Hot in the Desert!
Recap: Awesome win by the Ducks to put us over .500, “Quack, Quack, Quack.” The NHL thought Chicago was the blowout of the night until Anaheim came along. Anaheim gets the night off tonight, but maybe we can use our newly found knowledge for their next game. No time to worry about that tonight as we’re coming off two straight wins. You know what that means…going for the Turkey!
Tonight we give the NHL network game a well deserved night off. One of the toughest nights to choose a game of the night, with plenty of favorites, match ups with plenty of history, and chances for surprising upsets. With this type of board instead of taking a long shot underdog (Islanders) or goal spread lock (Blues) we’ll go with something semi-reliable for the money line. The match up at hand will be the Detroit Red Wings visiting the Phoenix Coyotes. It’ll also be fun to go for a Phoenix defeat two nights in a row.
For most games the rest factor won’t be too much of a concern. In fact we’ll eventually pick a team to win on back to back nights. In this case I can vouch that Detroit’s legs being rested or tired has a steady impact on the amount of pucks that find the back of the net. We also know that Phoenix is coming off a demoralizing loss. They will have more desire than actual will power with little time to practice since Anaheim. While the Wings aren’t the most reliable road team, the presence of Ty Conklin in net as of late points to an effort to be more than just a Joe Louis Arena competitor. Needless to say the goalie at rest is all star pick Jimmy Howard (chants Jim-my Ho-ward). To add to this some of the star Wings players are due. Pavel Datsyuk is goal-less in several games as is Nick Lidstrom. The recently hot players also had a day off to rest, like Todd Bertuzzi, whose age is a factor. Bertuzzi had 2 goals to lead Detroit narrowly over Chicago three games back. In their last effort Ian White totaled a whopping seven shots on goal, look for him to light the lamp once tonight. Also, some of the star Wings players like Pavel have a good history of stats in Phoenix. Currently a point off the conference and league lead, it’s surprising the Wings are a game out of .500 on the road. This is good news for us as they will be motivated to get over the hedge before the all star break.
Most important factor: The Wings are comfortable in the desert if no where else besides Mo-town. They swept Phoenix in the playoffs last year. Look for the Wings to find their legs after the first period and bundle goals from the top line. After a tight win in two of the last three, Detroit should be looking to air it out on the road.
In the last 10 games Detroit is 7-3-0 and Phoenix is 3-4-3.
Suggested play: Detroit Red Wings ML and -1.5 in a 2-1 ratio (totaling 1 or 1.5 units)
OR
Wings -.5 in regulation (60 mins)
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