NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Devils Caps Kick Off Free Facebook Competition

NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils Saturday, December 6thWe’re proud to announce another FREE Facebook picks competition with $100 prize for first place. The first person to correctly guess ten winners in our contest picks will take home $100 cash, just for participating and being one of our Facebook friends. Z-Code does these fairly often, and your continued participation and the fun we have following along is what keeps them going. Congratulations to Pat O’Rielley and all our competitors in the NFL/MLB picks contest that just finished up. Now let’s see what we can do with hockey!

My Devils are off to a slow start. They’re flirting with .500, but the team looks slow and the goaltending looks fatigued. Maybe we shouldn’t have been so fast to cast Marty aside. That said, the Caps aren’t doing much better. In a battle of playoff-hopeful, mediocre teams in the East, who do you have winning this one in ...

NHL Picks: Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars

NHL Picks: Edmonton Oilers at Dallas StarsThis line is a little sharp for my taste, but I’m on it because it fits the system everywhere except the line. I usually go with more modest favorites, but this looks good on all fronts. Let’s take a look:

Z-Code offers 4.5 stars of value in the line despite it being a little sharp, while suggesting a 62% chance of victory. I agree with this assessment.

The Dallas Stars seem to have turned a corner, while the Oilers are fresh off a FIVE GAME HOMESTAND where they lost all five games. The ...

ZCODE POD iPHONE 6 & CASH CHAMPIONSHIP – NFL & NHL KING 2014 – ROUND 6 RECAP

We just got to the midway point of the competition and we finished the second stage. All I can say is that I have no words to express how this tournament is outstanding and I am afraid it has nothing to do with my english! This contest is simply unbelievable, amazing, exciting, thrilling and overwhelming just like girls in recaps! Just look at the top of the rank… We have 16 contenders with over 500$ of profit made only in 6 rounds, but they still have to use all aces in their sleeves and show 100% of ...

NHL Predictions: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers

NHL Picks: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York RangersMy hesitation here stems from betting on the road team in MSG in a divisional rivalry, but all other parameters fit my system and there remains some value in the line. As such, even though this is the New York Rangers at the Garden, and even though I sometimes hate the Pittsburgh Penguins, we move forward.

That said, -135 here looks beautiful. The New York Rangers have been sloppy and are dealing quite poorly with a few injuries. The goaltending has been suspect and they’ve lost four of five. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins ...

NHL Picks: Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks

The Vancouver Canucks have been a pleasant surprise this year. The addition of Ryan Miller has them back to a team anchored in goaltending that we’re used to seeing from the days of the Luongo-Schneider platoon. The offense is still fairly mediocre, but the chemistry is undeniably there. The defense has been serviceable, and the Canucks are beating teams they’re supposed to be beating, which isn’t always how NHL hockey goes. It’s been a good run for the Canucks.

The San Jose Sharks are also heating up, winning three of four against ...

NHL Picks: Chicago Blackhawks at Montreal Canadiens

I love these Original Six rivalries. Both teams are on two losses in a row, and with the Habs climbing back into relevance this is a battle of two of the top teams in hockey.

The Habs at home are a very difficult team to play against. They have a raucous crowd, a shutdown defense that matches up well with a top-heavy offense like Chicago, and it appears Carey Price is finally feeding on the energy of the Bell Centre. This should be a very interesting game.

Corey Crawford is back in net and should be able to stop some of the bleeding for the Blackhawks. I think they’re the better team, and as far as two-way depth goes I think they have enough talent to get by a solid Habs team.

I think this will be close, but I think there’s value in the line for the Blackhawks. Z-Code disagrees, viewing this ...

NHL Picks: Buffalo Sabres at Anaheim Ducks

The line is a little sharp, but this is one of those games you don’t want to overthink. Let’s break this down in terms of every parameter in my system.

The Buffalo Sabres might be the worst team in hockey. The Anaheim Ducks are one of the best.

The Buffalo Sabres are on the road across the country. The Anaheim Ducks are in the middle of a comfortable home stand.

The Buffalo Sabres have lost two in a row, both at home, where they haven’t scored a single goal. The Anaheim Ducks ...

2014 NHL Predictions: Ducks, Kings, Sharks in Pacific Division Preview

2014 NHL Predictions: Pacific Division Preview – Ducks, Kings, Sharks

The 2014-15 season starts tomorrow, so we’ll post our final division preview before getting into game picks tomorrow. The Pacific division had three teams with a positive goal differential, which, not so coincidentally, meant three playoff teams last year. The LA Kings, who ultimately won another Stanley Cup, the top-seeded Anaheim Ducks, and the perennial postseason let downs, the San Jose Sharks. Does 2014 have anything new in store, or will this division play out exactly how it did last season? Can the newly renamed “Arizona Coyotes” squeak back into the playoffs?

San Jose Sharks (110 points) – Same team, same results. The San Jose Sharks are the most consistent team in the Pacific, which may be enough for a top seed as the rest of this division tinkers with their rosters. In any event, the mediocrity of this division will see the Sharks to another playoff spot where they ...

2014 NHL Predictions: Chicago Blackhawks Return to Central Division Glory

2014 NHL Predictions: Central Division Preview – Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, and St. Louis Blues

One of the dumbest things about the realignment the NHL did last year is that two of the divisions only have seven teams in them. Though their road to the playoffs is comparatively easier with one less team to leap frog, their travel considerations and the talent of these divisions seem to balance things out. The Minnesota Wild spent a lot of money getting back into the playoffs, the Dallas Stars snuck in as the other wild card, and the Colorado Avalanche rose to the top of the division. Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks continued their winning ways and the St. Louis Blues’ defensive system continued to win, getting better after the addition of Ryan Miller (now with the Canucks). With the Preds adding James Neal and getting Pekka Rinne healthy, they should be much improved too. Simply put, the Central Division is loaded.

1. Chicago ...

2014 NHL Predictions: Rangers, Devils, Penguins in Metropolitan Division Preview

Football is going strong in week five, baseball is in the playoffs, and excitement is brewing for the best time of the sports calendar… that said, all I can think about is hockey. Here’s our first preview of the season… my personal favorite, the former Atlantic, the Metropolitan division.2014 NHL Predictions: Metropolitan Division Preview The Pittsburgh Penguins dumped one of their big three, the New York Rangers lost a ton of depth, the Philadelphia Flyers are again relying on Steve Mason to have career-best success, and my New Jersey Devils added a bunch of key pieces. Hell, even the New York Islanders have a goalie. It’s going to be a fun 2014 NHL season, so let’s get out divisional previews rolling with the Metropolitan division.

1. New York Rangers (101 points) – I think they’ve turned a corner in terms of sustainable success. They lost some cap hit players but nothing too important to their general scheme. They’ve got arguably the ...