NHL Picks: Nashville Predators at Buffalo Sabres

The Preds are coming off a tough loss to a weak team and the road trip continues, making this an interesting game given the sharp line. That said, the Nashville Predators are quite simply the better team here and I don’t see how the Buffalo Sabres will keep pace.

I see some parlay value here and expect a money line win from the Predators, but I won’t be investing aggressively here. The line is very sharp, the Predators are tired, the backup is in net, they’re on the road, and the Sabres aren’t ...

NHL Picks: Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are playing good hockey by their standards. Realistically, even with the Boston Bruins hurting the way they are right now, that was still an impressive win. That said, the Minnesota Wild are playing much better hockey than Boston right now, and I don’t see them letting this one slip away.

Quite simply, if you got in early enough, there’s value here. -160 was my opening line, and even early this morning we had -170. The movement continues to rise, which is a sign of Vegas fearing public money. I like ...

NHL Picks Contest: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Philadelphia Flyers

NHL Picks Contest: Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers

Tuesday, February 17th

What happened to the Columbus Blue Jackets? Last time I looked up they had their goalie of the future, a great core of young skaters, and all the momentum in the world after last season. And for that matter – what happened to the Philadelphia Flyers? Mason was serviceable last season and the top-line scoring they built the roster around has evaporated a little. That said, Philly is hot right now and difficult to beat at home. Still, they’ve been pretty streaky this season and the momentum they have today might be gone by next week… either way – who ya got?

As always, to participate, simply comment on this post pinned to the top of our Facebook page. First to ten wins, and after a small hiatus (SORRY), it’s still anyone’s game!

NHL Picks: Dallas Stars at New York Rangers

The Dallas Stars are coming off a bad loss and both teams are exhausted following back to backs. The Stars, however, are on the road in a very tough place to play. I think that gives the New York Rangers enough of an edge to justify the -150 line here and I’m jumping in.

New York is the stronger team overall and Dallas has been very streaky. The Stars are inconsistent, but go on long stretches of poor play and long stretches of good play. New York has been strong for most of ...

NHL Picks: Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers

NHL Picks: Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers This is a juicy line. It’s probably a trap. The Minnesota Wild have been stumbling, so the gap here is not as large as it might have seemed a month ago. The Oilers finished the first half strong.

That said, this is still a team with a lot of holes. While the Edmonton Oilers are learning, and possibly even improving, they are still that same team that crumbled through the first half of the year on lengthy losing streaks of epic proportion.

The Minnesota Wild are underachieving. This has not been the season they ...

NHL Picks: Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks have been stumbling through this season. They’ve looked old, sloppy, thin defensively, and you can probably even question their goaltending. The once “sure thing” of a San Jose Sharks home win against weak teams is now squarely in question at just 11-9 against the spread this season. That said, the Sharks have won four of six and finally look sharp again.

The line is a little sharp but there’s value here. The Calgary Flames are just four points behind the Sharks, but they’re the inferior team. This ...

NHL Picks: Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers

NHL Picks: Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the better teams in hockey. They have an anchor in net in Ben Bishop and one of the most effective, explosive, exciting offenses in hockey. The Philadelphia Flyers have all the promise Claude Giroux once held, a backup goalie, and the aftermath of a roster that collapsed once Chris Pronger’s head injury prematurely ended his career.

The Lightning matchup well here and the Flyers are stumbling through this season. I think they’ll put up a bunch of goals on this weak defense and unknown goalie.

The computer agrees, expecting the Tampa Bay Lightning to take this one. The Score Predictor predicts a 4-1 victory, while the computer algorithm says there is a 67% chance of victory with five stars of value in the line.

All systems go here.

Lightning 3 – Flyers 2

NHL Picks: Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks

NHL Picks: Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks The line is a little sharp here, but it seems worthwhile. The Anaheim Ducks are one of the top teams in the west, while the Winnipeg Jets are wildly inconsistent. Throw in some fatigue from a team like the Jets that lacks some depth and I think the explosive offense of the Ducks will shine through here – especially against a weak goalie.

The Jets are tired and coming off a big win, but are traveling all the way to southern California and should be suffering some fatigue. They’re also the inferior team here ...

NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks

NHL Picks Contest Round Two ($100 Prize): Rangers at Canucks

Saturday, December 13th

I liked this little rivalry after the coach swap, but now that John Tortorella is finally out of the NHL, this is just fun on its own. The New York Rangers have battled injuries and lost a little bit of depth this year, but the Canucks didn’t appear to be much deeper to begin the season. Adding veteran goaltender Ryan Miler seems to have made all the difference in Vancouver. That, and finally getting rid of Torts.

So, in our second round of a first-to-ten competition, who ya got? The Rangers are across the country, but I think they’re the better team. It’s also the front half of a back to back, but the back end is the Edmonton Oilers so I doubt that will have much of an impact here. This should be a nice defensive battle.

As always simply comment on this post pinned to ...

NHL Picks: Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild

NHL Picks: Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild I want to be clear from the start. I’ve got no plays in my system. I also want to bring your attention to our free contest – the first game is tomorrow and the winner gets $100. No risk, might as well participate! Comment on the post pinned to the top of our Facebook page to participate.

So, with no system plays, I almost pulled the trigger on this one, but I couldn’t do it. I lean to the Anaheim Ducks, but I don’t have money on it. That said, it looks like the strongest ...