SPORTS WAGERS
Ottawa +138 over N.Y. RANGERS
The hangover from the Rangers one-month traveling schedule to three different countries was evident in their game versus Maple Leafs on Thursday and it’s likely to be felt here too. The effects of jet lag, weariness and getting back to a relatively normal routine does not get better overnight so give the Rangers a couple more games to get right-sided. The Blue Shirts have not looked crisp. They’re not scoring, they’re playing most of the game in their own end and they’re very lucky to have three wins. In their 4-0 and 2-1 wins over Vancouver and Winnipeg respectively, the Rangers were completely dominated. In fact, it looked like they were killing a 60-minute power-play in both games; that’s how one-sided they both were. After a four-game win streak most expect the Sens to fall flat on their face soon. Maybe not. Ottawa has looked progressively better in each game and they just might be a lot better than advertised. Daniel Alfredsson now has seven points in nine games while playing on the second line. The big scorers up front have been first-liners Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, who have 13 and 11 points, respectively. Colin Greening up front and Erik Karlsson behind the blue-line are two of the most exciting young players in the game. These Sens could be hugely undervalued for a few more games and we’re certainly not going to pass up an opportunity to take back a tag like this against a tired Rangers team that has shown virtually nothing thus far. Play: Ottawa +138 (Risking 2 units).
San Jose -½ +125 over N.Y. ISLANDERS
The Islanders have dropped four in a row and they’re also coming off back-to-back games against a hated rival in the Penguins. Not only have the Islanders dropped four in a row but they’ve scored just five times over that span while being scored on 14 times. Things surely don’t get easier here against a Sharks team that has been outstanding on the road with four straight wins and counting. The Sharkies went into Detroit last night and beat the Red Wings 4-2. They also beat New Jersey, Nashville and Boston on its current six-game trip that ends Monday at Madison Square Gardens. The Sharks are primed to go 6-0 on said trip and the best news is that there’s a good chance they’ll face Rick DiPietro in this game. Evgeni Nabokov was injured on Thursday and DiPietro was forced to come in for the shootout. This is a guy with a huge contract and the Islanders will use him because they have to pay him a fortune this year. DiPietro is a washed up, oft-injured goaltender with concussion, knee and hip issues and he’s played very little over the past three years. Goaltending is not a small part of this game and it could easily be argued that it’s the single most important factor in deciding the outcome. The Sharks have a great chance to beat this reeling club no matter who starts in net for the Islanders. If DiPietro starts, and all signs point to that happening, the Sharkies chances go way up and it’s for that reason you should get on this one early before that stiff DiPietro is the confirmed starter. Play: San Jose -½ +125 (Risking 2 units).
Anaheim –103 over NASHVILLE
The Preds got off the mattress with a much needed win over the Bolts in their last game but so what. They once again were the second best team on the ice and the only reason they were able to win was because Mathieu Garon had an off night. Nashville evened its record to 4-4-0-1 but this is not a .500 club. The Preds are getting badly outplayed in just about every period of every game and until we see something different from them, we’ll continue to fade them at very reasonable prices. The Ducks are gaining steam. They had dropped three in a row before beating the Wild on Thursday, which is no great task but the signs were there before that. The Ducks played a strong and crisp game in Chicago the game before and that’s the effort we expect here after the Preds eliminated the Ducks in last year’s playoffs. That hasn’t been forgotten and the time to send back a message is right now. Preds are much worse than a year ago and the Ducks are much better. Play: Anaheim –103 (Risking 2.06 units to win 2).
PHOENIX +114 over Los Angeles
The only reason we’re playing this one in regulation is because Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith has a horrible shootout record over the years with 24 goals against in 65 chances for an ugly save percentage of .624 in the shootout. However, that’s not going to deter us from backing his team against a way overvalued Kings club. L.A.’s 6-2-0-1 is no surprise, as many predicted a breakout type year for the Kings. A lot of folks see that record but have not seen much of the Kings because most of their games end after 1:00 AM EST. So, while the W/L record looks sweet, the play of the Kings looks anything but. This is a misleading record for a team that has looking nothing short of ordinary. Los Angeles has gotten some outstanding goaltending from Jonathan Quick but other than that, they have not even come close to looking sharp. The Coyotes can play with anyone. They’re scoring goals and they’re creating a ton of chances. They lost once to the Kings earlier in the year by a score of 2-0 and were not sharp that night. However, Phoenix has found some new confidence and the Kings are going to see a completely different effort than the one they saw just nine days ago. Los Angeles is not that good and they're ordinary play is going to catch up to them real soon. Play: Phoenix +114 (Risking 2 units).