Friday's best NHL bets
Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers (+152, 6.5)
The three-time defending Southeast Division champion Washington Capitals are ready to again do what they do best – lay the smack down on their division.
Washington may have had its share of playoff woes, but has no issues with giving teams in its own division the beatdown. The Capitals have an eight-game unbeaten streak against the Thrashers dating back to April 5, 2009. Over that span, the team is averaging a staggering 4.9 goals per game.
Meantime, Atlanta has been nothing short of pathetic in its first weeks under coach Craig Ramsey. The Thrashers went 0-5-1 in the preseason and couldn’t be much worse. The squad also is committed to going young, giving big minutes to 18-year-old center Alex Burmistrov, 19-year-old forward Evander Kane and 20-year-old defenseman Zach Bogosian.
"I think there is a big upside here," Atlanta defender Dustin Byfuglien told the Associated Press. "We've got a lot of young, hard-working players and some veterans who know how to win. I see a lot of good things. I think it's going to be exciting."
That’s slang for, “I am prepared for us to suck.”
Pick: Capitals.
Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators (-129, 5.5)
The Buffalo Sabres haven’t just been bad against the Ottawa Senators lately – they have been dreadful. Buffalo has lost 20 of its past 26 games against Ottawa including nine of its past 10 overall.
But things will be a little different this time. The Senators likely will be without injured center Jason Spezza, who had 57 points in just 60 games last season. The team also will be without defender Filip Kouba until later this month. The team also has a lot of instability in goal in the shaky Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliot.
Meantime, Buffalo should be even more talented with the offseason addition of forward Rob Niedermayer and defenders Shaone Morrisonn and Jordan Leopold. The savy veteran up front and the puck-moving defensemen should provide a strong boost to the team’s attack.
"We did lose some players, but we have a core that knows what's going on," Sabres goalie Ryan Miller told ESPN.com. "I think we do have a great amount of talent and the guys on the team are very smart. We play a good system. That's what does it for you, if consistently every night guys know where they have to be shift to shift. From there, they can be creative and you can be a great team."
Pick: Sabres.
Friday's Trends and Angles
By: Barry Daniels
NHL bettors who have been itching for some action since the Chicago Blackhawks captured the Stanley Cup in June will be in hockey heaven this weekend as all 30 teams will be in action.
Sabres at Senators
Buffalo is scheduled to start Ryan Miller in goal against the Senators, and the young netminder will be hoping for better results than he managed last NHL season. The Sabres dropped five of six meetings with Ottawa last season, including all three games they played on their own home ice. Buffalo scored two goals or less in four of the six matchups, which included getting blanked once. Defenseman Craig Rivet is “questionable” with a throat injury. The Sabres will play a home game Saturday against the Rangers before hosting the defending Cup champion Blackhawks on Monday.
Though Ottawa outscored Buffalo 20-14 in the six meetings last season, the Senators’ power play was an anemic 2-for-23. Additionally, the Senators were outshot in the six matches by a combined 210-172. The Senators made the biggest splash in the NHL this summer by signing free-agent defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who should also help rectify some of those power play woes. He has been one of the top-scoring defensemen in the NHL for more than a decade. Center Jason Spezza (23 G, 34 A) is “doubtful” with a groin injury. Ottawa travels to Toronto for a Saturday night match with the Maple Leafs prior to a Monday night meeting at Washington.
Ducks at Red Wings
After looking at the schedule for the upcoming season, Anaheim could not have been thrilled with its opening day opponent. The Ducks are a dismal 7-27-1 in their last 35 trips to Detroit, including 7-4 and 3-2 setbacks there in the two visits last season. The ‘under’ is 18-7-2 in the last 27 series meeting at Joe Louis Arena. This will be the first of a back-to-back situation for Anaheim, as the club travels to Nashville for a Saturday showdown with the Predators.
The Red Wings were hit hard by injuries last season and almost didn’t make the playoffs for the first time in 19 years. The injury bug has again tagged the club early, with forwards Justin Abdelkader (stomach), Todd Bertuzzi (back) and Kris Draper (groin) all listed as “questionable.” The ‘under’ was 3-1 in Detroit’s four meetings against the Ducks last season. The Red Wings won’t get any rest after this contest, as they travel to Chicago on Saturday for an early test against the defending champion Blackhawks.
