NHL

NHL Playoffs First Round Picks and Predictions 2014

Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins vs  WC 2 Detroit Red Wings Few teams have the depth of the Boston Bruins, which lends to their stability every season and particularly each postseason.  They are anchored in goaltending and have sufficient defensive depth to make another great playoff run.  The Detroit Red Wings have done a remarkable job this year battling injuries, but they’re simply inferior to the Boston Bruins.  You can never right off a team like Detroit that fought so hard this season, but this series is Boston’s to lose.

Bruins in five

Tampa Bay Lightning vs 3. Montreal Canadiens I like Ryan Callahan.  For a while, he was the only New York Rangers player I could respect.  Putting him on a team with Steven Stamkos makes the Lightning very exciting for me.  Ben Bishop is a big, talented goalie.  Still, this is a very difficult series to predict.  Carey Price is capable of taking over a game, and the Habs  ... 

Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils Win Possible Last Start

Martin Brodeur and the Future of the New Jersey Devils

It doesn’t sound like Martin Brodeur is all that ready to hang up the skates. He did slip in his post-game interview and call Sunday’s matinee with the Bruins his last start, but he quickly backtracked to indecision. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t seem like the Devils really want him back. Marty is unlikely to happily accept a role as a backup, and it’s hard to imagine him platooning in New Jersey for another year. This might be goodbye for a number of reasons.

It would be weird to see Brodeur in another uniform, so the child in me is hoping for retirement or a 20-game role to stay in New Jersey and keep Cory Schneider fresh next season. Brodeur is arguably the greatest goaltender to ever play the game, and doing it all for one team makes it special. That said, he’s a stubborn man.

Comments (read: very loud, whining  ... 

NHL and MLB Picks Contest Round Two ($100 Prize): Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies

NHL and MLB Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Round Two – Braves at Phillies

Tuesday, 4/15

The contest is still in the early stages and only one round has passed. I was going to do a hockey round, but we’ll wait for the playoff situation to be settled. Instead, we do another baseball pick. Can the talent of the Atlanta Braves overcome Cliff Lee’s impressive repertoire? In this divisional rivalry, who will win on Tuesday?

As always, simply comment below on the post pinned to the top of our Facebook page to participate. Also, be on the look out for our NHL playoffs predictions. This has been a pure gold money maker for us in years past and we hope it will do the same this year. Cheers.

https://www.facebook.com/ZcodeMLBpicks

MLB and NHL Picks Contest ($100): First Round Update Orioles at Yankees

NHL and MLB Picks Contest: First Round Standings Update – Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees

The Baltimore Orioles erupted and destroyed the New York Yankees. We had 26 participants and only a handful of winners, congrats to you guys listed below. It’s the first round of a long contest, keep trying! This should be a fun one as we combine our MLB and NHL Picks contest.

Remember to like both pages! Our MLB Picks page is here: https://www.facebook.com/ZcodeMLBpicks?ref=hl

And this is our NHL Picks page:  https://www.facebook.com/ZcodeNHLpicks

One Win:

Jackson Fisher  ... 

MLB Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees

MLB Picks Contest (With NHL), Round One: Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees on April 8th

I’m posting slightly earlier than usual to try to bring some attention to the contest. It starts tomorrow. Simply comment on our MLB Picks page on the post pinned to the top.

Here is the Z-Code output for the game and my analysis. Formally, I’m not betting this game but my lean for the contest would be the Yankees. The computer agrees with me, but I have my hesitations.

With five-star support to the Yankees and a 58% chance to win, the computer likes  ... 

NHL Picks Contest: Final Results and New Contest Announced

NHL Picks Contest: Final Results and New Contest Announced

Congratulations to Alex Dionne for winning the first-ever tiebreaker round. We’ve sent payment and would like to formally announce your victory! Congrats again to Pat O’Reilley for taking the first place prize.

We are starting another contest and I invite all of you to participate. Once again, all you need to do is comment on the post pinned to the top of the page to play. This contest will be a special hybrid of baseball and hockey picks. The first game chosen is a baseball pick, and it appears at the top of the page on our MLB Picks page. Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/ZcodeMLBpicks

Give us a like, find the post pinned to the top of the page for the contest, and comment. Again, first to ten wins will take the grand prize of $100. Good luck, and don’t forget to follow both pages as the contest will  ... 

