games on the moneyline) in their last 16 coming off two or more consecutive road victories. Take Dallas. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-30-21 | Devils v. Bruins -177 | Top | 4-5 | Win | 100 | 13 h 35 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the New Jersey Devils. Boston was shut out, 1-0, by New Jersey on Sunday. So, the Bruins will want to avenge that defeat tonight. In Sunday's loss, Boston threw 40 shots at Mackenzie Blackwood, but none got by the goalie. Interestingly, the last three times Boston had 40+ shots on goal, they lost all three games, and scored 0, 1 and 0 goals in those games! Still, if a team gets 40+ shots on goal, you will generally take your chances with the result. I look for Boston to bounce back on Tuesday, as the Devils are a horrid 31-49 (minus 35 games on the moneyline) after a road shutout win. Meanwhile, the Bruins are 21-11 (+6 games on the moneyline) off a shutout loss, and an awesome 51-21 (+18 games on the moneyline) off a strong defensive effort where they didn't allow 2+ goals. Take Boston tonight. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-29-21 | Islanders -105 v. Penguins | Top | 1-2 | Loss | -105 | 12 h 20 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the New York Islanders over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens come into tonight's game off a 6-3 win over these Islanders. And that triumph closed the gap between the 2nd Place Isles, and 3rd Place Penguins to a mere two points. Pittsburgh has now won each of its three previous games (all at home), but will be hard-pressed to extend its win streak to four games tonight. For technical support, consider that the Pens are a dismal 16-23 (minus 13 games on the moneyline) off three straight home wins, and 70-69 (minus 22 games on the moneyline) off a win by 3+ goals over a division rival. Meanwhile, New York is 29-17 (+12 games on the moneyline) after giving up 3+ goals in each of its two previous games. Take New York. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-28-21 | Ducks v. Blues -210 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -210 | 11 h 58 m | Show |
At 5:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the Anaheim Ducks. When you look up the definition of "frustrating loss" you might just get directed to the result of the Blues game against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. On the scoreboard, it looks like a three-goal win for the underdogs, but it was really a one-goal affair with some lucky bounces for the winners. After a scoreless first period, the Ducks got a pair in the second period including a fluky goal in the final minute. The Blues answered with a third period goal before Anaheim put a pair in an empty net in the final 1:03, resulting in a 4-1 final. Still, the Blues out-shot the Ducks 34-24 and dominated play over most of the 60 minutes. Today they have a chance to get on the right side of the score in this rematch. It could be tough for the Ducks to make it two in a row as they are just 10-28 in their last 38 coming off of a win, and 31-54 (minus 21 games on the moneyline) within the division. The Blues are 13-7 in their last 20 after three or more consecutive losses, and they're 9-3 after not scoring 3+ goals in any of their previous three games. Take St. Louis. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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03-27-21 | Jets v. Flames -119 | Top | 2-4 | Win | 100 | 6 h 16 m | Show |
At 10:05 pm, our selection is on the Calgary Flames over the Winnipeg Jets. The time for Calgary to get back into the playoff chase is getting shorter by the day. Yesterday, it lost its 4th straight game, 3-2 to these Jets, and Calgary now sits 4 points behind Montreal (but the Canadiens have played four less games). With the two #1 goalies (Jacob Markstrom, Connor Hellebuyck) having played last night, the two teams will turn to their #2 goalies for this contest (David Rittich, Laurent Brossoit). I look for Calgary to get back into the win column today, as it's cashed 63.1 the past three seasons off a 1-goal home defeat. Meanwhile, Winnipeg is a wallet-busting 14-26 off back-to-back road wins, and 11-28 on the road off 3 wins overall. Take Calgary tonight. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-25-21 | Golden Knights v. Avalanche -157 | Top | 1-5 | Win | 100 | 15 h 14 m | Show |
At 9 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Vegas Golden Knights. Last season, our preseason pick to win the Stanley Cup was on Tampa Bay, and we cashed the Lightning at 7-1 odds. This season, our choice was Colorado, also at 7-1 odds. The Avalanche got off to a slower-than-expected start, but have come on strong lately to get to within 2 points of the Golden Knights for 1st place in the division. So, this 2-game series here in Denver could catapult the Avs to the top of the standings. The Avalanche are 7-1 in their last eight games, and have outscored their opponents by 36-13 over those eight games (including a 6-0 mark in regulation). Colorado did lose the previous meeting this season against Vegas. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as they Avalanche are 9-0 this season when playing with revenge. And over the last 3 seasons, Colorado is 34-18 (+18 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge from a loss by 2+ goals. Meanwhile, Vegas does come into this game off a blowout 5-1 win. But the Golden Knights are a poor 8-11 (minus 10 games on the moneyline) off a win by more than 3 goals. Take Colorado. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-24-21 | Kings -102 v. Sharks | Top | 2-4 | Loss | -102 | 16 h 27 m | Show |
At 10:35 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Kings over San Jose. We played on the Sharks when these teams met two nights ago, and got the $$$$ in a thrilling 2-1 victory which saw San Jose's netminder, Martin Jones (and the post behind him), make some incredible saves late in the game to preserve the win. Los Angeles peppered Jones with 42 shots, but just were unable to catch a break. Cal Petersen (92.6% Saves Pct.) was given that game off in favor of the veteran goalie, Jonathan Quick (89.8% Saves Pct.), but Petersen should be back in goal for the Kings tonight. We'll take the Kings, as San Jose is a poor 2-9 off a win, while L.A. is a solid 36-32 (+16 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge. Take Los Angeles. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-24-21 | Flames -168 v. Senators | Top | 1-3 | Loss | -168 | 11 h 58 m | Show |
At 5:05 pm, our selection is on the Calgary Flames over the Ottawa Senators. The lowly Senators shocked the Flames on Monday night, taking a hard-fought 2-1 decision despite being out-shot by a whopping 36-23. They go for the two-game sweep tonight but the problem is they've only done that once previously this season and that was on February 21 and 23 when they took two straight over the Habs, both in OT. It's amazing that the Sens are able to win any games right now when you consider the goalie injuries they've had this season. It's rare for an NHL team to have its first two net-minders on the depth chart unavailable due to injury -- so what are the odds that three would be down for the count at the same time? But that's the situation in Ottawa right now with Murray (upper body), Hogberg (lower body), and Daccord (lower body) all out of action. Not surprisingly, Ottawa has the worst GAA of any team in the league at 3.82. The Senators are 3-15 (-12 games on the moneyline) in their last 18 off a home win vs. a division rival. Take Calgary. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-23-21 | Devils v. Flyers -155 | Top | 4-3 | Loss | -155 | 13 h 13 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the New Jersey Devils. The Devils beat the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Sunday, 2-1 in OT, giving them a series win two-games-to-one. But we've seen in the past that the Pens are a different team without star Evgeni Malkin and they were without him for all three of the Devils games over the weekend. For the Flyers, they lost a tough one last night to the Islanders in OT despite out-playing and out-shooting New York by a lopsided 37-20 margin. These two teams haven't met in almost two months with the Flyers taking both games played at the end of January in Jersey, 5-3 and 3-1. In fact with those two victories, the Flyers have now won five of the last six meetings with the Devils going back to March of 2019. The Devils are 3-12 (-10 games on the moneyline) in their last 15 coming off of a road victory by one goal. And they are 24-45 (-11 games on the moneyline) in their last 69 revenging a same season loss against an opponent. Take the Flyers. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-22-21 | Kings v. Sharks -123 | Top | 1-2 | Win | 100 | 14 h 28 m | Show |
At 10:35 pm, our selection is on the San Jose Sharks over the Los Angeles Kings. For the better part of the last dozen years, when you thought of the Kings, you thought of one man in goal -- Jonathan Quick. There were several seasons where Quick was at or near the top of the league in games started between the pipes. But at age 35, Quick's days in the NHL are clearly numbered and now it seems he is at best a co-number one goalie for Los Angeles. Drafted by Buffalo in 2015, 26-year-old Cal Petersen appears to be the heir-apparent to Quick and in fact he has played in more games (16 to 13) and has better numbers so far. Petersen was in goal last night at home for the Kings' upset victory over the Knights so with the overnight turnaround and travel north, it will be Quick who goes tonight in San Jose. These two have split the first two meetings this season, with the Kings winning the last one on February 11 so this is a revenge situation for San Jose. Despite their win last night, the Kings are just 3-8 in their last 11. Take the Sharks. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-22-21 | Hurricanes -157 v. Blue Jackets | Top | 3-0 | Win | 100 | 11 h 57 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Carolina Hurricanes over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets are the overtime kings of the league lately, with each of their last five games going beyond the mandatory 60 minutes. And the good news is that they've been victorious in three of those five, including the last two which have come against tonight's opponents, the Hurricanes. The bad news is that they will be without their #1 center, Alexandre Texier, who has been added to the COVID-19 protocol list (he apparently has a non-COVID illness) and will not be with the team today. Carolina's number one goalie Petr Mrazek is still out with an injured thumb (he should be back in a couple of weeks) but back-up James Reimer has filled in very well in the meantime. Carolina lost its last two to the Jackets at home and they come into Columbus tonight trying to right a three-game losing streak. The 'Canes are 11-5 in their last 16 after losing their previous game in OT and they're also 10-5 in their last 15 after losing three-in-a-row. Take Carolina. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-20-21 | Canucks v. Canadiens -175 | Top | 4-5 | Win | 100 | 11 h 59 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Montreal Canadiens over the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks won, in overtime, 3-2, last night. But that was just Vancouver's 4th win in the last 17 games here vs. the Canadiens. Moreover, they also extended their streak of NOT winning in regulation at Montreal to 17 straight games. We'll take Montreal to bounce back tonight. Goaltender Carey Price should be back in net after backup Jake Allen got the start last night. With last night's loss, Allen is now 0-2-4 his last six starts. Meanwhile, Price is 3-0-2 vs. Vancouver this season (2.14 GAA). It's unclear who will man the pipes for Vancouver. But with Thatcher Demko playing last night, it's very possible backup Braden Holtby will get the call tonight. And Holtby is 1-2 with a 4.90 GAA vs. Montreal this season. Regardless, we'll take the homestanding Canadiens to bounce back on Saturday night. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-20-21 | Flames v. Maple Leafs -166 | Top | 0-2 | Win | 100 | 4 h 54 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Calgary Flames. For the early part of this NHL season, Toronto was the league's best team. It sprinted out to an 18-6 record, but has dropped six of its last seven games, including a 4-3 loss to these Flames last night. Still, there's no reason to panic. And there's every reason to believe Toronto will right its ship tonight vs. Calgary. The Leafs are 25-11 off back to back losses (and 7-3 off 3+ losses). And Toronto is also 50-31 (+8 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge from a loss. Meanwhile, Calgary is 1-6 after scoring more than 3 goals; 5-14 (minus 17 games on the moneyline) off a road division win; and 81-117 (minus 41 games on the moneyline) after a road win in which it scored more than 3 goals. Take Toronto. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-19-21 | Flames v. Maple Leafs -160 | Top | 4-3 | Loss | -160 | 13 h 34 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Calgary Flames. With their regular #1 goalie, Frederik Andersen having played the entire game last Saturday, the Leafs figured they were safe giving him the day off on Sunday against the lowly Senators. So they started back-up Michael Hutchinson and paid dearly for that decision when the 31-year-old journeyman allowed two goals on the first three shots he faced. Toronto never recovered -- despite promptly replacing its back-up net-minder -- and went on to drop a 4-3 decision. Thankfully, Andersen has had four days now to recover as he steps back in goal tonight to face a team that the Leafs have taken three of four from this season in the Flames. Calgary goalie Jakob Markstrom had his own issues when he allowed seven goals in his last start -- a 7-3 loss to the Oilers on Wednesday which broke a three-game Flames win streak. The Flames are 1-9 (-11 games on the money line) in their last 10 coming off of a blowout home loss by three or more goals, while Toronto's 25-10 off back to back losses. Take the Leafs. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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03-17-21 | Blues -135 v. Kings | Top | 1-4 | Loss | -135 | 15 h 59 m | Show |
