Vancouver vs Tampa Bay

Vancouver should rebound tonight after their dreadful loss to Philly. I was worried about the line being so low and we fell into the trap. Tonight should be a different story. Vancouver should have been able to reset with the day off yesterday and get to avoid Andrei Vasilevskiy like the rest of the league for the next seven weeks. Scoring is down this opening week compared to previous years, but totals are opening higher than they were a year ago. Tonight’s game opens at a line of 7, so getting 6 or lower needs us to lay 2:1 odds which I don’t want to do. Stamkos is going to be a late decision tonight after missing the previous two games. Tampa took the two game series last year winning 5-2 and 5-4. Stamkos was a major factor in those games, netting a hat trick in the last game and having a goal and an assist in the other. This is a game I would look to hit live. If we get an early goal or two we can still jump on the line of 7.5 live.

Calgary vs Buffalo

Calgary opened the season with a win against Winnipeg but dropped the next two against Pittsburgh and Washington. Washington is a bad team as we saw last night. Calgary losing to Washington puts them exactly at the bottom of the barrel where I expect them to be this year. Opening night was an anomaly win that we should not buy into. Chris Snow was a long-time member of the Flames organization who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease in 2019 and passed away 10 days before the season started. Opening night was for him. Buffalo is coming off an important win against Tampa Bay, and Calgary finds themselves in the same boat Buffalo was heading into their game against Tampa. I’ve mentioned Buffalo being a sell this season and a team that will not be good. I expect tonight to be a wide-open, goals-galore-type game with both teams playing sloppily. I am not a fan of Devon Levi and Calgary’s stars should be able to put a few past him. Dan Vladar isn’t the worst backup in the league behind Jacob Markstrom but he’s had his share of clunkers. I will be playing the game over of 6 tonight expecting back-and-forth goals, and potentially a small ladder at plus money.

Toronto vs Florida

I got killed on this series last year. I expected Toronto to take the next step and get to the ECF and they lost in 5 games. The games were close, but Toronto could not score. I am not going to let their loss to Chicago deter me from thinking this team will be an elite team this regular season, as it could easily have been a game they overlooked knowing Florida was next on the schedule. If anything, the loss to Chicago should be more motivation for them to come out harder tonight. Florida has not played well to start the season. They put together a nice win against the Devils on Monday after losing their first two on a Western Conference trip with Minnesota and Winnipeg. This is another game with the total opening up at 7 making 6 or 5.5 unplayable. I would like to believe that this game has a lot of scoring but I am going to lay low on it. I prefer to play a game like this live, as I don’t see the value in playing a game of this magnitude with all the other options on the board.

Nashville vs New York Rangers

Luke Schenn will be out for the Preds for the next 6-8 weeks. The Rangers should win tonight and when these two met last season it was a bludgeoning that we were on the right side of. I don’t love laying the -190 on the ML straight but I don’t hate it if you choose to. We’ve been rolling on pregame and totals so far so I’m hesitant to lose on a line this high. The Rangers are a team worth parlaying, or alt-lining their team total in a parlay. If you have the bankroll to do so, playing the ML is a good play in terms of matchup, just not one I love based on juice.

Oilers vs Flyers

This is a game I worry about being a trap. The Oilers should be over a -250 favorite and they come in at -210. The Oilers should come in and do to Philly what they did to Nashville two days ago, but Edmonton has not played Philly well over their past few meetings. The box score will tell you Edmonton put up four goals against the Flyers in their last meeting at home, but Edmonton struggled all game against them. Philly had the lead heading into the third until Draisaitl tied it on the power play almost seven minutes into the third. McDavid gave them the lead almost six minutes later, and they netted the EN goal with less than two and a half minutes left. Their last meeting in Philly was worse, losing 2-1 in a shootout to the Flyers. EVERYONE should be on Edmonton tonight and hammering their team total, I’m going to be playing it safely. If Edmonton goes up 2-0 in the first period then we can jump on them live. We can wait until the third for a lower line or comeback win if the first period is slow and low-scoring.

Stars vs Ducks

Dallas is a team I would use in a parlay with the Rangers, and possibly Oilers to at least have some action on Edmonton. Dallas hasn’t scored more than three goals in Anaheim since before 2018. I like John Gibson as a goaltender and feel he’s a much better goalie than the situation he’s stuck in. He’s a guy the Oilers should target to make a playoff run. I do think Dallas wins tonight, and am very confident in them. I just don’t like the lines we’re being offered. The ML is -250 and the team total is too juiced to play at three. Use Dallas ML as a parlay piece or a round-robin piece and move on to my next favorite matchup.

Carolina vs Seattle

Let’s keep the Seattle woes going tonight. Carolina is by far my favorite team to bet on and it should continue tonight. Even with Aho out of the lineup last game, we saw how deep this team is and their scoring abilities, putting up six goals against San Jose. Seattle is still looking for their first win and tonight will be an even tougher matchup for them. Their schedule has been brutal to start with Vegas, Colorado, and now Carolina in three of their first four. -140 on the ML and getting the team total at three is wrong. I will be playing Carolina tonight like we did Edmonton against Nashville. I am not worried about losing tonight because we have and will be making a lot of money on this Hurricanes team all season. Tonight is a mismatch and a matchup I expect Carolina to be able to ladder.

Boston vs San Jose

Boston has won 11 in a row against San Jose. The lines reflect that as Boston comes in as a -250 favorite and a 3.5 team total. Boston is your fourth piece in a parlay or round-robin tonight. The team total is definitely playable as I expect four goals from them. Is every favorite going to win tonight? No, obviously not, but I see variance in the Winnipeg/Vegas matchup as well as the Arizona/St. Louis matchups. 

Author: Nightghost