NHL Picks: Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are going with a backup goalie tonight on home ice, but against one of the worst teams in hockey I like their chances. The -210 line is reasonable, and the Penguins are winning hockey games. Still, the Penguins should give you a slight pause because this is a back to back.

The offense is due to explode, the Buffalo Sabres don’t have enough depth to shut down Pittsburgh, and I think even if there is some element of fatigue the Penguins should have enough to handle the Sabres with relative ...

NHL Picks: Arizona Coyotes vs New York Rangers

NHL Picks: Arizona Coyotes at New York Rangers I think the line is a little sharp here, but I really like the New York Rangers at home against the Arizona Coyotes. Despite the -210 line, I see a lot of value here.

I think the Rangers win this game more than 2 out of every 3 times, so I think there would be value even at a higher line. The young Coyotes offense had a nice run for a moment, but they’ve fallen off – as expected – in recent games. The goaltending can steal one, but I ...

NHL Picks: Nashville Predators at New Jersey Devils

Say what you will about how terrible my Devils are this year, but they still have a solid defense and a strong goaltending tandem. The Nashville Predators have one of the best goalies in hockey, an average offense, and an even stronger defense than New Jersey. This game asks one question for me – where will the goals come from?

I don’t know if New Jersey will even score in this one, and I’m not sure the Preds can dominate the game in a way that puts this one over five. I recognize ...

NHL Atlantic Division Picks 2015-16: Canadiens, Bruins, Lightning

2015-16 Atlantic Division Predictions: Habs, Bruins, Bolts

Last year, the Boston Bruins collapsed and fell all the way out of playoff contention. The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning took huge steps forward and dominated the rest of the division in their place. Can the Bruins bounce back? Are the Habs Stanley Cup contenders? Can the Tampa Bay Lightning take the next step? Let’s see.

1. Boston Bruins (103 pts): A value play at +500 and 10:1 long shots to win the Stanley Cup, I’m not sure why people are completely writing off the Boston Bruins. Yes, they fell apart ...

2015-16 NHL Preseason Predictions – Metropolitan Preview: New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL Preseason Predictions: New York Rangers Take 2015-16 Metropolitan Division

As a New Jersey Devils fan, it’s hard to admit that the New York Rangers are the best team in the Metropolitan Division. It’s even harder to pick them to win your division two years in a row in annual preseason NHL predictions. This year, the blow was softened by being right last year. Here’s to another incredibly profitable hockey season, starting with a preview of my favorite division where I begrudgingly pick a team with one Stanley Cup since 1940.

1. New York Rangers (108 pts): I know the ...

NHL Playoffs Picks: Anaheim Ducks at Chicago Blackhawks Game Four

NHL Playoffs picks: Anaheim Ducks at Chicago Blackhawks This series is really starting to develop into something spectacular. We’ve been riding the Ducks throughout and have a series bet on them, so this game is incredibly important for us. We were with them when they won Game One despite being outplayed, when they lost Game Two in heartbreaking fashion, and we won in Game Three to take back control of the series. The Anaheim Ducks were my pick to make the finals from theWest, and I still think they’re the best team in hockey. The Chicago Blackhawks are winners ...

NHL Playoffs Picks: Flames Ducks Game Five

NHL Playoffs Picks: Calgary Flames at Anaheim Ducks As we said all series, the Anaheim Ducks are simply the superior team in this series against the Calgary Flames. While the Flames had a nice run, the Anaheim Ducks are an elite team in the 2015 NHL playoffs. I have the Ducks making it to the Finals. I had the Flames falling in the first round and was impressed by their grit, but I think it’s all over for them here.

The line is a little sharp but we see some value here. The computer gives a strong signal with ...

NHL Picks: Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames Game Three

NHL Playoffs Picks: Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames, Game Three, Contest Pick Duane is our contest leader, and he’s placed all his eggs in the Calgary Flames basket tonight. With a win, he’ll get to ten on the season and take home our $100 prize. As such, pretty much the entire rest of the contest pool is on the Anaheim Ducks. Good news, contest hopefuls – I’m on the Anaheim Ducks, too.

The Ducks have been the vastly superior team throughout this series. The goalie they let walk away has transformed the Calgary Flames into a legitimate playoff team, but ...

NHL Playoffs Predictions: Canadiens, Rangers, Wild, and Ducks

NHL Playoffs Predictions: Habs, Ducks, Rangers, Wild in Second Round Let’s take a look at our bracket. We got the entire Eastern Conference right, and we’ve made profit on the first round of the NHL Playoffs again. We got five of the eight and missed the Minnesota Wild taking out the Blues and the Calgary Flames taking out the Canucks. Honestly, if Shea Weber doesn’t go down I think the Nashville Predators had a great chance at knocking off the Chicago Blackhawks. All in all, not a bad round. Our Finals picks are still alive, and we were low confidence on a couple of those losses. We won money in the first round, and now, with a better grasp of the NHL playoffs field, we look to build on it. Here’s my picks for the NHL Playoffs second round where I’ve got the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota Wild advancing.

New York Rangers vs Washington Capitals ...

NHL Playoffs Bracket Picks: Ducks Habs Stanley Cup?

2015 NHL Playoffs: Bracket Predictions, Canadiens Ducks Stanley Cup?

In the past three years we’ve gotten a total of two series wrong in the first round. While our brackets have tended to fade as the NHL playoffs go on, first round matchups have been something of a specialty for me with Z-Code. That said, I look at this first round as a bunch of volatile, unpredictable matchups. We’ll do this bracket for fun because it’s become something of a tradition, but I won’t be betting every series line anymore — for the first time since college.

I look at this ...