At 10:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the Los Angeles Kings. These two teams were scheduled to play Monday night, here in Los Angeles, but a Denver blizzard stranded the Kings in the Mile High City. So, the Blues' road trip will start tonight, which is probably fine with the visitors, as they got the benefit of some time off. For the Kings, they're hoping that the extra rest will mean the return of goalie Jonathan Quick from his upper-body injury, but all indications are that Quick will remain on the shelf tonight which leaves them once again with Cal Peterson as the likely starter. The 26-year-old former 5th round pick has won just four of his 14 starts in goal this season. Morevoer, the road team in this series is 4-1 in the last five meetings. And St. Louis is also looking to rebound from back-to-back home losses last week to Vegas, including a 5-1 defeat on Saturday. The good news is that St Louis has cashed 67% the past 3 seasons off back to back home losses, and is also 10-6 off a home loss by 3+ goals. Take the Blues. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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03-16-21 | Bruins +100 v. Penguins | Top | 2-1 | Win | 100 | 13 h 7 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the Pittsburgh Penguins. This will be the second straight night of a two-game series for these clubs. Although the Penguins won the first one on Monday in a convincing fashion on the scoreboard at least -- 4-1 -- there is reason to believe that the Bruins will bounce back tonight. First there is the fact that Boston pretty much dominated play throughout most of Monday's game, out-shooting Pittsburgh by a lopsided 43-25 margin. Second, with #1 goalie Tristan Jarry carrying the load and playing brilliantly last night for the home team, the Pens will almost certainly be forced to go with back-up Casey DeSmith tonight. Third is the fact that the Pens have three regular defensemen -- Riikola, Friedman, and Marino -- sidelined with injuries, which is likely a major reason why the Bruins dominated in the shots department on Monday. The Bruins are 20-11 in their last 31 after scoring one goal or less in their previous game. Take Boston. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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03-15-21 | Bruins -107 v. Penguins | Top | 1-4 | Loss | -107 | 12 h 38 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the Pittsburgh Penguins. On the surface, it would seem like the Bruins are up against it tonight, having to play a team that is on a five-game win streak. But although the Penguins haven't lost a game since March 4, those five victories have come against the Flyers (13-12), Rangers (11-15), and Sabres (6-20). Needless to say, tonight's match-up will be the toughest for Pittsburgh since it faced the Islanders at the end of February (a 2-0 loss). But the most important statistic for tonight's game is the recent head-to-head record. In the last five meetings of these two clubs going back to the end of 2019, the Bruins are 4-1 and have out-scored the Penguins 20-12. The Bruins were shut out on Saturday by the Rangers, but they are 20-10 (+6 games on the moneyline) in their last 30 after scoring one goal or less in their previous game. Meanwhile, the Pens are 40-42 (but minus 19 games on the moneyline) off back to back wins by 3+ goals. Take Boston. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-14-21 | Stars -120 v. Blue Jackets | Top | 2-1 | Win | 100 | 9 h 45 m | Show |
At 5:05 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Stars over Columbus. The defending Western Conference champs wouldn't make the playoffs if the season ended as of last night, as they're in 7th place in the Central division. But there's still enough time for the Stars to get back into the thick of things, and it will try to rebound off last night's overtime loss to this Blue Jackets team. Unfortunately, the Stars have been dreadful in overtime and/or shootouts, as they've lost their last six that have stretched past regulation. But if there is a silver lining so far for the Stars, it is that they have a positive scoring margin on the season. Indeed, Dallas's scoring margin ranks 4th in the Central division (and tied for 15th in the league). In contrast, Columbus' minus 18-goal scoring margin ranks #25 of the 31 NHL teams! Dallas is a solid 174-122 (+28 games on the moneyline) off a division loss. Take the Stars this afternoon. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-13-21 | Capitals v. Flyers -115 | Top | 5-4 | Loss | -115 | 11 h 58 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the Washington Capitals. The Flyers were allowed to have about 3,000 fans in the stands since returning home earlier this month. In the three games since, Philly has lost twice to the Caps and had to go to a shootout to beat the lowly Sabres. Needless to say (and true to Philly form), the team has been serenaded with a chorus of boos from the home faithful. They tried to mix it up in goal in the last game, by using Brian Elliott instead of #1 Carter Hart. But that didn't work as the Caps rolled to a 5-3 win on Thursday. That's not necessarily a bad thing for them for tonight as Philly is 15-3 in its last 18 when allowing five or more goals the previous game. And it's 7-0 its last seven after a home loss by more than a goal. Hart will be back in net tonight as the Flyers look to bounce back. With Tom Wilson still serving his seven-game suspension, look for the Flyers to be much more physical tonight, a recipe which should not only help reverse things on the scoreboard, but also turn the boos into cheers. Take Philly. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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03-11-21 | Jets v. Maple Leafs -173 | Top | 3-4 | Win | 100 | 7 h 36 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Maple Leafs over Winnipeg. This is the 2nd of a 3-game series played here in Toronto. And the Leafs dropped Game 1 by a 4-3 score, which was their 3rd straight loss, overall. But Toronto has been very good off back to back defeats, as it's 24-10 (+12 games on the moneyline) its last 34. And it's also 6-0 this season when playing with revenge after losing the previous meeting by a single goal. Meanwhile, Winnipeg is a wallet-busting 67-90 (minus 22 games on the moneyline) off a road win. Take Toronto to bounce back tonight. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-10-21 | Coyotes v. Avalanche -205 | Top | 1-2 | Win | 100 | 9 h 13 m | Show |
At 9:05 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Arizona Coyotes. The Avalanche did everything except win on Monday against this Arizona club, out-shooting the Coyotes by a lopsided 35-14, but falling short on the scoreboard, 3-2. It was an odd game for Arizona as starting goalie Darcy Kuemper allowed two goals on just 19 shots faced before leaving with a lower body injury. Enter his replacement, veteran back-up Antti Raanta who came in with a GAA close to 4.0. All Raanta did was turn aside all 16 shots that he faced and the Coyotes somehow held on for the surprise victory. The big question tonight is whether Raanta can do it for 60 minutes against one of the best offenses in the league as Kuemper will miss at least a week. There is also some good news for Colorado, as Nathan Mackinnon -- out the last three games with a head injury -- is expected to play tonight in this revenge situation for Colorado. Arizona is a horrid 25-60 (minus 37 games on the moneyline) after not allowing 3+ goals in any of its two previous games, and 9-27 (-18 games on the moneyline) in its last 36 after a one-goal win in its last game. Meanwhile, the Avs are 30-14 (+13 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge. Take Colorado. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-09-21 | Bruins -110 v. Islanders | Top | 1-2 | Loss | -110 | 10 h 55 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the New York Islanders. The Islanders are currently riding a 5-game win streak. But three of those wins were against Buffalo, which has lost seven straight games, while another of those wins was against the Devils, who have lost eight of their last 10 games. So, New York's 5-game win streak must be put in its proper perspective. Tonight, New York will have to step-up greatly in class. It's not often that you get a team as good as Boston in a triple-revenge situation. But that's the case this evening, as the Islanders have won each of the three previous meetings this season, including a 7-2 shellacking in the last one. With revenge on its mind, we'll take Boston tonight, as it's 13-7 when playing with revenge from a blowout loss by 3+ goals. Even better: Boston suffered a shutout loss, 1-0, at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. And the Bruins are 6-1 their last seven off a shutout loss. Finally, the Isles are a horrible 25-39 (minus 20 games on the moneyline) off 4+ wins. Take Boston. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-08-21 | Coyotes v. Avalanche -182 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -182 | 14 h 49 m | Show |
At 9:05 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Arizona Coyotes. The Avs had to go to overtime twice against arguably the worst team in the league -- the Anaheim Ducks -- and they split that two-game series. They will need to play better tonight against a Coyotes club that has shown some signs of life in recent games. The #1 problem for the Avs so far has been injuries as they have no fewer than seven regulars right now who are either out of action or questionable for tonight's game. The biggest name in that group by far is All Star C Nathan MacKinnon who missed both of the Ducks games with a head injury. But Colorado could get a huge boost tonight as MacKinnon might be able to suit up for the team, as he took part in skating yesterday. Even if he can't play, there is plenty of offense on this club. It just needs to be more consistent, and play 60 solid minutes of Avs hockey. For technical support, consider that the Avs are 7-1 in their last eight immediately off of a loss, while the Coyotes are 11-26 (-17 games on the moneyline) in their last 37 coming off a win over a division rival. Take Colorado. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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03-06-21 | Blue Jackets v. Stars -134 | Top | 0-5 | Win | 100 | 10 h 43 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Stars over the Columbus Blue Jackets. A rusty Stars team lost the first game of this two-game set on Thursday, 3-2. Dallas got into an insurmountable 3-0 hole against Columbus and when it finally got going -- the home team put two goals up on the board mid-way through the final period -- it was too little, too late. What made matters worse was that just as the Stars were surging and had all of the momentum going their way for a tying goal, the refs made a horrible -- overzealous -- interference call on Andrej Sekera with about 3 1/2 minutes left, to all but seal the deal for Columbus. The good news is that the Stars limited the Jackets to just 22 shots on goal and a similar defensive effort tonight should get the job done in the rematch. Columbus comes in having gone 3-6 in its last nine after a victory against a Division rival and 3-8 in its last 11 following a road game. Take the Stars. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-06-21 | Jets v. Canadiens -137 | Top | 1-7 | Win | 100 | 9 h 44 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Montreal Canadiens over the Winnipeg Jets. The Canadiens lost for the eighth time in their last 10 games when they fell, 4-3, in overtime on Thursday to this Winnipeg team. And that loss moved the Jets' record in overtime to 5-0, while Montreal's record after regulation fell to 0-6 (0-4 OT, 0-2 shootout). So, it would seem that Montreal would be in great shape if it can just have this game decided in regulation. We'll go against Winnipeg tonight, as it's 8-13 (minus eight games on the moneyline) after winning a game in OT. And it's 19-26 (minus 7 games on the moneyline) off a road win. Meanwhile, Montreal is a solid 40-22 (+20 games on the moneyline) if it has lost at least eight of its previous 10 games. Take the Canadiens. Good luck, as always....Al McMordie. |
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03-05-21 | Wild -135 v. Coyotes | Top | 5-1 | Win | 100 | 12 h 46 m | Show |
