NHL Betting News and Notes Thursday, November 9th, 2017

NHL Knowledge

Home side won nine of last ten Chicago-Philly games; Blackhawks lost their last five games in Philly. Under is 5-1-2 in last seven series games. Chicago lost four of last six games, three of last five on road; under is 5-2-1 in their last eight games. Flyers lost five of their last seven games (over 4-2-1); they lost four of last five home games, last two in OT/SO.

Oilers won five of last six games with New Jersey; they split last four games in the Garden State. Under is 5-2-1 in last eight series games. Edmonton is 0-4 in game following a win; they’re 2-3 on road. Three of their last four games stayed under the total. Devils lost their last three games, allowing 14 goals; over is 6-3 in their last nine games. New Jersey split its last four home games.

Minnesota won its last six games with Montreal; last three series games went over. Wild won 4-1/4-2 in last two visits to Montreal. Minnesota lost three of its last four games; they lost two of last three on road. Over is 2-0-1 in their last three road games. Canadiens won three in row, five of last six games; over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Montreal won three of its last four at home.

Blues won their last ten games with Arizona; under is 5-2 in last seven series games. Coyotes were outscored 15-5 in losing last four games in this building. Arizona is 2-15 this season, 1-9 on the road; their last three games stayed under total. St Louis won six of its last seven games, five of its last six at home. Four of their last six games stayed under the total.

Calgary won four of its last five games with Detroit; under is 3-2-2 in last seven series games. Red Wings lost four of last six games in the Saddledome. Detroit won four of its last five games, three of last four on road. Under is 7-1 in their last eight games. Flames won three of last four games, all at home. Under is 5-3-1 in their last nine games overall.

Canucks-Ducks split their last ten games; road team won five of last seven series games. Vancouver is 3-2 in its last five games in the Pond. Canucks are 2-3 in their last five games overall, but they’ve won four in a row on the road. Under is 5-3 in their last eight games. Ducks lost their last four games, last two in OT/SO; they lost last three home games. Over is 6-3 in their last nine games overall.

Lightning won three of last four games with the Kings; under is 4-0-1 in last five series games. Tampa bay lost three of last four games in Staples Center. Lightning won in San Jose last nite, their 7th win in last nine games; Tampa Bay won four of its last five road games. Over is 3-1 in their last four games. Los Angeles won five of last seven games; they’re 5-2 at home, with both losses in OT. Last four LA games went over the total.

Armadillosports.com

NHL Picks and Betting Tips
By Parker Michaels
Bangthebook.com

MORNING LINE REPORT

We walked away with a split on last night’s card which is better than what the previous few days have held but it was a bit disappointing seeing how both of our selections were the better team last night and deserved two points. That’s life in the NHL where the better team loses more often than in any other sport. We’re still reading the market well though and consistently beating the closing line so let’s not dwell on a few less than stellar days and see what edges we can exploit tonight (if you think we should win every night, or every week, or even every month then I’m afraid you’re in for a harsh dose of reality if you continue to invest on sports).

We have a nice seven game card tonight with a couple of plays that look pretty good.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS @ PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Projected Goaltenders
Chicago – Corey Crawford (confirmed)
Philadelphia – Michal Neuvirth (probable)

Injury Report
Chicago – Hossa (out)
Philadelphia – MacDonald (out), Patrick (doubtful), Gudas (probable)

The Chicago Blackhawks were shutout 2-0 by the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday as they continue struggling to score goals. Joel Quenneville officially pushed the panic button in Tuesday’s practice when he reunited Jonathan Toews with Patrick Kane on the top line. Joining them will be veteran Patrick Sharp as the Hawks look to reignite some past magic.

One of the biggest strengths of the Hawks over the years has been their ability to roll multiple scoring lines and force teams to pick their poison by either defending the Toews line or the Kane line. Now, teams who have a good shutdown line are going to be able to focus their attention all in one area. It’s a move that is likely to backfire on Quenneville and I doubt it lasts very long. Adding Sharp to the top line is also a negative expectation. The veteran hasn’t shown much this year (four points in 15 games) and doesn’t seem to possess a top-six skillset anymore let alone a top-line one.

Alex DeBrincat would seem like a much better choice on the top line but he’ll slide down to the third with youngsters Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman while Brandon Saad will move to the second line with Artem Anisimov and Richard Panik.

The Philadelphia Flyers have lost three of their last four after Saturday’s 5-4 setback to Colorado. The Flyers will play the middle game of a three game homestand and try to break out of a three game home losing streak.