NHL Picks: New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres

NHL Picks: New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres

This is a heartbreak or hope game for me, so kindly ignore my various and blatant biases in evaluating this game. I think the Devils can make the playoffs. Here’s why:

1. The Columbus Blue Jackets are about to play three top teams. I think they could lose all three. They were sellers at the deadline and this is a deadly stretch in their schedule.

2. The Devils play the Caps later this week. Win and they leap both non-playoff teams to become the top threat to Columbus’ WC 2 spot.

3.  ... 

NHL Picks: LA Kings at Washington Capitals

NHL Picks Contest: LA Kings at Washington Capitals

I think the LA Kings are a good team. They’re inconsistent at times offensively, but they’re deep and they have one of the best defensive groups from top to bottom in the NHL. Part of that is likely because Quick is so solid in net.

The Capitals are volatile and inconsistent and difficult to trust. They’re great when they want to be, or when they’re streaking, but they’re unpredictable. Ovechkin is having a wonderful season, but goaltending issues (even since Halak), lack of depth, and poor defensive play have doomed them this  ... 

Zcode Grand Team Championship Game week 9 Results

Zcode Grand Team Championship Game week 9 Results TEAM CONTEST

What a fantastic regular season finish! Dramatic matches, bitter upsets, great wins, epic playoff run! We had all best sport emotions in just one week! Biggest winners this week are obviously British Bulldogs and Live To Win Team but also… Bumble Bees! My sincere congratulations to the conferences winners! British Bulldogs and Live to Win were attacking behind leaders back but they were very successful in the end! Incredible attack from 3rd position made especially Bulldogs! Live To Win had epic battle against Spartans, but they scored enough goals to  ... 

NHL Picks Contest: Standings Update, Edmonton Oilers Defeat Nashville Predators

NHL Picks Contest: Standings Update after Oilers Preds

Not many correct answers as our battle for second place rages on. The Edmonton Oilers knocked off the Preds in this week’s coin flip matchup, and only three of us got it right. The search for our $50 Runner Up continues. Again, Pat, please send us your e-mail so we can pay you your $100 prize and congrats again!

10 wins

Pat O’Reilley

9 wins

Elias Andersen  ... 

Zcode Grand Team Championship Game week 8 Results

Zcode Grand Team Championship Game week 8 Results TEAM CONTEST

Emotions guaranteed to the end! Teams showed up this time a little bit shaky, it’s probably because of every small mistake may decide about final result. Thus we have amazing races in both conferences. Current situation is even more complicated than it was before this week. We still don’t know who will win and we still don’t know who will take last playoff spots! Four teams in the West Conference and two teams in East Conference still fight for conference titles! What a drama!

Black Legion 20 : 0 The  ... 

NHL Picks: Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues Parlay Prediction

NHL Picks: Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues Parlay Prediction

I don’t usually recommend parlays as part of a successful system. In most cases, they’re not profitable long term. Few experts are able to rely on them successfully (though a few of them work for us at Z-Code). For me, it represents an unnecessary danger and long-term risk that I avoid.

Here, however, with the lines as sharp as they are down the stretch, I think there’s value. I’m on a parlay here that has strong Z-Code support, but limited value by themselves.

I am a little nervous because the Minnesota  ... 

NHL Picks Contest: Predators at Oilers, Battle for $50 Second Place Prize

NHL Picks Contest: Battle for Second Place $50 Prize – Nashville Predators at Edmonton Oilers, Tuesday March 18th.

Neither of these teams have had a good year, but the Oilers are home and the Preds have their goalie back? Who wins this meaningless game? Let’s make it meaningful by having second place’s $50 prize hang in the balance with these two bad teams.  Again, congratulations to Pat O’Reilley for winning the $100 prize for first place.

Who ya got? As always, comment on this post on our Facebook page to participate.

NHL Picks: LA Kings at Calgary Flames

NHL Picks: LA Kings at Calgary Flames

Calgary isn’t the easiest team in the world when they’re at home. They always seem to be more competitive, and LA is on a back to back. This certainly isn’t the cleanest of match ups between a playoff team and a non-contender, but it still is exactly that.

As they fight for position, this is essentially a must-win game for the Kings. They’re on a huge winning streak and grabbing momentum, and they cannot allow the lowly Flames to snatch any of that away from them. They made a big move at the  ...