Category: Hockey
Wednesday
Carolina was an easy winner yesterday and successfully played the NHL’s version of prevent defense in the 3rd, getting outshot 19-0. Shot totals tend to significantly skew toward the losing team in the 3rd period, but that’s kind of ridiculous. Not much doing tonight. Nashville at Vancouver is easily the best option, but Nashville played last night in Edmonton so they are excluded here. Charlotte at Brooklyn is the best of a typically garbage NBA end of season schedule.
Tuesday
Phoenix was a winner yesterday, again failing to play three periods, this time taking the second off, but managed to come from behind to win 4-3. Single play today and it’s a very straightforward one, Carolina +150 @ Columbus
St. Patrick
Drinking in public and commuting are usually combined, tolerated and encouraged here in New York, but not today unfortunately. It’s very obvious around the city today who has a job and who is either a student, unemployed, or just doesn’t give a crap.
In what all four of you are here to read, we have a leaner on Phoenix tonight in the NHL equivalent of Fulham at Stoke and nothing doing on the other three games. I shall now resume tasting whiskeys from all 32 counties in Ireland. Meath is a +250 favorite.
One play tonight: Phoenix +150 @ Los Angeles
Friday
Nothing doing yesterday and nothing remotely resembling a play tonight. I even figured out what day it is. Enjoy your weekend.
NHL Play
There are figuratively 4 million college basketball games on right now but I am taking a hockey game. Amazing, amazing stuff regarding Vancouver recently.
Edmonton Oilers +1.5 -113 @ St Louis @ 13
MTD : -11.68
Tuesday
Winners all around yesterday including our actual play on New Jersey and our leaner with Dallas I ultimately passed on. +3u day for anyone who played both. Not much today with only four NHL games. The best option is…Vancouver at Winnipeg. Any of you reading can play them and according to all of my metrics, I should too. I am passing.
In NBA we are watching Charlotte @ Washington for a potential play. Good luck out there.
And the Show has Reached a New Low
I thought we were done with the Canucks, but it just gets better. I and nearly everyone else on the East Coast decided there was no point staying up to watch the 3rd with Vancouver leading the Islanders 3-0. Little did we know…The Islanders scored seven goals in the third period to complete a 7-4 comeback against the Canucks.
from Ian MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun,
Anyone who couldn’t believe what they saw Monday from the Vancouver Canucks hasn’t been paying attention the last two months.You may have been horrified, disgusted, disillusioned, sad or angry, but shocked? No, not with these Canucks. Not with the way their disintegration has been accelerating in recent weeks, how a team that was one of the best in the National Hockey League only a couple of years ago has completely dissolved before our eyes – and the eyes of coach John Tortorella and general manager Mike Gillis – this winter.
The collapse on home ice against the New York Islanders is merely the grotesque next step of a team that long ago lost its way and only barrels deeper and more hopelessly into the abyss week by week.
On the day Gillis sent a letter to season-ticket holders re-stating the organization’s goal to win the Stanley Cup, the chalice hasn’t looked as far away in 15 years as it did Monday night when the Canucks were outscored 7-1 in the third period by a lousy Islander team long ridiculed for its ineptitude.
My favorite part though is the Canucks blogger who refused to acknowledge that the third period even took place,
Fun fact: knowing I had somewhere to be tonight, I wrote up the gamer at the 2nd intermission. Should I just run that version instead?
@seangentille I give the people what they want, Sean. What they want is an alternate universe.
Just brilliant all the way around. 1-2 on our plays yesterday. Both hockey plays ended up going to OT with Nasvhille ultimately winning 4-3 after also attempting to set their game on fire and Winnipeg losing 3-2. Washington in NBA failed to cover by a point. Much too early for any plays today, but the Caps will be an option on the 2nd leg of a home & home with Pittsburgh. Dallas will also be an option since their game was suspended due to a Rich Peverley health scare. He should be OK though is obviously not traveling with the team today to St. Louis.
UPDATE: The Canucks Army Guys are the best.
UPDATE 2: Single play tonight and that’s the Devils +125 at the Flyers. Washington never materialized into anything close to a play and I am going to pass on Dallas though feel free to gambool there if you are in the mood.
Monday
Extended commentary later, but short on time for now.
Last note on the Canucks here likely for quite a while. They ended up winning against Calgary the other night 2-1, but what’s most interesting is not the goal from centre ice, but the fact that that was one of 12 shots for the Flames. Twelve. That’s a more typical total for a single period much less a whole game. They were admittedly on the second half of a back-to-back having “earned” a win after an Islander 3rd period collapse, but that’s just unacceptable. It makes me want to UFN the Flames as well.
Three plays tonight:
NBA: Washington +8 @ Miami
NHL: Nashville +122 @ Ottawa, Winnipeg +145 @ Colorado
Sunday Degeneracy
NHL:
Detroit ML +140 at NYR
I also might take the Bruins/Panthers under 5.5 at -130
NBA:
Bulls +9 and Under 191.5 Teaser vs MIA
BTW here is some more Canuck fail:
Puck Line
A couple years ago I asked about reverse run lines in baseball. Similar situation here with hockey. It has taken me a while in scoping out hockey lines to see that sites like covers.com seem to use ambiguous (some would say wrong) language. They tell me what percentage of the public is taking a side. Fine. What’s not fine is that they ultimately list these picks as ATS. But these are money line picks. Unless I am off-base, sites like covers and thespread run contests where people enter in ML picks and the site turns around and displays these as betting trends. Obvious flaws if this is the actual system are that these picks are not being made based on actual wagers and the puck line is not even a consideration. I want to know
1) if my claims about these sites are correct
2) if there are sites that give actual betting numbers for the money line
3) if there are sites that give actual betting numbers for the puck line
4) what love is