Philly lost 3-0 in Chicago last week in a game where they were the better team overall but couldn’t solve a hot Corey Crawford who made 35 saves. The Flyers are excited for another chance and are even more motivated after a visit to the clubhouse by the legendary Dick Vermeil who addressed the team at the request of Claude Giroux after Tuesday’s practice. Vermeil was a heck of a coach who knew how to motivate players so I imagine that was a special moment for the Flyers players.

Radko Gudas took an elbow to the head from Saad in that game last week and hasn’t played since but is expected to return tonight. He still needs to be medically cleared this morning but was able to take full contact on Tuesday and said he feels good. His return will be a big boost for a unit relying on a lot of young players this year. Nolan Patrick is expected to miss another game.

Brian Elliott was originally expected to get the start tonight but according to one Philly beat writer there’s been a change and Michal Neuvirth is now expected to get his third straight start. Neuvirth has outplayed Elliott by quite a wide margin to this point but the Flyers have lacked goal support when he’s been in net so his record isn’t as flattering. Neuvirth gives them a better chance to win in my opinion so this should be a welcomed move.

This line opened just below where it should be but an overnight move towards the Hawks has given us the needed value to lock in a play on the Flyers. I was hoping the numbers would support a play on Philly here so let’s go get it.

EDMONTON OILERS @ NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Projected Goaltenders
Edmonton – Cam Talbot (likely)
New Jersey – Cory Schneider (likely)

Injury Report
Edmonton – Sekera (out), Caggiula (out), Slepyshev (questionable)
New Jersey – Zajac (out), Johansson (out), Zacha (doubtful), Palmieri (likely)

The Edmonton Oilers kicked off a four game road trip with a Connor McDavid overtime goal to steal a 2-1 win against the Islanders. Cam Talbot had maybe his best game of the year with 36 saves, including 13 in the third period when the Oilers were outshot 13-2 in a 1-1 game. Edmonton will now try once again to win consecutive games for the first time this season and they have to be feeling pretty confident going against a Devils team they dominated 6-3 just last Friday.

It could be a different looking lineup on both sides for this one, however, as Drake Caggiula will miss the game with a bruised foot while Kyle Palmieri is hopeful to return for the Devils. Anton Slepyshev is questionable to play and if he can’t go the Oilers really have a huge hole on right wing with Caggiula also out.

The New Jersey Devils dropped the opener of a three game homestand with Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to St. Louis, their third consecutive defeat. The Devils played a great opening 20 minutes but the veteran Blues made adjustments to begin taking control as the game wore on, ultimately finishing with a 40-22 shot advantage, including a dominating 17-4 third period advantage. Several advanced metrics suggested the Devils hot start was maybe a mirage and now we’re starting to see some regression to what they really are. They’re still a very exciting team with a lot of promise but they’re a young team and the inevitable mistakes are showing up with more frequency.

Kyle Palmieri returned to practice and slotted back in on the top line and his return would be a huge boost. Hynes said if everything looks good this morning then he’ll likely return to the lineup tonight. Marcus Johansson did not practice yesterday as he continues to deal with a concussion and it’s expected he’ll be moved to IR today to make room for Palmieri’s activation.

This line opened and is currently still within the range it should be. Unless something surprising happens here we’ll likely sit this one out.

MINNESOTA WILD @ MONTREAL CANADIENS

Projected Goaltenders
Minnesota – Devan Dubnyk (likely)
Montreal – Charlie Lindgren (confirmed)

Injury Report
Minnesota – Parise (out), Coyle (out)
Montreal – Hemsky (out), Schlemko (out), Shaw (questionable), Drouin (questionable)

The Minnesota Wild dominated the Toronto Maple Leafs last night in a complete 60-minute effort but wound up on the wrong side of a 4-2 result thanks to Frederik Andersen’s game of the year. The Wild outshot the Leafs 37-19 and total shot chances were 71-42 in their favor. The effort was much better than their previous game against Boston but this is back-to-back games now where Minnesota was unable to take advantage of their opponent being without their superstar player (Bruins were minus Marchand and Leafs were without Matthews last night).

And once again the likely blame could be placed on Devan Dubnyk who gave up a couple of soft goals in what is becoming an all too frequent occurrence. Alex Stalock was expected to start last night but his finance went into labor a few days earlier than expected and he rushed back home.

Niklas Svedberg was called up from Iowa to backup and will likely assume that role again tonight with Dubnyk getting the back-to-back start.

The Montreal Canadiens kicked off a six game homestand with a 3-2 victory over Vegas on Tuesday night. The Canadiens have won three in a row and five of six with the only mark against them being a 6-3 setback in Minnesota a week ago.

