Picks: Preds Hunting Down Franchise Record
Good work on the fan favourites this week as you haven’t lost yet. Try to keep it up as there are some great matchups to take advantage today!
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There’s a lot on my plate today and I wanted to get these up early so sorry they are a little short!
New Jersey Devils +115 at Boston Bruins -135
The Bruins were nearly embarrassed by the Wild in one of their common low-scoring games on Wednesday. The Devils are showing they can still beat mediocre teams after downing the Sens 3-1 in Ottawa and Boston is, even with a 4-game win streak, still playing like a mediocre team. Tim Thomas is expected back for this one but I like a low-scoring, Devils win here. The Bruins have the third-worst home scoring and 9th-best home defense, the Devils have the 2nd-best defense and just the 11th-best offense. If Rask or Danis start, the under could take a hit.
Pick: Devils +115 and Under 5 goals -105
Chicago Blackhawks -140 at Anaheim Ducks +120
Maybe the oddsmakers missed Wednesday night’s game. The Hawks have won 3 of their past 4 road wins by 3 or more and held their opponents to 1.25 goals per game and they’ve showed no signs of slowing down. The one aberration was the 1-0 win over the Canucks but they still showed defensive superiority. The Ducks are winning more now but in close 1 goal games. They’ve won 3 of their last 4 at home and have allowed an average of 33 shots per game over that stretch. Chicago’s 4th-ranked offense and 2nd-ranked powerplay will pick that apart while their top-ranked defense shuts them down. Great value here.
Pick: Hawks -140
Atlanta Thrashers -110 at Carolina Hurricanes -110
The Thrashers managed to top the battered Wings on Wednesday, who held their 2nd-ranked offense to only 2 goals. The Canes return home where they’ve recorded their last 2 victories but the Thrashers have been legitimate road threats: 7-2-1 with the 4th-ranked road offense and 8th-ranked road defense. I know the Canes have Eric Staal back in the lineup but they might need a bigger boost than that to be able to take down a team with as much offensive potential as the Thrashers have shown. The Canes only average 2.7 goals per game at home and a second-worst home defense of 3.3 goals against.
Pick: Thrashers -110
Calgary Flames +115 at Detroit Red Wings -135
These teams have skated to a 3-1 Detroit victory on Halloween in Calgary and we could see more of the same tonight. Detroit’s injuries are starting to show and they’re going to remain focused on shutting teams down defensively while they can. They’ve averaged 22 shots against over their last 4 but only managed to win 1. The Flames haven’t done much on offense as they’ve only scored more than 2 goals in 2 of their last 8 games and barring a potential goalie collapse, the Wings likely won’t let them get much either with their 5th-ranked home defense. The Flames also keep things in control on the road as they have the 4th-best road defense and have won 5 of their 7 road games this month.
Pick: Under 5.5 goals +100
St. Louis Blues +130 at Nashville Predators -150
Did you know Nashville has a 7 game winning streak? You do now. They’ve taken down Montreal, San Jose, Detroit, and Colorado in convincing fashion – mainly with the help of Pekka Rinne, who has started in each of those 7 games, and their red-hot powerplay which has scored in 6 straight. St. Louis is seeing a bit of a rebound, winning 3 of their last 4 and showing signs of their offensive potential as everyone has gotten healthy again. Nashville has outscored opponents 23-13 over that stretch but 3 of those wins have come in overtime. Rinne has already matched the streak for most consecutive wins by a Preds’ goalie and with a win tonight, Nashville will tie their franchise mark with 8 straight. That said, the Blues have improved since their 3-1 loss to Nashville and will play Nashville tough on the road, as they always do (each of their last 5 games in Nashville have been decided by 1 goal). This game should be very close but Nashville is 3-1 when hosting division opponents this season and the lure of tying a record set in their brief history should motivate Nashville to take this one.
Pick: Preds -150
San Jose Sharks -145 at Edmonton Oilers +125
The Sharks are better than they played against the Hawks and the poor Oilers are likely going to be the recipient of it. Edmonton might be the streakiest team in the league but they have dropped 6 of their last 8. The Sharks might mix things up with Greiss tonight but they will still fire everything at the Oilers, no matter who they’re starting in goal. The Sharks have had two semi-embarrassing losses on the season and bounced back in heavy fashion so I like this chances again tonight.
Pick: Sharks -145
Fan Favourite Record: 8-9, -2.74
Betting results by category so far this season:
- Money Line 51-56, -12.92
- Puck Line 8-18, -5.5
- Game Totals 42-36-1, +0.17