Written by Graeme on Sunday, August 2nd, 2020
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Day 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup qualifiers brought in some interesting results, with two massive upsets.
The Chicago Blackhawks stunned the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 and the mighty Montreal Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in OT.
Welcome to playoff freaking hockey!
Of course the biggest news may be the injuries on the Jets to Scheifele and Laine. The Schiefele injury especially seemed to knock the wind out of the Jets still managed to get the lead and then got shell shocked in the 2nd period. That was absolutely brutal.
A quick note that due to internet issues, Scott will likely not be able to provide tips all week. So it will just be me holding down the fort the next few days.
Another busy day with four games taking place in the qualifiers so let’s get to it. And while I am not tipping any round robin games holy crap will I be betting against the Bruins. They just don’t look like they give a crap right now.
(All odds listed are the best odds available for that particular bet. All odds correct as of 2020/08/02 9:48:02 PM EST but are subject to change.)
Rangers vs Hurricanes Game 2 Betting Tips:
I backed the Rangers to win in Game 1. They didn’t and there was a surprise in net with Lundqvis in there however that was certainly not the difference maker. He was excellent honestly I thought. Canes are a machine and got the win however if you’re a Canes fan, you have to be concerned about Mrazek.
Mrazek looks easily beatable. That was my main takeaway from that game. I think the Rangers figured out how to beat Mrazek and they’ll be able to put more pressure on him in Game 2.
One thing we learned about the Rangers in the regular season was they never gave up. Think of that key, key loss against the Sabres in February. That was an absolutely killer one for them and their playoff hopes yet they followed it up with 4 straight wins. And actually they won 8 out of their next 9 games.
At the price, I feel fine backing the Rangers again. I presume it’s Mrazek again and Shesterkin or Lundqvist I’m fine with. Zibanejad didn’t practise today but they said he’ll be ready. That might be something you may want to just keep track on just prior to game time as that would be a complete no bet if that was the case. Assuming he is playing I’ll take Rangers to win incl OT/SO.
Canada: 2.30 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
USA: +130 Odds at Bovada.
Everyone Else: 2.30 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
(All odds listed are the best odds available for that particular bet. All odds correct as of 2020/08/02 9:48:02 PM EST but are subject to change.)
Jets vs Flames Game 2 Betting Tips:
I always like a team to bounce back when a key player gets injured. A lot of my winning bets have been from that. A key player gets injured and the sportsbooks make that team big underdogs. However I’ve always felt that the team bonds together well due to an injury and at least for that next game, they step it up.
Can the Jets do that? Schiefele is one thing but Laine? Ugh. Some silly penalties by the Jets didn’t help. That shorthanded goal was a mess. That 3rd period and the Jets PPs were brutal. Not good. Their special teams overall were horrible.
There’s no news on Laine so we’ll do a conditional pick based on that. Jets to win incl OT/SO IF Laine plays. If not it’s a no play.
Canada: 2.32 Odds at BetOnline..
USA: +132 Odds at BetOnline..
Everyone Else: 2.32 Odds at BetOnline..
(All odds listed are the best odds available for that particular bet. All odds correct as of 2020/08/02 9:48:02 PM EST but are subject to change.)
Canadiens vs Penguins Game 2 Betting Tips:
It was a big win for the Habs in Game 1. Now they are even bigger underdogs in Game 2.
It was a big wake-up call for the Pens and the question is – how do they respond to it? The yweren’t the best team at bouncing back during the regular season. It’s quite interesting actually as a lot of games when they lost they would win the follow up but it was in OT.
The narrative the media are pushing – no surprise – is that it was all Price but I don’t think that was the case. It’s just a fun narrative to push. I really dug the overall performance of the Habs and thought Suzuki was bloody fantastic. Like that was “rush out and buy a jersey” type quality and if he keeps that up I’ll be getting one for sure.
Crosbys corsi stats for that game were just ridiculous btw. I’m highly conflicted on this one. I think there’s a very good chance it will be a battle and could go to OT. However I also think it has the potential for a lot of goals.
The question is when the Penguins start getting past Price how will the Habs react?
There’s a very good chance that the Pens blow them out of course. However seeing the way the Pens react to losses a lot of the time I’m going to do a very risky bet of Game to go to OT instead.
Canada: 4.00 Odds at Bovada.
Everyone Else: 4.00 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
(All odds listed are the best odds available for that particular bet. All odds correct as of 2020/08/02 9:48:02 PM EST but are subject to change.)
Blackhawks vs Oilers Game 2 Betting Tips:
The Oilers were absolutely stunned by the Blackhawks. Mike Smith is a name getting mentioned a lot but in reality it was that Oilers defence that were a nightmare.
Based on the way the Blackhawks have been the last few years it just felt like typical Hawks. No-one gives them a chance and that’s when they bring the goods.
I don’t think one game will be enough to shake the rust off on the Oilers defence. But that Blackhawks offense often goes AWOL and that is concerning.
I’m going to take Oilers win the Race to 3 Goals meaning that the Oilers have to score 3 goals before the Blackhawks do. If neither team scores 3 it’s a loss.
Canada: 1.90 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
USA: No odds yet but Bovada should have it closer to game time.
Everyone Else: 1.90 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
(All odds listed are the best odds available for that particular bet. All odds correct as of 2020/08/02 9:48:02 PM EST but are subject to change.)