Montreal will look to extract some revenge for that loss tonight but may be shorthanded a couple of key players, including Jonathan Drouin who missed the third period against Vegas after taking a puck off his thumb earlier in the game. Julien said Drouin has a 50/50 chance of playing tonight so we’ll have to wait until morning skate for an update.

Alex Galchenyuk played center in the third period against Vegas but don’t expect Julien to give him a full game there. Torrey Mitchell lined up at center between Galchenyuk and Lehkonen at Wednesday’s practice as Julien still doesn’t trust Galchenyuk’s defense to put him in that role. Mitchell has yet to record a point this year so he’s not exactly an exciting option.

Andrew Shaw is also questionable for tonight after missing yesterday’s practice. Montreal’s recent hot streak coincided with the move of Shaw onto a line with Pacioretty and Danault and he has three goals and three assists over his last six games. The Canadiens might have a tough time scoring again if either of these players are out.

Carey Price was able to get on the ice yesterday and go through some exercise but he didn’t face any shots. He’s likely still out for a bit so Charlie Lindgren will be given his third consecutive start tonight against his favorite childhood team. Lindgren is 2-0 this year with a .971 save percentage and is now 5-0 in his NHL career overall.

We’ll have to wait for a line to open for this one but the status of Drouin will be of utmost importance. I’m not anticipating an edge on either side for this one but if Drouin and Shaw are out I think the under could be worth a look.

ARIZONA COYOTES @ ST. LOUIS BLUES

Projected Goaltenders
Arizona – Antti Raanta (probable)
St. Louis – Jake Allen (probable)

Injury Report
Arizona – Chychrun (out), Hjalmarsson (out)
St. Louis – Fabbri (out), Berglund (out), Bouwmeester (out)

The Arizona Coyotes have two games remaining in this grueling stretch of 11 games in 19 days and will wrap up a difficult three game road trip tonight after dropping a 3-1 decision in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Coyotes have been used to getting off to strong starts before fizzling as the game wears on but it was the opposite story against the Pens as they quickly fell behind 2-0 just over two minutes into the game. They played better as the game progressed, particularly Antti Raanta who made several sharp saves, but for the second straight game Arizona took at least a half dozen minor penalties and their lack of discipline cost them in the third period.

The St. Louis Blues continue to play well after Tuesday’s 3-1 win at New Jersey. There’s not a lot to say about the Blues right now but there was one interesting bit of news this week as it’s been reported by multiple outlets that the Blues have offered a contract to 36-year old Russian Danis Zaripov. You may recall a story from the summer about Zaripov who was banned from the KHL and the IIHF for two years for doping but the NHL deemed him eligible to play in North America if he desired. Zaripov is a six-time KHL all-star and has won multiple championships in Russia and could be a solid bottom-six depth piece for a contending team. The Blues are proving more and more that their hot start is for real and Zaripov would be an interesting addition.

This is one of the biggest moneylines we’ve seen this year and to no surprise it’s already dropped a good chunk. I think it opened closer to where it should be than where it is now but I have no interest in this one. The Coyotes are playing well enough to at least remain competitive in this one and we already had our big sweat this week when they took Washington to overtime. We’ll let someone else worry about this one.

DETROIT RED WINGS @ CALGARY FLAMES

Projected Goaltenders
Detroit – Petr Mrazek (confirmed)
Calgary – Mike Smith (probable)

Injury Report
Detroit – DeKeyser (out), Wilson (questionable)
Calgary – Hamonic (out)

The Detroit Red Wings are enjoying life north of the border as they’ve taken two of three on their Canadian road trip after Monday’s 3-2 win at Vancouver. They’ll wrap up the trip tonight before heading home for five in a row and Petr Mrazek will get a chance to follow up on his 4-0 shutout in Edmonton two games ago.

The Red Wings recent stretch which has seen them win four of five has seen the team play some excellent hockey. They’ve been getting off to quick starts and taking care of the puck and they’ve shown a lot of resiliency when the opponent has pushed back.

Blashill decided to finally stick with the same line combinations a few games ago and it’s paying off to this point as the team seems to be finding some chemistry. The addition of Andreas Athanasiou has already been a big plus as his skillset has helped give Detroit three dangerous lines which has been especially effective on the road, making it difficult for opponents to line match. Athanasiou has been lining up under center recently with Martin Frk on his wing and the two youngsters are developing a lot of chemistry.