At 9:05 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Wild over the Arizona Coyotes. After a season-best six-game win streak to finish the month of February, the Wild went into Vegas riding high with some confidence. Unfortunately, they lost both games to the Knights. But they showed they are basically on a par with one of the best teams in the league, as the first game went to OT and they out-shot Vegas in the second, 37-27, although the score wasn't close. Tonight, Minnesota gets to step down in class with a visit to the desert to play the Coyotes, who are 10-12 on the season. It's the first meeting of these two this season, but the Wild won the last three back at the end of 2019. Arizona's last three victories came against Anaheim (twice) and Los Angeles. However, the Ducks are the worst team in the league and the Kings aren't much better. The Coyotes are 9-26 (-17 games on the money line) in their last 35 coming off of a one-goal victory in their previous game. Take the Wild. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-05-21 | Capitals v. Bruins -132 | Top | 1-5 | Win | 100 | 10 h 47 m | Show |
At 7 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the Washington Capitals. The Bruins will be out for revenge against the Capitals tonight after falling, 2-1, in a shootout defeat on Wednesday. That was the 5th loss in seven games for Boston, so it desperately wants to get back on track in this game. The Bruins are 18-9 after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game, and 35-24 when playing with revenge. If there was a silver lining in Wednesday's loss, it was that goalie Tuukka Rask turned away 27 of 28 shots, which was his second straight strong game, as he stopped 20 of 21 shots in Boston's 4-1 victory on Sunday at the NY Rangers. That bodes well for the Bruins tonight, as they're 36-22 after back to back games where they've not allowed more than 2 goals. Take the Bruins. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-04-21 | Blue Jackets v. Stars -139 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -139 | 10 h 8 m | Show |
At 8:35 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Stars over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The fact that Dallas is tied with Buffalo and Anaheim with a League-worst six wins is a bit misleading. That's because Dallas has only played 17 games while most everyone else in the league has played at least 20. The Stars missed a chunk of their schedule due to COVID and now they have to play some catch-up. Sure they come into this off of two straight shut-out losses, but those were against the Lightning. And in the last one, the Stars out-played and out-shot the Bolts by a rather lopsided 28-18. In fact, because of the time lost, Dallas has faced nothing but the four teams in the Division with winning records (TB, CAR, FLA, CHI) in its last nine games and tonight it finally gets to play a losing club. The Jackets are 1-5 in their last six games and that lone win came against the Red Wings, a team with a league-worst .340 win percentage. Columbus is also 12-20 (-12 games on the money line) in its last 32 coming off a home win scoring four or more goals. Take the Stars. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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03-02-21 | Senators v. Canadiens -245 | Top | 1-3 | Win | 100 | 11 h 56 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Montreal Canadiens over Ottawa. When these teams met last week in Ottawa for two games, the Canadiens thought they pulled out a win with 3 seconds to go in the 2nd game, but the goal was disallowed after a review. Then Ottawa earned the extra point with a 5-4 victory, via a shootout, for a 2-game sweep of the series. We'll take Montreal tonight to avenge those two upset losses, as Ottawa's a horrible 21-61 (minus 21 games on the moneyline) in road games with a total of 6+ goals. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are a solid 19-11 (+8 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge from a loss in which they surrendered 5+ goals. Even better: Montreal lost, 2-1, in overtime to Winnipeg on Saturday. But it's 24-14 (+9 games on the moneyline) after not scoring 2+ goals in its previous game. Take the Canadiens tonight. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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03-01-21 | Hurricanes v. Panthers -105 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -105 | 5 h 43 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Florida Panthers over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Discover Central Division is shaping up to be one of the best in the league, with the Lightning, Panthers, Hurricanes and surprising Blackhawks all within three points of one another. The Panthers enter tonight's rematch with the 'Canes tied for the points lead in the Division with Tampa at 29. After two meetings, things are all even between these two, with the Panthers winning on February 17, 4-3, and then the 'Canes returning the favor by the same score on Saturday. The biggest problem for the 'Canes this season has been the disparity of their defensive numbers between home and road games. In eight games in Raleigh, the Hurricanes have allowed 18 goals for an average of 2.25 GA. But in 12 road games, the 'Canes have given up 38 goals or an average of 3.17 GA -- almost a goal higher than at home. The Panthers have yet to lose twice in a row this season, and are 7-0 (+8 games on the money line) against an opponent if they lost the previous meeting. Take Florida. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-28-21 | Bruins -162 v. Rangers | Top | 4-1 | Win | 100 | 4 h 31 m | Show |
At 12:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the New York Rangers. After putting up a bunch of goals in a 7-3 romp over the Flyers last Sunday to break a two-game losing streak, the Bruins got the same treatment from a pair of New York teams on back-to-back days. First, it was the Islanders on Thursday, 7-2, and then it was the Rangers by a 6-2 rout a day later. Boston couldn't get its revenge on the Isles right away but they will try to do just that against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden in this Matinee. New York will have to skate today without its best offensive player as winger Artemi Panarin has taken a leave of absence due to some kind of personal situation in his Russian homeland and it's unknown when Panarin will return. So an over-matched Rangers team must try to fend off a frustrated -- and more talented -- Bruins club without its leading points producer, and that won't be easy. The Rangers are 8-17 (-7 games on the money line) in their last 25 immediately following a victory by three or more goals. Take the Bruins. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-27-21 | Canadiens -132 v. Jets | Top | 1-2 | Loss | -132 | 10 h 6 m | Show |
At 8 pm, our selection is on the Montreal Canadiens over Winnipeg. The Jets handed interim Canadiens coach, Dominique Ducharme, a loss in his debut behind the bench. But we'll look for Montreal to get him his first win tonight. Winnipeg's 6-3 win on Thursday was its third straight win. But the Jets are a woeful 1-7 at home off 3+ wins. And they're 4-13 after scoring more than 4 goals in their previous game. Meanwhile, Montreal is 19-10 when playing with revenge from a loss where it gave up 5+ goals, and 25-17 (+11 games on the moneyline) off 3 straight road losses. Take the Canadiens. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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02-27-21 | Flames -145 v. Senators | Top | 6-3 | Win | 100 | 2 h 50 m | Show |
At 1:05 pm, our selection is on the Calgary Flames over the Ottawa Senators. The Flames will give it another try in Ottawa this afternoon after being embarrassed by one of the worst teams in the league on Thursday, 6-1. Back-up goalie David Rittich was pulled after allowing four goals in 20 shots and Artyom Zagidulin didn't do much better from there on for the visitors. But Calgary might get a big boost tonight from the return of Jacob Markstrom between the pipes. Markstrom was shifted to the IR while battling an upper body injury and it is retro-active to February 20 so he is eligible to come back tonight, if able. But regardless of whether it's Markstrom or Rittich, we'll play on Calgary this afternoon. The win on Thursday was Ottawa's third in a row -- the first time it's done that since November of 2019. To find the last time the Sens won four in a row, you would have to go all the way back to March of 2017 (which is also the last year they made the playoffs). And the fact that the Sens tallied a half-dozen goals on Thursday does not bode well for them as they are 0-9 their last nine games off a game where they scored six or more goals. Take Calgary. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-26-21 | Avalanche -170 v. Coyotes | Top | 3-2 | Win | 100 | 10 h 18 m | Show |
At 9:05 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Arizona Coyotes. Picked as the favorites to win the Stanley Cup by many this year (including myself), the start of the NHL season hasn't gone exactly as planned for the Avalanche. Their 9-6-1 record is decent but nowhere near as dominant as the talent on the roster would suggest. And the 6-2 drubbing handed to them by the Wild in their last game was humbling to say the least. So perhaps a match-up tonight with the Coyotes -- the first since they eliminated Arizona in the playoffs last August -- will be just what the doctor ordered. The result of that playoff series was a four games to one thrashing by the Avs. And they won the last two by identical 7-1 routs. And perhaps more important is how the Avs tend to bounce back strong after suffering a rout of their own, going 8-1 in their last nine games following a loss by three or more goals. Arizona beat Anaheim 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday but the Coyotes are a poor 9-25 (-16 games on the money line) in their last 34 following a one-goal victory. Take Colorado. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-25-21 | Flames -155 v. Senators | Top | 1-6 | Loss | -155 | 11 h 58 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Calgary Flames over the Ottawa Senators. The Senators will have more victories this season, but they will be hard-pressed to have one more dramatic than the 5-4 win over the Canadiens on Tuesday. After three back-and-forth periods, and the score tied 4-4, the Habs appeared to win it with three seconds left on the clock. But the replay officials would overturn Brendan Gallagher's goal and Ottawa would prevail after OT in the shoot-out. Of course the question is, 'what will the Sens do for an encore,' as unfortunately this is still a pretty bad team with a 6-15 record. I love playing against bad NHL teams off wins, and the Senators are just 1-8 (-7 games on the money line) in their last nine coming off of two straight home wins. Worse than that, Ottawa is 3-21 in its last 24 following a game in which it scored five or more goals. Take the Flames. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-24-21 | Kings v. Blues -157 | Top | 2-1 | Loss | -157 | 15 h 43 m | Show |
At 9:35 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the Los Angeles Kings. Don't look now, but the hottest team in the NHL just might be none-other-than the Los Angeles Kings. After losing five straight between January 28 and February 9, the Kings have now won five straight coming into tonight's showdown with the Blues. And over those five games, L.A. has out-scored its opponents by a whopping 20-6. But before we hand them the Cup, let's keep in mind that this is still the Kings we're talking about and even those five straight victories couldn't bring their miserable record back to the .500 mark (8-9). Despite losing the last game here to L.A., St. Louis is still 4-2 in the last six meetings with the Kings. Those two losses came in the last two meetings and that may be a good thing for the Blues who are 29-17 (+13 games on the money line) in their last 46 double-revenge situations. The Kings are also 9-19 in their last 28 games coming off a road victory. Take St. Louis. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-23-21 | Sabres v. Devils -115 | Top | 4-1 | Loss | -115 | 13 h 52 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the New Jersey Devils over the Buffalo Sabres. They may not make the post-season this year but if you want to know what the future looks like in the NHL, you may not have to look any further than the Devils. This is a very young and talented group, led by 2019's top overall draft pick in American Jack Hughes. He may be only 19 years old, but already Hughes (who was born in Florida but grew up in Toronto) has had several plays worthy of any ESPN highlight reel. The Devils' average age of 26.1 years makes them the third-youngest team in the league heading into the season and Hughes is just one of the talented babies on this club. Following three nice wins in a row over the Bruins, Rangers, and Sabres, the Devils come into tonight off of two frustrating one-goal defeats (to the Caps and tonight's opponent). So revenge is certainly a factor for the home team, which happens to be 6-2 in the last eight meetings of these two. New Jersey is also 46-30 after back to back losses by a single goal, including a perfect 6-0 if both defeats were to a division rival. And the Sabres are also just 3-8 in the last 11 meetings in New Jersey. Take the Devils. