Written by Scott on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023
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Had 2 tips yesterday and went 1-1.
The win was the Penguins to beat the Preds. This was a close game that had no goals until about halfway through the 3rd but the Pens won 3-1.
I had the Sabres to beat the Jackets in regulation but the Jackets scored first and never trailed when they won 5-3. The loss ended the Sabres win streak at 3 games after they beat some tough teams the Capitals, Panthers and Lightning.
The Bruins beat the Flames 4-3 in overtime and they were outshot badly 57-20 so was a big game from Ullmark. The Kings beat the Jets 6-5 in a shootout with Kopitar scoring 4 and with both teams gaining points in was a big game in the standings.
The Wild beat the Isles, in a low scoring game as expected, 2-1 in a shootout. The Panthers beat the Lightning 4-1 to stay 3 points out of the playoffs and the Kraken snapped their losing skid at 3 games when they beat the Blues 5-3.
It was all but offical on the weekend but Kane is a Ranger, Ekholm went to the Oilers for Barrie, the Leafs traded Sandin to the Caps, the Leafs traded for Luke Schenn and the Wild got Nyquist.
6 games for us tonight and with all of the moves that have happened and that are going to happen its tough to predict a game until all of the dust has settled.
Rangers vs Flyers
The Rangers need to win against teams like the Flyers who are all but eliminated from the playoffs.
They have been strong on the road going 17-7-5 and the Flyers have gone 11-15-3 at home.
The Rangers won’t have the newly acquired Kane until tomorrow but they are still a stacked team.
I want to take the Rangers here and it would need to be in regulation but before their last win they had lost 4 in a row and have had 2 of their last 6 go to extra time
Leafs vs Oilers
The Leafs have shown that they are going for it this year. They acquired O’Reilly, Acciari, McCabe, Lafferty Schenn which makes them a deep team.
A big test for them will be the Oilers who are at home, on a 2 game losing skid and in the thick of the playoff race.
The Leafs are ranked 6th in GPG and the Oilers are 1st.
This is a game where the Leafs making all of the moves they did might affect how they play here and the Oilers swapped defenseman with the Preds so I’m skipping.
Coyotes vs Stars
The Coyotes are playing for pride at this point. They are way out of the playoff picture.
The Stars have gone 3-3-4 over their last 10 but are still in 1st in the Central with 75 points in 60 games. The Wild are 2nd with 74 in 61 and the Avalanche are in 3rd with 73 in 58 games.
I want to take the Stars here but I would need to take them -2.5 and with the way they have been playing its an easy pass for me.
Devils vs Avalanche
Should be a great game between 2 of the top 10 teams in the league.
The Devils are in 2nd in the Metro and only 3 points behind the Canes. The Avalanche are in 3rd but only 2 back of the Stars in 1st.
The Devils have been the best road team this season going 21-4-3 so I would like to think they can win. But the Avalanche need points and could win here so I’m passing.
Capitals vs Ducks
The Caps have been playing like garbage of late. They have gone 3-7 over last 10 and are currently 3 points out of the playoffs.
The Ducks are at the bottom of the standings and the Caps need to use this to get themselves back on track.
I would need to take the Caps in regulation and normally that wouldn’t be a problem but with the way they have been playing I don’t have the confidence in them at the moment to make that tip.
Hurricanes vs Knights
The Canes have gone 8-2 over their last 10 games and are in 1st in the Metro. The Knights have gone 6-1-3 and have lost their last 2 games. They are in 1st in the Pacific and the Kings have the same number of points but have played 2 more games.
This game should be a good one. I would say I like the Canes chances but the Knights are at risk of dropping in the standings so they can’t afford any half-ass showings.
The trade activity has me very careful here, and I’ll still keep watching that through the day, till Friday’s trade deadline hour. Today:
To WIN reverse puckline of +1.5: Oilers, at X1.40
To WIN moneyline: Rangers, at about X1.45
I consider these strong leans; likely picks:
To WIN puckline: Rangers
To WIN moneyline: Oilers
3rd Period moneyline WIN: Rangers
Weaker lean:
To WIN reverse puckline of +1.5: Anaheim
Ekholm is reported to be in the Oilers lineup tonight, and that team, with a great new defenseman and experienced defense system coach in Ekholm, will send a long-overdue rush of improvement and confidence into the whole Oilers lineup. Off that frustrating loss to the Bruins, I expect the Oilers to go electric on Toronto today, at home, at this very important point in the playoff race.
With Toronto making many trades VERY recently, traded “out” players are gone and newbies are either not all arrived or not yet adjusted to their new team. I don’t expect Toronto to be at their most composed tonight; they’ll need a few days to settle in to what they are to become. That takes practices, games and lots of chats among players and coaching staff. They’re apparently better with those trades, but the reality of trades is you often don’t see coherent change or improvement when players are on the same day as a game one with their new team, arriving in airports alone, meeting a new team, trying on new sweaters, being introduced to their new lines, getting to a hotel, having a meal on the road, and the Leafs being 2700 km’s (by air) from home tonight, yada yada yada.
As Scott points out, Washington is not well right now. Anaheim has won their last three games, including wins over Carolina and Washington, and scored at least 3 goals in 8 of their last 10 games. Washington has scored 2 or less goals in 6 of their last 10 games. A non-conference game not likely to stir the Caps interest much, Anaheim to win at about +165 looks tempting too.
I think though Caps need to use this kind of opportunities. Easy win.
I told myself over the weekend I’d be taking a shot on the Rangers Adam Fox to score here and possibly the Bruins game. He’s already dropped to +370 from I believe +400 vs the Kings. When looking at the Rangers potential goal scorers, I’m still seeing a lot of possibilities. So it’s a little bit of a crap shoot to narrow down. I tried talking myself into some other guys on other teams as well. Most notably Hughes and Ryan Graves on the Devils. Hughes just scored in his last game which I successfully was on. I think jumping back on him again would be the wrong move for me. I thought about Graves but I might be trying to force the pick a bit based on his +750 payout. I really wanna fade Colorado goalie Annunen, after facing just 20 shots and beating the Blues. Maybe a Devils in regulation bet at +150 is the better move. So far just Rangers Fox to score for me at +370. Might end up doing something with that Devils game though. I’d liken this to the same as my shot on Ekblad yesterday which didn’t come thru.
Fox +370