The Calgary Flames suffered a 5-3 to Vancouver on Tuesday night as they fell to 3-2-0 on their season-long seven game homestand. I don’t have much to say about Calgary today. It seems like they should be playing better than they are but their bottom-six are really struggling. I’m a big fan of Sam Bennett and thought he was poised for a breakout season but it’s hard to believe we’re 15 games into the season and he’s still yet to record a single point. I thought he would really blossom under the guidance of Jaromir Jagr on the third line together and it’s very possible that still happens as Jagr hasn’t been with the team for long and he’s been injured more than he’s been on the ice but the Flames need it to happen sooner than later. With the Oilers struggling and the Ducks bitten by injury it feels like the door should be wide open for Calgary to seize the Pacific division but they’re currently spinning their wheels a bit in fifth place.

Calgary has been overpriced throughout this homestand and today’s game continues that trend. This opened well high but has dropped a bit overnight. It’s still a touch too high so we’ll going to play Detroit here tonight. The Wings are good down to +143 which doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room but if you don’t get it early, take a look later in the day. With Mrazek starting it wouldn’t surprise me to see a better number at some point.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS @ ANAHEIM DUCKS

Projected Goaltenders
Vancouver – Jacob Markstrom (probable)
Anaheim – Ryan Miller (confirmed)

Injury Report
Vancouver – Eriksson (out), Stecher (out), Edler (doubtful), Granlund (questionable)
Anaheim – Kesler (out), Eaves (out), Getzlaf (out), Fowler (out), Kase (questionable)

The Vancouver Canucks earned a 5-3 victory in Calgary on Tuesday to begin a four game road trip that now sees them play the California trifecta. The Canucks depth will be tested on this trip as these next two games will both be a four games in six night situation.

Vancouver’s “Killer B’s Line” of Bo, Brock and Baertschi have been running teams over recently but the Canucks finally received some secondary scoring last game with Sam Gagner, Thomas Vanek and Henrik Sedin getting on the scoresheet. The Sedins have taken a backseat in a reduced role this year but their offensive contribution is still needed so it was great for Henrik to finally get his first goal of the season.

Jacob Markstrom has surprisingly played very well lately despite missing a couple of key pieces in front of him with Alex Edler and Troy Stecher still out with injury. Edler has been skating with the team and traveled with the team on this road trip along with Loui Eriksson who has also been skating. Both players are near a return but aren’t expected to be ready yet.
Markstrom is expected to start again tonight as Anders Nilsson is still away from the team.

The Anaheim Ducks lost early bragging rights in this year’s Freeway Faceoff to the Los Angeles Kings in a highly entertaining 4-3 overtime loss. The Ducks are in the midst of playing 12 straight games without having to leave California but they’ve lost the first four already as they try to overcome a disaster list of injuries to try and remain relevant in the playoff race.

Ryan Miller will get the start tonight and he’s been absolutely awesome in his first two starts since returning from injury. John Gibson took a puck in the head in Tuesday’s game and was forced to leave and not return. He cleared the concussion protocol on Wednesday and depending on today’s morning skate could backup Miller tonight. Reto Berra was called up in case Gibson can’t suit up.

Ondrej Kase also cleared concussion protocol yesterday and could return to the lineup tonight.

This line opened just above where it should be but there’s not quite enough value to fire on Vancouver for me. I would expect this line to still drop from where it is now but there’s not enough value for my personal liking so we’ll likely sit this one out.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING @ LOS ANGELES KINGS

Projected Goaltenders
Tampa Bay – Peter Budaj (probable)
Los Angeles – Jonathan Quick/Darcy Kuemper (unknown)

Injury Report
Tampa Bay – no significant injuries
Los Angeles – Gaborik (out), Carter (out), Clifford (out)

The Tampa Bay Lightning put on a puck control clinic last night in San Jose with an easy 5-1 victory. The top line of Stamkos, Kucherov and Namestnikov combined for three goals and six assists as they absolutely dominated. With the Lightning blowing things open in the second period they were able to manage ice time in the third and the only two players to play over 20 minutes were Kucherov (21:20) and Hedman (21:46) so that should be a big help for tonight (especially for Hedman who averages a team high 25:51 per game).

The Los Angeles Kings kick off a five game homestand tonight and I worry a bit about an emotional letdown which might sound silly with the NHL’s top team coming to town but Tuesday was an intense game against their biggest rival and emotions were higher than usually throughout the feisty affair. They also have their next biggest rival on-deck against San Jose. With a non-conference opponent coming to town – even the league best Lightning – this could have the feel of a letdown game for them.

We’ll wait for a line to open on this one but I would be inclined to look at Tampa Bay or nothing here. We’ll wait for the number and then make a decision.