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-22-21 | Lightning -123 v. Hurricanes | Top | 4-2 | Win | 100 | 5 h 52 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Carolina Hurricanes. With their 4-0 defeat of the Lightning on Saturday night, the Canes have now shut out Tampa in back-to-back meetings, albeit about a month apart. You would have to search hard to find the last time that happened in the same season to the Bolts (the Caps did it to them in the 2018 playoffs). So to say Tampa has revenge on its mind tonight is an understatement. And one thing it can't do is take this very good Carolina team lightly. These could be not only the best two teams in the Division but possibly the two best in the League right now. But even though the Hurricanes have now won both meetings this year, the Bolts know that they have owned this series lately, taking 20 of the last 28 meetings overall and 14 of the last 19 here in Raleigh. Yes, the Canes are on a roll right now, but they have a habit of faltering after firing off big victories. Carolina is just 8-22 (-19 games on the money line) in their last 30 coming off two consecutive home wins by two or more goals. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-20-21 | Lightning -130 v. Hurricanes | Top | 0-4 | Loss | -130 | 9 h 17 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Carolina Hurricanes. In its recently concluded three-game series with Florida, Tampa did something it hasn't done much in recent memory. It lost two of the three games despite being heavily favored in each. Not only do the Bolts have to get back on track tonight after that somewhat embarrassing three-game swoon but they also have revenge on their minds. That's because the only other time these two teams have faced each other this season, not only did the Canes beat the Bolts back on January 28, but they registered the only shutout of Tampa this season. In fact that 1-0 overtime loss to Carolina was the first time that Tampa had laid the goose-egg in almost two years, including the playoffs (March 7, 2019). Talk about not needing anything else to get you up for a game! The Bolts are a little banged-up right now, but even with a couple of key guys out, the talent on this team is still mind-boggling and Tampa is 14-6 in the last 20 trips to Raleigh. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-19-21 | Blackhawks v. Hurricanes -193 | Top | 3-5 | Win | 100 | 12 h 51 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Carolina Hurricanes over the Chicago Blackhawks. Canes goalie Petr Mrazek began the season as the team's #1 net-minder, starting four of Carolina's first five games. And in the process, the 29-year-old Czech got off to just about the hottest start that any player could imagine, with a .955 SV % and 0.99 GAA. But in the beginning of that fourth start, the unthinkable happened and Mrazek broke his thumb and hasn't played since. This is why you want to have a back-up like veteran James Reimer. All Reimer has done while Mrazek has been healing is win seven of eight games for the Canes. He sat out the last one -- a tough 4-3 overtime loss to the Panthers -- but the 32-year-old veteran should be back in net tonight at home against Chicago. The Canes have dominated this series of late, taking six of the last seven meetings going back to March of 2018. The 'Canes are 10-4 (+5 games on the money line) in their last 14 immediately after losing their previous game in overtime. Take Carolina. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-18-21 | Sharks v. Blues -183 | Top | 2-3 | Win | 100 | 8 h 16 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the San Jose Sharks. Going for their third straight win on Monday, the Blues held the Coyotes to just 19 shots on goal. But despite this, the St. Louis offense took the night off and Arizona won the game, 1-0. It was only the second time the Blues had been held scoreless this season, the first being an 8-0 drubbing by the Avs one month earlier. Perhaps the Coyotes just had the Blues figured out as Monday's 1-0 contest was the seventh straight meeting between the two teams. No doubt the Blues are happy to be moving on and if they could hand-pick their next opponent, it might very well be the Sharks. St. Louis has won six of the last seven meetings with San Jose going back to the 2019 post-season when it eliminated the Sharks on the way to the Stanley Cup. The Sharks won their last game but putting back-to-back wins together has proven very difficult of late as they are 0-6 in their last six games immediately following a victory (0-5 off a win so far this season). And St. Louis is 22-13 (+6 games on the moneyline) after failing to score 2+ goals in their previous game. Take the Blues. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-17-21 | Jets v. Oilers -134 | Top | 2-3 | Win | 100 | 16 h 18 m | Show |
At 10:05 pm, our selection is on the Edmonton Oilers over the Winnipeg Jets. Coming off of a 3-0 shutout over a very good Canadiens team, the Oilers figured they were safe to use goalie Mike Smith four days later against this Jets team. Unfortunately, they were very wrong. The 38-year-old net-minder completely fell apart on Monday, and allowed four goals on just 11 shots. Edmonton replaced Smith with Mikko Koskinen and the move worked but it was too little too late and the Jets held on for a 6-5 win. Smith will be back on the bench tonight and a similar effort on offense by the Oilers should get the job done with Koskinen in net. The Oilers out-shot Winnipeg by a whopping 45-24 but Smith put them in too big of a hole. Scoring a lot of goals does not carry over well for the Jets lately as they are 0-8 in their last eight games immediately following a five-plus goal effort. Saturday's win was also Winnipeg's second straight over Edmonton but the Oilers are 30-19 (+17 games on the money line) in their last 49 playing with double-revenge. Take Edmonton. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-13-21 | Golden Knights -175 v. Sharks | Top | 3-1 | Win | 100 | 5 h 38 m | Show |
At 4:05 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over the San Jose Sharks. After winning three straight, the Golden Knights came into Thursday's game against the Ducks as an almost 2-1 favorite. But they wound up on the short end of that one, getting shut out for the first time this season, 1-0. Clearly the offense took the night off and that's unusual for this team as Vegas' 3.36 GPG average this season is in the league's top 10 in that category. That offense could be salivating a bit coming into this game against a Sharks club that could be without its #1 goaltender. San Jose acquired veteran Devan Dubnyk to be their main man between the pipes this season, but the 35-year-old missed his last start with a lower-body injury and may be down for today's game as well. That would leave them relying on back-up Martin Jones who has really struggled so far this season (.865 SV% and 4.09 GAA in eight games). The Knights are also 6-2 in their last eight immediately after being shut out in their previous game. Take Vegas. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-12-21 | Blues -126 v. Coyotes | Top | 4-1 | Win | 100 | 14 h 1 m | Show |
At 9:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the Arizona Coyotes. With the postponement of the Blues-Wild series (the Wild have 13 players on the COVID protocol list) tonight will be the fifth game in a row between St. Louis and Arizona (and the two teams will eventually play seven straight). So although this probably feels like a playoff series at this point, it's a good thing for the Blues that it's not because after winning the first game, the Blues have now lost three straight. And making the situation even more frustrating is the fact that, in the three losses, St. Louis out-played its opponent with a whopping 111-73 shot advantage in those three games combined. The Blues have three more chances over the next four days to take out their frustrations on the Coyotes before moving on to face the Sharks next Thursday. All of those four meetings so far have been in St. Louis, so perhaps it's to the Blues' advantage that they're moving to the desert as St. Louis is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings here. Arizona is also 8-23 (-14 games on the money line) in its last 31 after a one-goal victory. Take the Blues. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-11-21 | Oilers v. Canadiens -143 | Top | 3-0 | Loss | -143 | 11 h 56 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Montreal Canadiens over the Edmonton Oilers. Montreal is a shooting and scoring machine right now. It is the only team in the NHL scoring at a rate over four goals per game (4.20). The philosophy seems to be to put as many pucks on the net as possible as the Habs have the highest shot average in the league at 34.8. Sure the Lightning have the best goal differential (they are on another planet altogether) but Montreal's difference of +1.27 is not too shabby. It doesn't hurt that the Habs are almost 100% healthy now as well, with only 4th line winger Joel Armia out of action with a concussion (and Armia is skating and could be back tonight). But the most important change this season has been the acquisition of veteran G Jake Allen (St. Louis). With Carey Price having a huge workload lately (he led the league in games last season), Montreal decided it was time to get him some help and Allen has been a godsend so far (.940 SV % and 1.81 GAA). The Oilers have won two straight road games but those were against the lowly Senators. And Edmonton is a wallet-breaking 2-13 (-13 games on the money line) in its last 15 off a road win vs. a division rival. Take the Canadiens. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-09-21 | Blackhawks v. Stars -148 | Top | 2-1 | Loss | -148 | 16 h 45 m | Show |
At 8:35 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Stars over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stars lost a tough one in overtime to this Blackhawks squad on Super Bowl Sunday, 2-1. It was the Stars' third loss in their last four games. But if there's a silver lining there, it's the fact that all three of those losses have been by a single goal, two in OT. For the Blackhawks, they've done the opposite of what Dallas has, winning three of their last four. But the bad news coming into tonight is that Chicago has been hit hard recently by the COVID-19 bug, with no fewer than three regulars having to sit out tonight due to COVID protocols. And it's not a great situation for Chicago as the Hawks are 1-5 in their last six games coming off two consecutive victories against Division rivals. Dallas' loss on Sunday was its first in its last six as a home favorite (5-1 now) and the Stars are 7-3 in their last 10 after losing two straight by one goal. Finally, Chicago is just 5-18 in its last 23 road games coming into tonight. Take the Stars. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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02-08-21 | Coyotes v. Blues -152 | Top | 4-3 | Loss | -152 | 13 h 48 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes scored a big upset victory over the Blues two nights ago despite registering just 19 shots on goal the entire game. Regular #1 goalie Jordan Binnington probably wins that game for the home team, but the Blues went with rookie back-up Ville Husso instead. Husso may be a solid NHL goalie one day but his 3.69 GAA so far in four games indicates that the 25-year-old is still a work in progress. Binnington should be back between the pipes tonight for St. Louis and the hosts will have some revenge on their minds as they attempt to win for just the second time this month. Saturday was the Blues' second straight loss to the Coyotes in as many games but that's a good situation for them coming into tonight. St. Louis is 6-1in its last seven coming off of two consecutive losses against division rivals. Meanwhile Arizona is 9-22 (-14 games on the money line) in its last 31 coming off a win vs. a division rival. Take the Blues. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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02-07-21 | Blackhawks v. Stars -165 | Top | 2-1 | Loss | -165 | 13 h 40 m | Show |
At 3:05 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Stars over the Chicago Blackhawks. Through its first 10 games, the Dallas offense has been one of the best in the NHL, netting an average of almost four goals per game (3.80). That number is good for second-best in the league, something that is a bit surprising given how this offense sputtered last year. In 69 games in 2020, the Stars averaged just 2.58 GPG, more than a full goal less than what they're doing so far this season. After sub-par campaigns in 2020, all three of Dallas' veteran offensive core -- Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, and Alexander Radulov -- have come out with guns ablaze this season. Between the three of them, they have tallied 13 goals and 19 assists in 20 combined games, a big reason for the team's success. Veteran Anton Khubodin is clearly Dallas' #1 net-minder, but it may have found a future star in 22-year-old rookie Jake Oettinger who has notched a very nice 2.42 GAA in his three games so far. The Blackhawks are just 4-18 in their last 22 road games. Take the Stars. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-06-21 | Coyotes v. Blues -161 | Top | 3-1 | Loss | -161 | 5 h 17 m | Show |
