Picks: Luongo vs. Brodeur, OMG! OMG! OMG!
Yeah, okay. There’s a lot of hype about the Canucks at the Devils tonight because people speculate the winner will instantly be dubbed the starting goalie of Team Canada. I’m not buying into that, but it will be a great game. On a side note, the Fan Favourite is evened up on another solid night!
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Tampa Bay Lightning +165 at Boston Bruins -175
Looks like the Bruins have finally rebounded after a less-than-expected start to the season by winning 5 of their last 6. Whether it’s Tuukka Rask or Tim Thomas, the Bruins are keeping the puck out of the net, and have the 5th-best defense overall, 2.5 goals against. The Lightning goalies have relapsed a bit from their stretch of superb goaltending to allow an average of 3.14 goals per game over their last 7. Boston has gone under in 11 of their last 17 and in 4 of their last 5 at home. In their last two games at home, Boston has peppered opponents with 33 shots per game which turns me away from game totals. If the Lightning goalies are letting in 3-4 goals per game, it’s likely Boston can match that if their offense keeps up like it has lately. However, that said, the Bruins shouldn’t have a problem taking the slumping Bolts at home.
Pick: Bruins -175
Vancouver Canucks +100 at New Jersey Devils -120
IF it’s true the winning goalie will be Team Canada’s starter (it’s probably not) and IF these goalies believe it (they probably won’t) then which goalie do you think has displayed they can play well under pressure? However, more realistically, this game will come down to the teams involved and Vancouver is simply an awful road team. They’re 4-8 on the road, allow 3.3 goals per game on the road, and are playing their first East Coast road game of the season. The Canucks are coming off of a 5-game homestand where they went 3-2 and prior to that, they had a 5 game road stretch where they went 2-3. The Devils, on the other hand, are hot again and likely getting more bodies back from injury tonight. They are 7-4 at home and feature the league’s best defense, 2.1 goals against per game – they’ve held opponents to 1 goal per game over their last 3. The Devils are obviously the hotter team here and are fortunate to be playing the Canucks in their home rink. Go under if you dare but Vancouver has gone over in 4 of their last 6 road games.
Pick: Devils -120
Nashville Predators -105 at Minnesota Wild -115
The line is 5 in this game. Nashville allowed 5 goals to Calgary last game and their game against Florida two nights prior went to 5 goals. The Wild have matched the 5 goal total 3 times in their last 5 games and only stayed under it once. The Predators are 5-4-3 based on a 5 goal total on the road this season. The Wild have gone 4-1-6 on the 5-goal game total at home on the season. Both teams are average in scoring, 2.5 goals per game for the Preds and 2.9 goals per game for the Wild, and both team have average defenses, 3.1 goals against for the Preds and 2.7 goals against for the Wild. Pekka Rinne, while playing well for the Predators and is their likely starter for the night, has allowed 3 or more goals in 5 of his last 7 starts. Nicklas Backstrom, likely for the Wild, has allowed 3 or more goals in 4 of his last 6 starts. The Wild are also getting Antti Miettinen and Martin Havlat back tonight, possible boosts to their offense.
Pick: Over 5.0 goals -125
Fan Favourite Record: 11-11, -2.36
Betting results by category so far this season:
- Money Line 57-62, -13.91
- Puck Line 12-18, -0.4
- Game Totals 47-39-1, +1.96