A 1-2 night last night as our pick on the “over” between the Islanders and Capitals had no problem cashing, but the Islanders and Flames did not play as expected and both suffered losses. Did anyone take notice to the HUGE victory by the Buffalo Sabres last night against the Sharks? How many bettors out there thought the Sharks were a “sure thing” last night and paid the ridiculous juice (and lost)? And anyone who backed the Sabres last night made right around triple their money as the Sabres were huge underdogs. That just goes to show you that there are no guarantees in the world of sports betting and there are no “sure things”. The Sabres managed to hold on for a victory in a shootout even though they were out-shot 51-36. Moving onto today, there are four games on the board, and we have two puck line picks. If even one of these picks is a winner we will still make a nice profit tonight:
Nashville Predators @ Colorado Avalanche: Avalanche -1.5 (Puck Line) 2.46
In 13 games this season the Avalanche are a near perfect 12-1. The Colorado Avalanche are currently 5th in the NHL for Goals at 3.23 G/G. The Avs are Number 1 in the League for GA/G at a very impressive 1.46 GA/G. The Avalanche also hold another Number 1 spot: they have the best penalty kill in the League at 90.9 PK%. The Nashville Predators penalty kill is rather terrible, at 79.6 PK% which is 22nd in the League. The Predators average 12.6 PIM/G which means the Avalanche power play unit should have a few tries tonight and they face the 8th worst penalty kill in the entire league. These two teams share a similar power play: the Avalanche are successful 19% of the time and the Predators are 20.9%. However, the Predators must face the BEST penalty kill unit in the league. On three days rest or more, the Avalanche score slightly more goals on average at 3.75. Their goals against remains similar at 1.50 GA. Also note that the Avalanche are a perfect 4-0 ATS on three days rest. The Predators are 7-5-2 on the season and have gone 3-3-1 away. They are averaging just 2.21 G/G and allowing 2.71 GA/G. Semyon Varlamov has been confirmed as the starting goaltender for the Avalanche tonight. He has a 1.78 GAA and a .944 SV%. Carter Hutton is listed as the probable starter for the Preds. In six games played he has gone 3-1-1 and has allowed 16 goals on 186 shots for a GAA of 2.76 and a .914 SV%. The last outing for the Avalanche was on November 2nd where they beat the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 4-1. They have had three days off since playing the Habs and we expect them to break out of the gate tonight and cover the puck line against a weaker Nashville Predators team.
Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Rangers: Penguins -1.5 (Puck Line) 3.22
We will take this great price on the Penguins puck line tonight. The Penguins score more than three goals per game (3.13 G/G) and the New York Rangers are scoring less than two (1.86 G/G). The Rangers allow one more goal on average than they can score, at 2.86 GA/G. in 15 games played, the Penguins have gone 4-2 Away and 11-4 overall. The Rangers have played 14 games, have split their decisions at home (2-2) and have gone 6-8-0 overall. The NHL point leader Sidney Crosby will look to go five straight games with points tonight as he has a four game point streak gaining five assists in this time. He currently has 23 points (8 Goals, 15 Assists). Four Pittsburgh Penguins have more points than the two (tied) point leaders for the New York Rangers (Richard/Stepan tied at 10 points). In the eight losses the Rangers have experienced this season, 6/8 losses have been by 2 goals or more. 7 of the 11 wins for the Penguins this season have been by 2 goals or more. The Penguins are much more disciplined than the Rangers. The Penguins average 9.8 PIM/G and the Rangers are nearly double that number at 15.5 PIM/G. The Pens have a 21.2 PP% (8th), and if the Rangers give them 5 or 6 opportunities tonight there is bound to be at least one successful attempt by the Penguins. Simply put, the Rangers just can’t score goals, and they aren’t very good at preventing goals on their own net. The Penguins have no problem scoring goals and do a pretty good job defensively as well. We will take this good price for the Penguins to cover the puck line tonight in New York.