Capitals at Thrashers
The high-flying Capitals, the league’s highest scoring team last season, must have been licking their chops when they saw that Atlanta was going to be their opening night opponent. Washington is 10-1 in its last 11 meetings with the Thrashers, including winning all six matchups last year. The Capitals captured the three meetings in Atlanta, 8-1, 4-3 and 5-4, with each leaping ‘over’ the closing total. Curiously, Atlanta outshot Washington, 98-97. However, the Capitals were 4-for-15 on the power play, while the Thrashers were 3-for-13. Washington will fly home Saturday to play the second part of a back-to-back against the New Jersey Devils.
Atlanta limped to the finish line last season by going 3-7 and scoring two goals or less in seven of those matchups. General Manager Rick Dudley attempted to do something about the anemic offensive during the offseason by acquiring former Cup-winning Hawks Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager. The Thrashers also pulled the plug on last season’s goaltending duo of Kari Lehtonen and Johan Hedberg. They handed the reigns over to Chris Mason, who went 30-22-8 with a respectable 2.53 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 61 games with the St. Louis Blues. Center Jim Slater is “questionable” with a wrist injury. The Thrashers will travel to Tampa Bay after the game for a Saturday night affair with the Lightning.
MINNESOTA (38-36-0-8, 84 pts.) vs. CAROLINA (35-37-0-10, 80 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 85-63 ATS (+18.7 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
CAROLINA is 0-9 ATS (+0.0 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 2-1 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 2-1-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.1 Units)
COLUMBUS (32-35-0-15, 79 pts.) vs. SAN JOSE (59-25-0-13, 131 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 5-3-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.0 Units)
ANAHEIM (39-33-0-10, 88 pts.) at DETROIT (49-30-0-15, 113 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 9-6 (+0.4 Units) against the spread versus ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 9-6-0 straight up against ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
7 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.2 Units, Under=-1.1 Units)
DALLAS (37-31-0-14, 88 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (49-30-0-8, 106 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 2-2 (+0.0 Units) against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY is 2-2-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.7 Units)
BUFFALO (47-31-0-10, 104 pts.) at OTTAWA (46-35-0-7, 99 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
BUFFALO is 208-148 ATS (+32.6 Units) vs. division opponents since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 10-2 (+9.9 Units) against the spread versus BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
OTTAWA is 10-2-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.2 Units)
WASHINGTON (57-19-0-13, 127 pts.) at ATLANTA (35-34-0-13, 83 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 10-2 (+7.0 Units) against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 10-2-0 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
9 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.8 Units)
MINNESOTA vs. CAROLINA
Minnesota is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
Minnesota is 4-6-2 SU in its last 12 games ,when playing Carolina
No trends available
COLUMBUS vs. SAN JOSE
Columbus is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Columbus's last 7 games when playing San Jose
San Jose is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
San Jose is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Columbus
ANAHEIM vs. DETROIT
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Anaheim's last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 7 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Detroit's last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 7 games when playing Anaheim
DALLAS vs. NEW JERSEY
Dallas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
Dallas is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey's last 7 games at home
New Jersey is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
BUFFALO vs. OTTAWA
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
Buffalo is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Ottawa's last 8 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Ottawa's last 9 games
WASHINGTON vs. ATLANTA
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 7 games when playing at home against Washington
MINNESOTA vs. at CAROLINA (Helsinki, FN)
MINNESOTA: 22-15 in non-conference games
CAROLINA: 14-23 in non-conference games
COLUMBUS vs. at SAN JOSE (Stockholm, SE)
COLUMBUS: N/A
SAN JOSE: N/A
ANAHEIM at DETROIT
ANAHEIM: N/A
DETROIT: N/A
DALLAS at NEW JERSEY
DALLAS: 14-4 OVER in non-conference games
NEW JERSEY: N/A
BUFFALO at OTTAWA
BUFFALO: 18-32 as a road underdog
OTTAWA: 10-2 vs BUFFALO
WASHINGTON at ATLANTA
WASHINGTON: 10-2 vs ATLANTA
ATLANTA: 47-70 as an underdog