Picks: Canucks Continue Road Trip in Nashville

Captain Lou and his Canucks should be primed to bounce back after taking the defeat in Carolina. Look for that and more as we break down a few of the games tonight!

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New York Islanders +145 at Philadelphia Flyers -165

I’m following the Flyers’ tailspin as long as I can. They have apparent locker room issues and I don’t think Peter Laviolette has time to fix it in one night. We saw them lose last night when they only allowed 13 shots on goal and they could only scrounge up 15 shots. It seems everytime I see the Isles they are on the road, and that’s because they’ve played 10 of their last 12 games on the road, going 4-4-2 during their road games. Martin Biron is the likely starter and has struggled a bit on the road, 1-5-2 3.50 GAA but played a strong game against his former club on Nov. 25, only allowing 2 goals. Both Philly goalies have played poorly of late but it’s the Philly offense that is really letting the club down. They haven’t scored a PP goal in 5 games and only averaged 1 goal per game over that stretch. We’ll see how the Isles respond after getting shutout in Tampa. Consider the Isles +1.5 for -200 as well.
Pick: Isles +145

Montreal Canadiens +135 at Ottawa Senators -155

Have you noticed how bad the Sens have been lately? They snapped a 4-game losing streak on Sunday in Anaheim but have only won 2 of their last 7. Part of the reason is that Brian Elliott has struggled carrying a full workload and is brutal on the road, 2-5-1 3.61 GAA. Fortunately, he’s at home tonight where he has a stellar 4-0-2 2.18 GAA on the year. Jaroslav Halak is going tonight and he’s a brutal 0-3 with a 5.02 GAA on the road this season after allowing 6 goals in Buffalo his last time out. Sure, the Habs are on a 2-game winning streak but they had no business winning last night against Philly with their 13 total shots on net. The Sens play like a different team at home, averaging 3.4 goals per game and allowing an average of 2.7 goals against. The Canadiens don’t score on the road, average a second-worst 2.1 goals per game and allowing 3.3 per game. Montreal rolls into Ottawa with a 5-8 away record, but 3-1 against the division, and the Sens are 10-3-3, 2-0-1 vs. the division.
Pick: Sens -155

Vancouver Canucks -120 at Nashville Predators +100

Nashville’s heydey is over. They’ve gone 2-3-1 since their 7 game winning streak and allowed 5 goals in 3 of those losses. Overall, the Canucks have the 5th best offense, 3.1 goals per game, and 7th-best defense, 2.6 goals per game. Ignore that loss to Carolina as Raycroft was in net and Carolina actually plays well at home. The Canucks have shown they can also win on the road as they’ve gone 2-1 on this road trip, averaged 3.6 goals per game, and out-dueled the Devils (and Flyers but I’m not sure if that counts). Nashville still has the third-worst home offense, 2.3 goals per game and it’s not likely to get better with Roberto Luongo in net.
Pick: Canucks -120

Fan Favourite Record: 14-14, -3.25

Betting results by category so far this season:

Money Line 67-68, -10.76
Puck Line 14-19, +1.2
Game Totals 52-42-1, +3.33