At 3:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the Arizona Coyotes. Craig Berube took over behind the bench for the Blues about 20 games into the 2018-2019 season and then promptly led the franchise to its first Stanley Cup Championship. Now starting his third season with the team, the 55-year-old Skipper shows no signs of slowing down as the Blues are off to another great start and could have a lot to say about who is going to hoist the Cup in June. The new division seems to fit the Blues well and getting to play a team like the Coyotes -- who come in with a 4-5-1 record -- a bunch of times should suit them. This hasn't been a particularly even match-up with the Coyotes winning just nine times in the last 30 meetings. The Coyotes can ill-afford to be without key players which makes Defensive Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson's absence due to a lower body injury even more troubling for them. Arizona won round one of this two-game series, 4-3, but the Coyotes are a dismal 11-30 in their last 41 after a division win. Take the Blues. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-05-21 | Predators v. Panthers -120 | Top | 1-2 | Win | 100 | 13 h 43 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Florida Panthers over the Nashville Predators. Heading into last night, the Panthers were the only team left in the NHL that had not lost a game in regulation. And coming out of Thursday's clash with the Predators, Florida still has that unblemished regular-time record intact. But they can't be feeling too good about it today. That's because the Panthers held a 5-3 lead with just two-and-a-half minutes to go but somehow managed to blow it and wind up in overtime. They eventually lost a 6-5 decision when Filip Forsberg tallied four minutes into the extra stanza. It was certainly one of the toughest single-point efforts the Panthers have ever had to endure, but one they are hopeful to put behind them tonight. This is probably the most talented group of hockey players that South Florida has seen in some time with all the new additions in the off-season. And so far at least, it seems to be working. Despite their come-from-behind triumph last night, the Predators are just 1-6 in their last seven road games and 2-4 in the last six meetings. Take the Panthers. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-04-21 | Canucks v. Maple Leafs -175 | Top | 3-7 | Win | 100 | 15 h 17 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Vancouver Canucks. The Maple Leafs were riding a very nice four-game win streak when they lost a tough one in Edmonton their last time out, 4-3 in overtime. That was last Saturday so Toronto has had five days to get over it and re-group for tonight's first of two at home against the Canucks. And it's a match-up that's been very good to them lately as the Leafs have taken four of the last five meetings going back to January of 2018. Vancouver signed veteran Goalie Braden Holtby in the off-season when the Caps had to clear cap space with the idea that he would step in for veteran Jacob Markstrom who flew the coop for Calgary as a FA. But it hasn't worked out as Holtby's issues from DC have not only followed him to Vancouver, but they've apparently gotten much worse (.896 SV % and 3.63 GAA). In Monday's loss to Montreal, Holtby allowed six goals on 40 shots. The Canucks are 0-7 in the last seven meetings here, and 1-5 in their last six games as a road dog. Take Toronto. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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02-01-21 | Canucks v. Canadiens -160 | Top | 2-6 | Win | 100 | 13 h 29 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Montreal Canadiens over the Vancouver Canucks. Heading into Saturday's game with the Flames, the Canadiens were one of the highest-scoring teams in the league, netting four or more goals in six of their seven games (with 3 goals scored in the 7th game). But Calgary was able to -- temporarily at least -- squelch Montreal's offensive firepower, and handed the Habs a 2-0 shutout defeat. This, despite Montreal out-shooting the Flames 37-32, adding to its already dominant 34.5 shots-per-game average. Montreal's cast of young offensive stars, led by centers Kotkaniemi and Suzuki, are picking up this season where they left off in the 2020 playoffs. So, the scoring outbursts and 5-1-2 record really isn't that surprising. This is a team that can make a deep post-season run, and will do so, perhaps, for many years to come. The Canucks are having some success as well, riding a four-game win streak but it should be noted that three of those have come against the lowly Senators. And they've also struggled on the road so far (2-3). Finally, Montreal is 15-4 (+11 games on the money line) in its last 19 coming off a home loss by two goals or more. Take the Canadiens. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-30-21 | Predators v. Lightning -170 | Top | 3-4 | Win | 100 | 10 h 38 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Nashville Predators. The Lightning lost just their second game of the season on Thursday and it was a tough pill to swallow. Tampa and Carolina were tied after 60 minutes but the 'Canes struck just 1:12 into OT for a 1-0 victory at home. The bottom line is that the Bolts were rusty, having not played since last Saturday due to Carolina's COVID restrictions (Thursday's game was postponed twice). Tampa should be much sharper tonight coming off that loss, and will play a Predators team which is coming in off two straight victories. Those were against the Blackhawks (both in OT), but the Lightning will pose a much bigger problem for Nashville tonight. The Preds have lost four straight road games going back to last season, while Tampa is undefeated at home this season (2-0). The Preds are also 2-9 (-11 games on the money line) in their last 11 coming off of consecutive one-goal wins. Finally, the Bolts are 22-3 (+17 games on the money line) in their last 25 after scoring one goal or less in their previous game. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-28-21 | Islanders -130 v. Capitals | Top | 3-6 | Loss | -130 | 8 h 32 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the New York Islanders over the Washington Capitals. Heading into last weekend, Washington was already without four of its top players due to COVID-19 protocols (Ovechkin, Orlov, Kuznetsov, and Samsonov). Then Tom Wilson -- perhaps their best player through the first four games -- went down with an injury on Friday night. And as if that wasn't enough, the Caps lost two more key players in Centers Nicklas Backstrom (puck to the face) and Lars Eller (possible concussion) in Tuesday night's gritty victory over these Islanders here in DC. There's no word on those two and so it's a good bet that for this rematch with NY, the Caps will be without all seven of the aforementioned stars, and that's a huge mountain to climb against this talented opponent. The Islanders are 27-9 (+18 games on the money line) in their last 36 games after scoring two goals or less in each of their previous two contests. And they're 29-15 their last 44 division road games. Take New York. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-26-21 | Sharks v. Avalanche -210 | Top | 3-7 | Win | 100 | 17 h 43 m | Show |
At 9:05 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the San Jose Sharks. It's been a bit of a slow start for the Avs, a team that many (including myself) have picked to win it all this season. Colorado fell to 3-3 on the season after a tough loss to the Ducks on Sunday in a game they dominated, out-shooting Anaheim by a lopsided 33-15. Expectations were much lower for the Sharks going into this season than they were for the Avs, especially given that they tried to solve their goalie issues by bringing in veteran Devan Dubnyk from Minnesota. Dubnyk is coming off a disastrous season in which he went 12-15-2 with an awful .890 save percentage. And judging from his work so far it would seem things in San Jose aren't going to get better for him in 2021. Given these numbers, Dubnyk's acquisition is a big head-scratcher, but certainly not the first for a Sharks franchise which often can't get out of its own way. San Jose comes in off of a big 5-3 win over the Wild, but the Sharks are just 8-16 (-13 games on the money line) in their last 24 coming off of a road win in which they scored more than three goals. Take the Avalanche. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-24-21 | Golden Knights -163 v. Coyotes | Top | 1-0 | Win | 100 | 10 h 2 m | Show |
At 4:05 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over the Arizona Coyotes. The Knights lost their first game of the season on Friday night. And it came in the 3rd of a 4-game series vs. this Coyotes team. Now they have an immediate chance at revenge, which will so often be the case in this reshuffled season. Vegas is a talented group, and the players believe they can get back to the Cup finals and bring home the hardware they lost to the Capitals in 2018. Last year, the team's management signaled a new direction in goaltending when they signed Robin Lehner at the trade deadline, and went through the playoffs with him as their #1 net-minder instead of Marc Andre Fleury. And after signing a big contract in the off-season it would appear that Lehner is indeed the man going forward. The 29-year-old Swede's presence between the pipes certainly has paid off thus far for the 4-1 Knights. On offense, newly-acquired (from St. Louis) Alex Pietrangelo and stalwart Shea Theodore form one of the best blue-line tandems in the league. We'll take Vegas to bounce back off its loss, as the Knights are 10-2 (+7 games on the money line) in their last 12 immediately following a defeat to a division rival, while Arizona is the mirror opposite -- 2 wins and 10 losses following a division win. Take Vegas. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-23-21 | Kings v. Blues -195 | Top | 2-4 | Win | 100 | 11 h 1 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Blues over the Los Angeles Kings. The Blues followed up their Stanley Cup-winning 2018-2019 season with an even better effort in the shortened regular season of 2020. In just 71 games, the Blues went 42-19-10 and their 94 points was only five shy of the number they put up in their Championship campaign despite 11 fewer contests. For that reason, the 2021 version of this team looks very similar to last season (although they said goodbye to long-time captain Alex Pietrangelo while welcoming veteran D Torey Krug). There is little reason to think that this Blues club won't be at or near the top of their new division once again come playoff time. After a tough shootout loss to the Sharks in their last game, the Blues will get a relative "breather" today in their first meeting with the Kings since December 2019. Overall, St. Louis has enjoyed quite a bit of success against tonight's opponent, taking nine of the last 13 meetings going back to the start of 2016. The Blues are also 21-12 (+7 games on the money line) in their last 33 immediately after scoring one goal or less in their previous game. Take St. Louis. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-22-21 | Oilers v. Maple Leafs -140 | Top | 2-4 | Win | 100 | 11 h 33 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Edmonton Oilers. In the new all-Canadian NHL Scotia North Division, the Maple Leafs are clearly the team to beat. There was plenty of talent on this team last year to go all the way, but a five-game series loss to Columbus in the Qualifying round was a result of Toronto not having enough toughness. They seem to have addressed that in the off-season with the addition of a couple of gritty, 6'2" players in F Wayne Simmonds and D Zach Bogosian. The offense will continue to be led by All Stars Auston Matthews and John Tavares. And the addition of 41-year-old Joe Thornton should result in valuable experience off the ice, as well as on. With their upset victory on Wednesday, the Oilers have now taken two straight over Toronto going back to last season. But the Leafs have owned this series otherwise, winning 14 of the last 18 meetings going back to December 2010. Edmonton is also a poor 1-11 (-12 games on the money line) in its last 12 immediately off of a road win vs. a division rival. Take Toronto. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-21-21 | Flyers v. Bruins -130 | Top | 4-5 | Win | 100 | 12 h 48 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the Philadelphia Flyers. As expected, the Flyers have looked very good so far, with only one loss on their ledger after four games. But they've played two teams with suspect defenses in the Penguins and Sabres. And they have some players who have now landed on the COVID list as well as some others who are otherwise unhealthy coming into this match-up against the Bruins. The Flyers were already without #1 center Sean Couturier who has a rib separation, and now they may have to be without another as C Morgan Frost left Tuesday's game with an injury and was headed for an MRI as of this writing. That game was also potentially costly to Philadelphia's blue line as D Phillipe Myers was removed with an undisclosed injury and his status for tonight is questionable at best. Look for a very good Bruins team to take advantage as they go for their second win of the season in their home opener. Boston did get shutout in its last game, 1-0, by the Islanders. But the Bruins are 5-1 in their last six after being shut out, and they're 47-14 after giving up less than two goals in their previous game. Take Boston. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-20-21 | Wild -125 v. Ducks | Top | 3-2 | Win | 100 | 17 h 47 m | Show |
