Written by Scott on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023
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A busy night last night and I had 2 tips and went 0-2 in a what was a bad night.
I went with the Leafs to win in regulation but this game needed overtime where the Leafs won 5-4 when Nylander scored his 2nd. The Panthers scored 4 goals on 8 shots against Murray who got pulled. The Panthers had only 19 shots on goal.
I had the Jets to win in regulation but the Habs won 4-1 stopping the Jets win streak at 3 games.
The Wild beat the Capitals 4-2, the Flyers moved to 8-2 over their last 10 when they beat the Ducks 5-2, the Hawks came back to beat the Sabres 4-3 in overtime after being down 3-1 after the 2nd and the Coyotes beat the Wings 4-3 in overtime.
After a couple rough nights for me I’m going to avoid any tips for tonight. It’s better to play it safe when you’re in a funk like I am. And the odds are pretty lopsided for over half of the games.
Penguins vs Senators
The Pens are still in a slump. They have gone 3-6-1 over last 10 and are on the road here where they have gone 10-10-2.
The Sens have a similar home record as the Pens do a road one going 11-10-1.
The Pens are in 5th in the Metro and haven’t had the best season for their standards. If the playoffs were to start today they would be in the 8th and final wild card spot and be playing the Bruins in the 1st round.
In previous years I would jump all over the Pens in this situation but they don’t look like themselves at the moment.
Bruins vs Islanders
The Bruins continue to be the best team in the league. Anytime they play they are going to be the favorites.
The Isles are tied with the Penguins for the 8th position in the East but they have played 2 more game than the Pens.
The Bruins are 1st in GPG, 1st in GAPG, 5th in shots per game, 1st in penalty kill and 3rd in power play.
All signs point to a Bruins win but it would need to be in at least regulation. It’s not the worst play in a the world
Avalanche vs Flames
Big game here for both teams.
The Flames are in 8th in the West with 51 points in 45 games, the Avs are in 9th with 47 points in 42 games.
With the Avs playing 3 less than the Flames this is a huge opportunity for them to gain ground and for the Flames it can give them some more distance.
Should be a fun game to watch.
Lightning vs Canucks
The Lightning are 8-2-0 over last 10 and the Canucks are 3-7-0.
On the road the Lightning are 11-9-0 and the Canucks are 8-10-1 at home.
The Lightning are the favorites here and should win this game. Their road record is just above .500 which makes this not a slam dunk for them. We would need to take them in regulation to get over the minimum.
Stars vs Sharks
The Stars are having a great season so far. They are tied for 1st in the Central with the Jets but the Jets have more wins.
The Sharks have struggled all season and over their last 10 they have gone 2-5-3. They are at home for this one but that hasn’t been a strong place from them to play going 4-12-7 in San Jose.
The Stars should win this game. They are the 3rd ranked team in GAPG and 15th in shots against per game where the Sharks are 23rd in GPG and 28th in GAPG.
Makar is out for Colorado
Too bad the Jackets couldn’t put the puck in the net, 40 shots on goal, most since October so they definitely put in effort. In hindsight probably not the type of spot the Preds would have a let-down game in, but CBJ did show up so not the worst underdog bet ever.
At least the Flyers got it done as expected, and a couple bullets dodged with some games last night I feel like. Red Wings and Sabres giving up those leads.. oof.
Norris returns for the Sens tonight. I thought a healthy Ottawa team looked like a playoff team to me very early in the year, so interesting to see if they can get back to that level with him in the lineup. Pens going to get a lift from that OT win vs the Ducks so expecting a good start but with their injured defense I doubt they can keep the Sens at bay entirely. Message for the Sens after last game was they need to score more goals so Over 6 seems like a decent play for this game. Pens good ES offense, Sens good on the PP, fast game flowing both ways and neither team great defensively so yeah why not.
Ottawa Alex Debrincat to score +130.
Since no actual plays jumped out, was gonna take a shot on a player to score today. Going with DeBrincat. Ottawa offense ticks up at home. Pittsburgh goals against on the road goes up a little as well. DeBrincat shooting percentage has dipped a little so far this season. But he’s still taking a decent amount of shots. I believe him and Tkachuk had the shot total highs set at 3.5 for today. He gets to face DeSmith tonight so that could be a plus as well. Not a bad day for me to give player props a shot with, no other plays on the NHL.
Also since I’m goin props : NBA
Kristaps Porzingis 1st Field Goal +500
Good play