Picks: Devil’s Night

It would be less (more?) cheesy if the Devil’s were actually playing tonight but nevertheless, Devil’s Night provides us with plenty of hockey watching opportunities as we all put the finishing touches on our costumes.

Looking for a great sportsbook site to place your bets? I use and trust Bodog to place my hockey bets but if you are looking for a site where you can bet for free, try CentSports. You always have a minimum of 10 cents to start off and let you bet on the NHL and other sports. When you increase your balance, you are eligible to cash out! Remember that I post these picks for fun and I encourage you to do the same (i.e. don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose). All lines are provided by Bodog and are current at the time of posting.

New York Islanders +210 at Washington Capitals -250

Don’t let the Islanders’ latest win over the Gaborik-less Rangers fool you, or taking the Caps to overtime at home. They are still far away from back-to-back victories over two of the top teams in the league. The Caps are riding high right now after reuniting their top line of Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin and it’s been paying dividends. They are coming off a convincing 4-2 victory against Philly at home, improving to 4-1-1 in Washington. The Caps also have the 7th ranked offense at home, 3.7 goals for, and 12th ranked defense, 2.7 goals allowed. The Islanders haven’t fared as well on the road, owning the 6th worst road offense, 2.2 goals for, and the 5th worst road defense, 4.2 goals against. The Caps are an incredible 6-2 as the favourite and it’s easy to back them here as well.
Pick: Caps -1.5

Pittsburgh Penguins +110 at Columbus Blue Jackets -130

As surprising as it may seem, the Blue Jackets went 13-3-2 against Eastern Conference opponents last season but split their two games against the Penguins, the home team taking each of them. The Penguins, however, are a force to be reckoned with this season, going 10-2 overall and are a perfect 5-0-0 on the road. In their 5 road games, the game total has gone over 3 times. Prior to their 6-1 romp over the Canadiens, the Pens went under the game total in 6 straight (1 was a push). The Pens will also be without Evgeni Malkin for the next few weeks. The Jackets are struggling mightily right now, losing 4 of their last 5 games and getting outscored 28-16 in the process. Prior to Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Coyotes, the Jackets were 3-0 with a 1.00 goals against average at home. Every single home game for the Jackets has gone under the game total. It’s a matchup of the best road offense, 4.2 goals for, against the best home defense, 1.8 goals for but recent performance dictates this one: the Jackets have allowed an uncharacteristic 4+ goals in 5 straight games.
Pick: Pens +110

Toronto Maple Leafs +165 at Buffalo Sabres -185

The Sabres, led by Ryan Miller’s stellar goaltending, have been a force to be reckoned with in this early season, going 7-1-1. The Sabres have also finally manage to find some offensive stability with their now 11th-ranked offense, averaging 3.3 goals for per game. Buffalo leads the league in shots for, 36 per game, and has the best defense at 1.89 goals against. The Leafs’ defense is still the worst in the league, 4.2 goals per game, despite them gaining a little bit of momentum on their Western-conference road trip. If the Leafs expect to maintain their recent offensive prowess into Buffalo, they are mistaken. In 6 meetings last season, the Leafs averaged a total of 1.33 goals for and allowed 3.67 goals per game, and only won once. Expect more of the same this season.
Pick: Sabres -1.5

Vancouver Canucks +155 at Anaheim Ducks -175

If there’s one thing to say about the Ducks, it’s that they are slumping… badly. The Ducks haven’t been able to keep the puck out of their net, no matter who is in goal, allowing a 28th-ranked 3.7 goals per game. The visiting Canucks are also now without star goalie Roberto Luongo who has contributed greatly to the Canucks’ 8th-ranked defence. However, Andrew Raycroft now has the responsibility of getting the Canucks out of 4th place in the division. In 4 meetings between these two teams last season, the game total went over in all 4 games by at least 1.5 goals. Given the goaltending situations of these two teams, going over the game total is another reasonable expectation for tonight. Pick: Over 5.5 goals -105

Betting results by category so far this season:

Money Line 19-25, -20.76
Puck Line 5-8, -2.5
Totals 21-14-1, +1.33