At 9:35 pm, our selection is on the Minnesota Wild over the Anaheim Ducks. Despite making the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons, the Wild have very little to show for their regular season success. In fact, you have to go back to 2015 to find the last time this team won a post-season series. That is the main reason there was a bit of a revamping after the 2019-2020 abbreviated campaign that ended with a loss to Vancouver in the qualifying round. Out are a pair of veteran Centers (Mikko Koivu and Eric Staal) and in comes veteran Marcus Johansson (trade from Buffalo) to take over the top spot there. The Wild also parted ways with G Devan Dubnyk and replaced him with Cam Talbot who signed on for three years. Whether or not these changes (and there were others) make a major difference come post-season remains to be seen but the team already seems to be playing with a bit of a chip on its shoulder. That chip could come in handy tonight as the Wild try to avenge a difficult 1-0 loss to this Ducks team on Monday despite winning the shots battle, 34-27. Anaheim is a poor 5-15 (-11 games on the money line) in its last 20 off a home win by one goal. Take Minnesota. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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01-19-21 | Sabres v. Flyers -145 | Top | 0-3 | Win | 100 | 18 h 41 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the Buffalo Sabres. After back-to-back losses to a very good Caps team to open the season, the Sabres were again decided underdogs in Game 3 on Monday against the undefeated Flyers. But they dominated last night and their reward is a rematch tonight in Philadelphia. The Flyers weren't very active in the free agent market, but they didn't need to be. The biggest additions this season will likely be two players that were already on their roster as Oskar Lindblom -- cancer recovery -- and Nolan Patrick -- migraine disorder -- could give the team huge boosts as they return to the ice. Lindblom's and Patrick's returns should give young goalie Carter Hart even more confidence as he continues his rise through the ranks of the NHL's elite net-minders. But with Hart having played last night, it will be veteran back-up Brian Elliott making his season debut in this one. The 35-year-old has been one of the most consistent goalies in the league over the past decade. Despite their loss last night, the Flyers have won nine of the last 13 meetings with Buffalo going back to February 2016. Take Philadelphia. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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09-28-20 | Lightning -165 v. Stars | Top | 2-0 | Win | 100 | 16 h 54 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Dallas Stars. Game 5 of this Stanley Cup Finals was one for the ages. With their backs against the wall, the Stars somehow managed to survive yet again despite being out-shot and out-played by the Lightning. And once they were able to get the game into overtime, they seemed to be energized to a different level. Dallas prevailed 9:23 into the second overtime period on the second goal of the game by Corey Perry to stay alive and take this series to a sixth game. Like he has done much of these Playoffs, the Stars' goalie Anton Khodobin kept them in the game and you have to wonder if he has it in him to do it again. While this is a 3-2 series, the games really haven't been that close. The Bolts have out-shot the Stars in all five of the games, and they hold a cumulative advantage in that category of 175 to 135. Tampa is 64-25 (+25 games on the moneyline) in its last 56 immediately following a loss. Look for the Lightning to wrap up their second Stanley Cup Championship tonight. Take the Bolts. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-26-20 | Stars v. Lightning -155 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -155 | 15 h 51 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Dallas Stars. We cashed again last night on Tampa Bay (we've now played on the Lightning in each of their last 20 games), and won't get off them tonight, given that they might hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Indeed, I released the Lightning as my NHL futures pick a year ago, prior to the season, at 7-1 odds, and it was one of my two favorite futures bets in the past 20 years (along with Virginia (2019) in NCAA basketball, at 22-1 odds). Game 5 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals will have an interesting wrinkle, as it will be played with no rest after a grueling, overtime Game 4 that went late into Friday night. When the smoke cleared, it was the Bolts who emerged with a 5-4 victory and a 3-1 series lead, needing just one more to clinch their second-ever Stanley Cup. Last night's defeat was painful for the Stars, who had three separate leads in the game (1-0, 2-0, and 3-2) but simply couldn't put the incredibly pesky Bolts away. And the penalty which set up Tampa's game-winning goal was questionable, too. It's not known as of this writing whether the Lightning will rest goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to go with back-up Curtis McElhinney, but we're not going to let that possibility interfere with our selection as the Bolts have consistently shown that they can win without key players on the ice this entire post-season. This will be the second back-to-back game for Tampa in these playoffs, and it won the first one 7-1 over Boston. During the regular season, Tampa was 8-3 in 11 games with no off-day. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-25-20 | Lightning -152 v. Stars | Top | 5-4 | Win | 100 | 11 h 48 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Dallas Stars. As if the Lightning's fortunes couldn't get any better, they got captain Steven Stamkos back on the ice for the first time in seven months and as if that wasn't enough, Stamkos scored on his first shot of the game. But it would also be his only shot as Stamkos didn't play in the final seven minutes of the first period and then didn't play the rest of the game, having apparently re-aggravated his injury. But it didn't matter much as the rest of the Bolts players stepped up in his absence and Tampa cruised to a 5-2 victory to take a 2-1 series lead heading into tonight's crucial Game 4. It was Tampa's most complete game of the series as the Bolts out-shot the Stars by 32-24 and out-played them on both ends of the ice, knocking Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin out after two periods. It's unclear whether Stamkos will suit up tonight, but the truth is that it may not matter if the Bolts continue to play like they have. Tampa is 46-21 in its last 67 after a win by more than two goals, while Dallas is 8-12 this season off back to back losses. Take the Bolts. As always good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-23-20 | Lightning -150 v. Stars | Top | 5-2 | Win | 100 | 13 h 49 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Dallas Stars. After getting pushed around pretty bad in Game 1, the Tampa Bay Lightning made some adjustments before Game 2. Those adjustments paid off as Tampa built a 3-0 in the first period and was able to hold on for a 3-2 victory that evened this series at a game apiece. Tampa achieved two important things in the process of winning Game 2. First, unlike Game 1, the Bolts didn't let the Stars dictate the game with their physical play. And it seemed like every time one of Dallas' physical players -- and there are quite a few of them -- hit someone, they got hit back. Second, the Lightning were able to get to Stars' goalie Anton Khudobin early and often in building that 3-0 lead, and that could turn out to be the key to this series. It also won't hurt that Dallas suffered a key injury on Monday night, with Blake Comeau leaving the game in the 2nd period. The Stars generally have not responded well to close losses. In their last 52 games following a defeat by one goal, the Stars are 25-27 (-7 games on the moneyline). Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-21-20 | Stars v. Lightning -147 | Top | 2-3 | Win | 100 | 14 h 52 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Dallas Stars. When the Lightning looked across the ice Saturday night, it probably seemed like looking into a mirror. If the Stars showed favored Tampa one thing in Game 1, it's that the Bolts will be facing a very different type of team than they saw in the last round. While the Isles tried to beat Tampa with tight checking and defense, the Stars will be using a much more open-ice, offensive style of hockey. And in Game 1 at least, they gave the Bolts a taste of their own medicine, so to speak, and came away with a 4-1 victory. The good news for Tampa is that the only real difference-maker for Dallas was goalie Anton Khudobin who had to be at his very best once again (35 saves). And while the Stars held a shot advantage through the first two periods, Tampa totally dominated in the last 20 minutes, and out-shot Dallas by a whopping 22-2 -- but just couldn't break Khudobin. Tampa is 40-12 (+23 games on the moneyline) in their last 52 following a loss by two or more goals, and 10-1 this season after not scoring two goals in their previous game. Take the Bolts. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-19-20 | Stars v. Lightning -145 | Top | 4-1 | Loss | -145 | 14 h 23 m | Show |
At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Dallas Stars. It's been five days since the Dallas Stars wrapped up their series with the Golden Knights to reach their second Stanley Cup Finals ever (and first in 20 years). But the Lightning are fresh off of their six-game series win over a gutsy Islanders team, and if they don't miss a beat on the ice it could be bad news for Dallas. I don't expect Tampa to suffer in any way, as it's 61-23 (+23 games on the moneyline) when playing its 4th game in seven days. And, despite the number of close results on the scoreboard in Tampa's Eastern Conference Finals series, most of the games weren't really that competitive. The only thing that kept New York in Thursday's game (and some of the others) was the amazing play of goalie Semyon Varlamov who spent most of his time looking like he was facing a firing squad. If the Stars are even the least bit flat coming into tonight, it could be a long evening for them. The Bolts are 32-9 their last 41 after allowing one goal (or less) in their previous game. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-17-20 | Lightning -160 v. Islanders | Top | 2-1 | Win | 100 | 12 h 24 m | Show |
At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders. With the 2-1 defeat on Tuesday night that went into the 92nd minute of play, the Lightning have now played five overtime games since the playoffs began. Tuesday's was the first one in which they came up on the short end. In their last two OT contests (Boston on August 25 and 31), the Bolts came back in the next game to win easily (7-1 against the Bruins and 8-2 in Game 1 of this series). Tampa will be looking to make it three in a row and, by doing so, it will punch its ticket to its first Stanley Cup Finals in five years to take on the Dallas Stars. Once again in Game 5 the Bolts out-shot their opponents like they have in every game of this series, save one (Game 2) , and they appeared to dominate play throughout most of the OT affair. It was the first time the Lightning had been held to a single goal since Game 2 of the Columbus series. But the good news for tonight is that they are 43-8 in their last 51 after scoring two goals or less in their previous game. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-15-20 | Islanders v. Lightning -170 | Top | 2-1 | Loss | -170 | 13 h 48 m | Show |
At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders. Before the season, we tabbed Tampa Bay as our Futures pick to win the Stanley Cup (at 7-1 odds). And it was one of my two favorite Futures picks over the last 20 years (the other was my pick on Virginia in College Basketball at 22-1 odds, which won in 2019). After a dominating 4-1 victory in Game 4, the Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from their first Stanley Cup Finals in five years. It seems as if there's little the Islanders can do at this point to stop the Bolts, especially considering that no matter how well goalie Semyon Varlamov plays, Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy is just that much better. Simply put, Vasilevskiy is the best net-minder in the world right now and it's really not close. Not that they needed any more help, but the Lightning got the services of Brayden Point back in Game 4. However they used him somewhat sparingly and it would show the Isles how confident they are if they didn't even put their talented forward on the ice tonight in an effort to ensure that he's 100% healthy for the Cup Finals. Tampa feeds off of dominant victories like the one it had in Game 4. The Bolts are 47-16 (+21 games on the moneyline) in their last 63 games after allowing one goal or less in their previous game. And they're also not prone to letdowns, as they're 119-64 (+14 games on the moneyline) off a win. And they're 11-4 when leading in a Playoff series. Take Tampa Bay. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-14-20 | Stars v. Golden Knights -168 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -168 | 14 h 54 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over the Dallas Stars. If they Knights are going to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in three seasons, then they're going to have to do it by way of a three-game win streak. But despite being down 3-1 to the Stars in this series, there is some good news. For one thing, all three of their losses have been by a single goal while in their lone victory, the Knights won 3-0. Second, they have matched or bested the Stars in shots on goal in all four of the games played and in Game 4, Vegas out-shot Dallas by 13 (33-20). They just have to find a way to get the better of Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin who has been their MVP in the playoffs. Add C/LW Roope Hintz to the Stars' list of walking wounded as he left Game 4 with an undisclosed injury and likely won't be available tonight. That's the second key Dallas Forward to go down with an injury in this series. The Knights are 8-1 (+8 games on the moneyline) in their last nine after losing two straight by one goal. Take Vegas. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-13-20 | Lightning -140 v. Islanders | Top | 4-1 | Win | 100 | 9 h 54 m | Show |
