Written by Graeme & Scott on Wednesday, August 12th, 2020
Follow @BetNHL
5 OT Periods. 85 freaking saves.
Gosh we love hockey.
Wednesday, August 12th will see the remaining 8 teams play the first round of the playoffs with all day NHL action yet again.
Life is good.
Let’s jump right into the Game 1s – Bruins/Canes stuff form yesterday obviously applies to today too.
Islanders vs Capitals Game 1 Betting Tips:
October 4th: Islanders 1-2 Capitals
December 31st: Capitals 3-4 Islanders
January 18th: Islanders 4-6 Capitals
February 10th: Capitals 3-5 Islanders
Graeme: The Capitals go into this one as 1.74 favourites with the line set at 5.5 goals. An interesting line considering the last three results between the teams.
The Islanders overcame the Florida Panthers 3-1 in the qualifiers. The Capitals had a 1-1-1 record with their only win over the woeful Bruins.
Motivation will be an interesting factor for the Caps in this game – that’s for sure. They have had issues for that for years. Just look at how many games they have to go a goal or two behind before waking up and flexing their muscle. Holtby in particular will be an interesting factor and you have to wonder if he steps up. It’s certainly possible.
Islanders like to capitalize on counter attacks so that could affect the goal line if the Caps aren’t too motivated. This is actually a really intriguing one and one I am not too sure about at all. I’ve went back and forth and not really finding an angle. I want to back the over but I am not quite sure how up for it the Caps will be and that may affect things.
I’ll go with Over 5.5 Goals but please note I have very little confidence in it. This is one where I’d much rather wait and see the Caps in action.
Canada: 2.19 Odds at BetOnline..
USA: +119 Odds at BetOnline..
Everyone Else: 2.19 Odds at BetOnline..
(Odds correct as of 2020/08/12 1:38:19 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Scott: The Islanders used their strong defensive play to get by the Panthers in 4 games. The Caps went 1-2 in the round robin to finish in 3rd place.
This will be a good series and Isles coach Barry Trotz is excited, I’m sure, to take on his old team.
The Capitals are a strong offensive team and in my opinion they should be able to overcome the Islanders defense to win the series. They will be looking to strike first and win game 1.
Capitals win incl OT
Canada: 1.78 Odds at BetOnline..
USA: -128 Odds at BetOnline..
Everyone Else: 1.78 Odds at BetOnline..
(Odds correct as of 2020/08/12 1:38:19 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Coyotes vs Avalanche Game 1 Betting Tips:
October 12th: Avalanche 3-2 Coyotes (OT)
November 2nd: Coyotes 3-0 Avalanche
Graeme: It took me a minute to remember that the Coyotes had actually qualified for the next round ha. But that they did as they beat the Preds 3-1. Some tight games, some excellent performances from Kumeper, and overall solid offensive output.
The Avs played well enough in the round robin beating the Stars and Blues in relatively quiet games before losing to the Knights in OT.
I think we’ll see some high scoring games this series. Look at the Coyotes offense before the break where they had some really good offensive games.
However the Avs are just too good and too deep. I’m tempted by Avs in regulation but I think the Coyotes offensive output will continue and we’ll go with Over 5.5 Goals. Bit risky considering Coyotes and Avs both have really good GAA stats but I think the Coyotes know they are going to need to outscore the Avs to have a shot.
Canada: 2.02 Odds at BetOnline..
USA: +102 Odds at BetOnline..
Everyone Else: 2.02 Odds at BetOnline..
(Odds correct as of 2020/08/12 1:38:19 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Scott: The Avalanche went 2-1 in the round robin losing their only game in overtime 4-3 to the Golden Knights. The Coyotes got by the Predators in 4 games and a huge part of that was Darcy Kuemper.
The Avalanche are healthy and a much better team than the Predators offensively. Kuemper was great against the Preds but the Avs are a different animal. The Coyotes will have troubles containing MacKinnon and company.
Avalanche win in regulation
Canada: 1.90 Odds atBet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
USA: -120 Odds at Bovada although if you wait till tomorrow no doubt BetOnline. will have the line up and better odds.
Everyone Else: 1.90 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
(Odds correct as of 2020/08/12 1:38:19 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Canadiens vs Flyers Game 1 Betting Tips:
November 7th: Flyers 3-2 Canadians (OT)
November 30th: Canadiens 3-4 Flyers (OT)
January 16th: Flyers 1-4 Canadiens
Graeme: No line write-up needed for this one. Love my Habs. Advanced metrics wise they are excellent. So much xG created, so little created against them. Price is getting too much credit but maybe that’s a good thing – forces teams to focus on him rather than the other players on the ice who are turning it on.
However out of the round robins, Philly impressed me a lot. Hart is great. The entire team looks hungry and motivated. Habs win over the Penguins was great and all but I said at Game 1 when I tipped the Habs that I just don’t believe in the Penguins. When I watched the round robins I felt like Philly were going to be a contender. So gotta go with that:
Flyers in Regulation
Scott: The Habs beat the Penguins in 4 games and they made it look easy which is crazy. The Flyers won all 3 games in the round robin and didn’t trail once during.
The Habs made it through the Penguins so are the Flyers a better or worse team than the Pens? This is a longer series so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
I like the Flyers to come out winners of this series but I can’t ignore how the Habs handled the Pens. I’ll need to see what happens after the first game to see if the Habs can continue their hot streak before I can back them.
Flyers in regulation
Canada: 2.04 Odds at Casumo
USA: +100 Odds at Bovada.
Everyone Else: 2.04 Odds at Casumo
(Odds correct as of 2020/08/12 1:38:19 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Canucks vs Blues Game 1 Betting Tips:
October 17th: Blues 3-4 Canucks (SO)
November 5th: Canucks 1-2 Blues (OT)
January 27th: Canucks 3-1 Blues
Graeme: The Blues lost 2 and had an overtime loss in the round robins. Not great but everything was close at least. The Canucks got owned by the Wild in Game 1 then took over and fought hard and got the wins to progress 3-1.
Toffoli is doubtful for Game 1 which sucks for the Canucks. They have the better top line but that won’t be enough. I did like the game plan the Canucks used following Game 1 in the Wild series however. Did a good job at stopping the odd-man rush from occuring as much.
This is another one where I feel very tough about betting on it. However I think I’ll take the Canucks to win. They’ve got the better momentum, plus thinking back I really dig the way they responded after game 1 agains the Wild ya know? Just felt like some real team cohesion etc. Blues are obviously a big step up from the Wild so we’ll see how they respond.
Canucks to win incl OT
Canada: 2.30 Odds at Bovada.
Everyone Else: 2.28 Odds at Casumo
(Odds correct as of 2020/08/12 1:38:19 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Scott: The Canucks beat the Wild in 4 games including the last 3 in a row. The Blues didn’t have a good round robin losing all 3 games but they did take one to overtime
Should be a great series. The Canucks are full of youth and their speed could cause problems for the Blues. But the Blues are the defending champs and they have the experience where the Canucks will be having some players experience their first playoff action.
I’ll go with the Blues to win this game. I figure their Cup win last year will get them through game 1 with a win
Blues win in regulation
Canada: 2.08 Odds at 888 Sports.
USA: +100 Odds at Bovada.
Everyone Else: 2.08 Odds at 888 Sports.
(Odds correct as of 2020/08/12 1:38:19 AM EST but are subject to change.)