At 3:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders. The Isles finally put together 60 minutes of solid, physical hockey, resulting in their first win of this series, 5-3, on Friday night. A loss in Game 3 would have all but doomed New York in its quest for its first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1984. The Isles still have quite a hill to climb (more like a mountain) as Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy had an off night in Game 3, and the chances of him having another in succession are small. The Bolts could get a huge lift this afternoon from the possible return of Brayden Point. The dynamic young center missed Game 3 after having to leave Game 2 with an injury but he's been skating with the team. Even without him, Tampa was in the game almost the entire time and easily could have won if the puck had bounced its way in the third period. The Bolts are 12-2 (+9 games on the moneyline) in their last 14 after losing their previous game by two or more goals (39-12, +22 games, in their last 51). Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-09-20 | Islanders v. Lightning -162 | Top | 1-2 | Win | 100 | 9 h 58 m | Show |
At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders. If this was supposed to be a close Finals Series with a lot of back-and-forth play then somebody forgot to tell the Lightning before Game 1. In the biggest rout of the post-season since they did basically the same thing to the Bruins about two weeks ago, the Bolts blitzed the Isles, 8-2 in a game that was basically over almost as soon as it started. New York tried everything, including replacing its goalie but nothing helped. The Isles have to regroup now but clearly they need another formula from the one they employed on Monday night. Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy didn't have his best stuff in Game 1 (two goals allowed on 24 shots) but he didn't have to. And the scary thing for New York is that Tampa generally doesn't have letdowns after games like that. In fact the Bolts are 21-9 (+6 games on the moneyline) in their last 30 after a blowout win by four or more goals. They're also 11-2 in their last 13 after a five-game win streak. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-08-20 | Stars v. Golden Knights -159 | Top | 0-3 | Win | 100 | 14 h 54 m | Show |
At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over the Dallas Stars. Whatever we were expecting from Game 1 of this series, what we got was an old-fashioned defensive battle. When the smoke cleared, it was the Stars' first period goal which made all the difference in an unlikely 1-0 victory over favored Vegas. A total of only 50 shots on goal were fired in the entire 60 minutes (25 for each side). It was the exact same strategy that the Stars employed to take down the heavily favored, and offensively superior Avalanche. But if the you're Vegas, the worst thing you can do now is panic and start changing lines. When they were shut out by the Canucks in Game 6 as a heavy favorite, the Knights simply re-grouped to turn the tables in a 3-0 Game 7 victory. The Knights will get a big boost tonight from the return of tough, physical forward Ryan Reeves, who is back after a one-game suspension. Vegas is 8-3 in its last 11 after being shut out. Take the Knights. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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09-07-20 | Islanders v. Lightning -146 | Top | 2-8 | Win | 100 | 16 h 34 m | Show |
At 8:10 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the New York Islanders. There's quite a contrast in the way these two teams got to this point. The Lightning rolled past the over-matched Bruins in five games, winning four straight after losing the opener and out-scoring Boston 13-4 in the final three. Meanwhile, the Islanders had a back-and-forth, seven-game nail-biting series with the Flyers, finally putting it all together in Game 7 with a no-doubt victory. And while Tampa won't get the services of its leader, Steven Stamkos back for this series (so says the team currently), it will have Nikita Kucherov (high stick to the face) ready to go tonight and that's very good news. But the man of the hour would seem to be Tampa's all-everything goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy. There's little doubt now that the 26-year-old is the best netminder in the game, never mind the best left in the playoffs. It's hard to imagine the Isles having much of an answer to him. The Bolts are 10-2 in their last 12 games vs. teams from the Metropolitan division, and Tampa's also 13-2 this season (and 35-14 their last 49) when they've won their four previous games. Take Tampa Bay. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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09-06-20 | Stars v. Golden Knights -160 | Top | 1-0 | Loss | -160 | 14 h 46 m | Show |
At 8:20 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over the Dallas Stars. While most people probably expected the Knights to be here in the Western Conference Finals, the fact that the Stars made it this far is somewhat of a surprise. It's Dallas' first trip here in over 10 years (2008) and the Stars made it by basically beating the Avalanche at their own game. But Colorado was at a distinct disadvantage without its #1 goalie, Philipp Grubauer who missed almost the entire series with an injury, leaving the team to rely on its #2 and #3 net-minders, neither of whom were very effective in the end. That's a problem the Knights don't have as not only do they have a strong veteran goalie who's been here before in Marc-Andre Fleury, but they also have one of the best in the game in Robin Lehner. This is probably the match-up the Knights wanted as they are 6-1 in the last seven meetings with the Stars, while Dallas has won just 16 of 37 games (minus 10 games on the moneyline) off a game in which they scored more than four goals. Take Vegas. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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09-05-20 | Islanders -124 v. Flyers | Top | 4-0 | Win | 100 | 15 h 58 m | Show |
At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the New York Islanders over the Philadelphia Flyers. You can sum up another come-from-behind Flyers victory on Thursday to force this seventh game in two words -- Carter Hart. The young goaltender was outstanding when he needed to be, amidst an onslaught of pressure from a superior Islanders offense for most of the game's five periods. When the smoke cleared, and Ivan Provorov had won it for Philly, Hart had made a remarkable 49 saves and was the unquestionable MVP for his team. On the other end, Semyon Varlamov had his second shaky performance in a row so I wouldn't be surprised if Barry Trotz tabbed Thomas Greiss to be in net for New York tonight. But we've seen Hart struggle after a huge effort before, so if the Isles keep the pressure up like they did on Thursday, they should find themselves in the East Finals against the Lightning. Indeed, they've been without a doubt the better team in this series. One of my favorite stats of this year's Playoffs is that New York is 10-5 in the Playoffs, and has yet to lose by more than 1 goal. In other words: they've played well enough to have won every single game. For the Playoffs, they've outscored their foes 50-31, while the Flyers have actually been outscored 33-27, even though they've won seven of 12 games. So, New York's outscored its foes by an average of 1.26 gpg, while the Flyers have been outscored by 0.5 gpg. New York's a super 33-25 off back to back losses (+10 games on the moneyline). Take the Islanders. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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09-04-20 | Canucks v. Golden Knights -202 | Top | 0-3 | Win | 100 | 9 h 51 m | Show |
At 9 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over Vancouver. The Knights were shutout, 4-0, last night by the upstart Canucks. And this quarterfinals series is now tied at 3-games apiece. However, if there is a silver lining for Vegas, it's that they've out-shot the Canucks in each of the six games, including a staggering 91-40 over the past two games! But hockey can be a cruel sport, so the Knights are no doubt scratching their heads after losing both of the last two games. Still, if you're going to have the overwhelming number of shots on goal, you'll generally take your chances. Vegas is a solid 18-7 (+6 games on the moneyline) when playing with revenge this season, and 29-14 (+11 games on the moneyline) after not scoring 2+ goals in its previous game. Take the Golden Knights. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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08-31-20 | Stars v. Avalanche -131 | Top | 3-6 | Win | 100 | 8 h 16 m | Show |
At 9:45 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Dallas Stars. Like their Denver counterparts in Major League Baseball (the Rockies), the Avalanche are known for scoring. So it was more than a little disconcerting when they managed just five total goals in Games 1 and 2 of this series and quickly fell behind a very good Stars team, 2-0. But the Avs didn't panic, and sure enough, the scoring came back in Game 3 this past Wednesday in a virtual "must-win" situation. They took that one 6-4, netting their six goals on just 31 shots and gave themselves an opportunity for a new series after that effort. Unfortunately, they fell behind early last night, and lost 5-4, so they're now one game away from elimination. Thus, tonight's game is a definite "must-win." Colorado is 16-8 after allowing 4+ goals, and it's also 13-6 when playing with revenge from a loss in which it surrendered 4+ goals. Meanwhile, the Stars are a poor 16-20 (minus 9 games on the moneyline) after scoring more than 4 goals in their previous game. Take the Avalanche. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-31-20 | Bruins v. Lightning -118 | Top | 2-3 | Win | 100 | 6 h 37 m | Show |
At 7:00 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. After two dominating victories, the Lighting are one game away from a trip to the Eastern Conference finals to take on either the Flyers or the Islanders. You just have to feel that the air has gone out of the Boston balloon at this point, having been outscored by a combined 10-2 in the last two games. And a perfect scenario would be for Tampa to wrap up the series tonight and have the Flyers and Islanders duke it out for several more days while the Bolts get a chance to rest and practice. Tampa is an incredible 15-3 its last 18 immediately following a game where it did not give up 2+ goals, while Boston's an awful 10-16 (minus 14 games on the moneyline) when playing with triple revenge. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-30-20 | Golden Knights v. Canucks +185 | Top | 5-3 | Loss | -100 | 11 h 23 m | Show |
At 10:30 pm, our selection is on the Vancouver Canucks over the Vegas Golden Knights. This has been a back-and-forth series so far, with the Knights taking Games 1 and 3, and the Canucks taking Game 2. Last night, the Golden Knights broke out on top, 2-0, in the first period even though they were outshot in that period, 16-9. We'll play on Vancouver to bounce back off its shutout loss last night, as it's 5-1 this season off a shutout defeat, and 16-8 (+11 games on the money line) off a shutout loss the last three seasons. Indeed, its Game 2 victory was immediately off a 5-0 shutout loss in Game 1 of this series. Take the Canucks in Game 4 tonight. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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08-30-20 | Flyers +108 v. Islanders | Top | 2-3 | Loss | -100 | 9 h 3 m | Show |
At 8 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the New York Islanders. We played on the Islanders yesterday as our NHL Game of the Month for August, and were rewarded with a 3-1 victory. But we'll switch gears today, and take the #1-seeded Flyers in what is, essentially, a 'must-win' game, given that teams rarely come back from a 3-1 series deficit. The Flyers are a solid 17-6 (+10 games on the money line) when playing with revenge this season from a loss earlier in the year, and 19-12 (+6 games on the moneyline) off a loss. Take Philadelphia. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
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08-29-20 | Golden Knights -195 v. Canucks | Top | 3-0 | Win | 100 | 29 h 25 m | Show |
At 9:45 pm, our selection is on the Vegas Golden Knights over the Vancouver Canucks. As a #5 seed winning its first-round series in a slight upset over the defending champion St. Louis Blues, Vancouver was rewarded by having to face #1 seed Vegas. Many thought this might not be much of a series, and it certainly started to look that way after Vegas white-washed Vancouver in Game 1, 5-0. But to their credit, the Canucks came back big in Game 2 and won decisively, 5-2. If the Knights want a positive takeaway from that loss, there's the fact that they out-played the Canucks through most of that game and out-shot them by a lopsided 40-26. Jacob Markstrom, who was replaced during Game 1 came back and was excellent for Vancouver in Game 2 but he's an inconsistent goalie who will be the target tonight for the Vegas sharp-shooters. The Canucks are 12-19 (-6 games on the moneyline) in their last 31 immediately off a win vs. a Division rival, while Vegas is 17-6 this season when playing with revenge from a loss earlier in the year. Take the Knights. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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08-29-20 | Flyers v. Islanders -111 | Top | 1-3 | Win | 100 | 25 h 10 m | Show |
At 7:00 pm, our selection is on the New York Islanders over the Philadelphia Flyers. After a couple days of postponements, the NHL playoffs re-start today with two games on the ledger that feature the #1 seeds in each conference. And in both cases, those #1 seeds have to feel at least a little bit nervous at this stage. For the Flyers, they're one of the only teams left in the post-season that has perhaps some question at the goaltender position. On the one hand there is young Carter Hart who has gotten them most of the way here, but has shown some cracks and whose inexperience appears to be a vulnerability. On the other, there is veteran Brian Elliott who has plenty of playoff experience but whose best years are behind him. Philly has stuck with Hart so far, but he's been very shaky in two of the last four games and a poor showing early on in this Game 3 might get him the hook. The Flyers are lucky this series is not 0-2 right now, needing OT to win Game 2 after getting trounced in the first one. The Isles like the position they're in as they're playing great hockey since the re-start. And their great play has completely erased the memory of their 7-game losing streak heading into this post-season. Indeed, in New York's three playoff series, they're 8-3, and have yet to lose by more than one goal. Overall, they've outscored their opponents by 37-19, or 1.63 gpg. In contrast, the Flyers have gone 5-3 in their two playoff series, but have been outscored 20-15 (-0.62 gpg). Take New York. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-29-20 | Lightning -110 v. Bruins | Top | 3-1 | Win | 100 | 20 h 52 m | Show |
At 12:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. Including the Round Robin, the Lightning had played a total of 10 post-season games heading into Wednesday night's Game 3 against the Bruins. In those 10, the Bolts were 7-3 and they had won each of those seven games by one goal. Apparently, Tampa really wanted to break that streak of one-goal victories in playoff game #11. Everything came together for the Bolts -- and fell apart for the Bruins -- in Game 3 as Tampa demolished Boston, 7-1. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the seven goals were scored on just 31 shots, resulting in the removal of Jaroslav Halak about mid-way through and the insertion of Daniel Vladar -- the first Bruins goalie ever to make his NHL debut in the post-season. If that sounds like trouble for Boston, it is and no doubt Tampa would like to end this series as soon as possible to get some added rest before the next round. Surprisingly (for a team as good as the Bruins), Boston has won just 18 of 51 games when playing with revenge from a loss by more than three goals. The Bolts are 45-15 in their last 60 after allowing one goal or less in their previous game, and 44-12 their last 56 division contests. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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08-26-20 | Lightning -105 v. Bruins | Top | 7-1 | Win | 100 | 8 h 20 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. After being upset in Game 1, the Lightning bounced back nicely last night to take Game 2 in OT over a very determined Bruins team. Now, with no off-day, the Bolts have to avoid another letdown. They know now that the Bruins are not going to go away without a fight and there's plenty of size on that Boston roster to go toe-to-toe with the talented and speedy Bolts. The key to this series will almost certainly be between the pipes. While the Bruins feature a goalie who was part of a Jennings Trophy-winning tandem in Jaroslav Halak, Tampa has on its side the best young net-minder in the game (and the defending Vezina Trophy winner), Andrei Vasilevskiy. Ironically by the numbers, Vasileveskiy was actually slightly worse in Game 2 than Game 1, but he was huge for his team when it needed him most. With its Game 2 victory, Tampa is now 20-7 in its last 27 vs. division opponents. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-25-20 | Bruins v. Lightning -106 | Top | 3-4 | Win | 100 | 16 h 44 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. When a team goes from playing a huge revenge match-up in the first round to a very good team in the second round, they often find themselves flat. Such was the case for the Lightning in Game 1 of this series having come off of a big payback series with the Blue Jackets. By the time Tampa figured out it was playing the Bruins this time around, it had fallen behind 3-0. The Bolts were out-shot 15-10 in the first period. But after they woke up in the second period, the Lightning dominated the rest of the way, out-shooting the Bruins 27-16 in the final 40 minutes (but only managing to get two of the goals back). The 3-2 defeat was stinging for sure, but it should've taught Tampa Bay a lesson in the process. Expect 60 minutes of Lightning hockey tonight as the Bolts try to even this series. Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy had a rare off-night in goal but I expect him to bounce back big in Game 2. Tampa is 15-7 in its last 22 immediately following a loss to a Division rival. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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08-24-20 | Stars v. Avalanche -156 | Top | 5-2 | Loss | -156 | 16 h 7 m | Show |
At 9:45 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Dallas Stars. It's no small feat what the Stars pulled off in Game 1 of this series. The high-octane Avs finished off the Coyotes in the first round by scoring seven goals in back to back contests in Games 4 and 5 and out-scored them by a total of 22-8 in the series. Yet somehow the Stars managed to hold Colorado to just three goals in Game 1 and come away with a 5-3 victory. But don't think the offensive juggernaut of the Avs is done. They were the highest scoring offense in the regular season and they rarely throw back-to-back duds. The biggest problem for Colorado in Game 1 may have been that goalie Philipp Grubauer was playing hurt in the first period when the Stars netted three of their goals and he eventually came out of the game and was replaced by Pavel Francouz. Francouz is a solid back-up and will be ready for 60 minutes tonight. The Avs are 5-1 (+5 games on the money line) in their last six coming off a loss by at least two goals to a division rival. Take Colorado. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-23-20 | Bruins v. Lightning -105 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -105 | 13 h 0 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. We're down to four teams in each Conference and perhaps no series is as compelling as this one. These two are everyone's favorite playoff underachievers (now that the Caps have won it all) since 2011, the last time one of them took home the Stanley Cup (Boston). Between them, the Bruins and Bolts have lost three Stanley Cup Finals in the last seven years and of course only one of these teams can get there this year. It's the Lightning who come into this quarterfinal series off of a major high, having beaten the team that knocked them out in four straight in the first round in 2019 (Columbus). Their mantra in this playoff run should be "No Stamkos, No problem" as the Bolts have been playing some of their best hockey of the season despite the continued loss of their Captain. This could be the best match-up for them right now as the Bolts are 19-6 (+9 games on the moneyline) in their last 25 games vs. Division foes. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-19-20 | Blue Jackets v. Lightning -171 | Top | 4-5 | Win | 100 | 4 h 28 m | Show |
At 12 noon, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets. There are two takeaways from this -- so far -- lopsided playoff series that could be wrapped up by Tampa this afternoon. The first is that revenge can be sweet as it was the Jackets who eliminated the heavily favored Bolts with a first round playoff sweep in 2019. The second is that a team with depth, a strong defense, and a Vezina-caliber goalie can overcome the loss of its best player as Tampa has done in the post-season so far without C Steven Stamkos. Since that first round shellacking, the Bolts have taken four of five meetings with the Jackets and look to make it five of six today while moving on to the next round. It's not like the Jackets have been a push-over as these battles are close, but it seems that the more tight, low-scoring games the Bolts play, the more they benefit. They are an super 44-15 in their last 59 after allowing one goal or less, while the Jackets are a horrid 24-35 (minus 13 games on the moneyline) when playing with double-revenge. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-17-20 | Lightning -151 v. Blue Jackets | Top | 2-1 | Win | 100 | 10 h 54 m | Show |
At 3:00 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Jackets. After a somewhat surprising comeback by the Blue Jackets in Game 2 of this series, the Lightning's stifling defense took over in Game 3. Tampa smothered Columbus pretty much the entire game on Saturday, allowing just 17 shots to get through to their outstanding net-minder (only seven in the last 45 minutes) and the Bolts won the game 3-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. Tampa has now out-shot Columbus by a whopping 159-102 over the course of the three games and if this continues then it will likely be lights out for the Jackets. In addition to the suffocating defense of their opponent, the Jackets are continuing to be hampered by the loss of several key offensive players. On the other side, with the depth the Lightning have, they haven't seemed to have missed star Steven Stamkos who has been out with a lower body injury. A lot of teams will suffer letdowns off wins, or bounce back after losses, but not these two teams. Tampa is 112-62 (+9 games on the moneyline) off a win, while the Jackets are a poor 18-23 this season off a loss, and just just 14-21 (-5 games on the money line) in its last 35 revenging a loss against an opponent. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-16-20 | Flyers -130 v. Canadiens | Top | 1-0 | Win | 100 | 13 h 39 m | Show |
At 8:00 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the Montreal Canadiens. Those who thought that the Canadiens' improbable run would end quickly in round one against the talented, top-seeded Flyers were in a for a bit of a shock on Friday. The lowest seeded team, who beat the mighty Penguins in four games in the play-in round, shocked Philly with a 5-0 rout two nights ago. Veteran goalie Carey Price was magnificent, stopping all 30 shots he faced while the Flyers pulled their #1, Carter Hart, after he allowed four goals and replaced him with veteran Brian Elliott. If you're a Flyers fan there's no need to panic just yet. Philly was simply flat on Friday and the Flyers have done a really good job recently at bouncing back after games like that. Philly is 7-2 (+6 games on the moneyline) in its last nine after a blowout loss of at least five goals in the previous contest. The Flyers are also 14-5 (+10 games on the moneyline) in their last 19 revenging a loss to an opponent. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are a poor 6-11 this season (and 16-32 the past 3 seasons (-15 games on the moneyline)) when matched up against the league's best teams (which outscore their foes by 0.5 goals per game). Take Philadelphia. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-15-20 | Lightning -167 v. Blue Jackets | Top | 3-2 | Win | 100 | 13 h 26 m | Show |
At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets. You have to hand it to the Blue Jackets. After a devastating 5 OT loss in Game one on Tuesday, you wouldn't blame them if they packed it in. But Columbus sucked it up and came back in Game 2 on Thursday and beat the favored Bolts, 3-1. Now it's up to Tampa to show that it can rebound in the same manner. The Lightning once again had a huge shot advantage in game two, 37-22, but following his NHL record 85-save performance in Game 1, Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo was stellar once again. Look for the Bolts to shake up their front lines in an effort to get back to the type of scoring they had during most of the regular season (first in the NHL at 3.47 GPG). The banged-up Jackets will once again be without several key offensive players, including Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson, and Cam Atkinson. Tampa is 19-3 (+14 games on the moneyline) in its last 22 after scoring 1 goal or less in its previous game, and 59-25 (+20 games on the moneyline) off a loss. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |