Wednesday's Best NHL Bets
Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres (+115, 6)
Coming off his Olympic-MVP performance, Sabres goalie Ryan Miller was given the night off Tuesday in order to recoup from his two-week trip to Vancouver.
Miller was absolutely nails for the USA during the Winter Games, busting out of an NHL funk where he had surrendered more than three goals per outing before the break.
"We know him in this room, and we'll take him over any other goaltender right now in the game," said Patrick Lalime, who relieved Miller in Tuesday’s game. "He just showed the whole world what he can do."
Despite that tough stretch before the break, Miller still ranks tied for second in the league with a 2.16 goals-against average.
Buffalo fans will enjoy copious amounts of “Miller Time” as the heralded puck-stopper should be able to carry over his spectacular Olympic play into the remainder of the regular season.
Pick: Sabres
Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks (-140, 5.5)
Going into the Olympic break, the Ducks were one of the hottest teams in the league, winning six of their last eight games.
Anaheim should be able to pick up right where it left off against an Avalanche squad they’ve defeated in five straight and 9-of-10.
But a total of eight Ducks participated in the Olympics and the team could have trouble regaining an offensive rhythm. Colorado played on Monday night and three of its players were present for the Winter Games.
"I felt our energy level got better as the game went on," Avs coach Joe Sacco said after Monday’s 3-2 loss to Detroit.
Ducks goalkeeper Jonas Hiller had to watch seven of his teammates take home medals from the Games so he might be inspired to put on a clinic Wednesday night.
Hiller is 4-0 versus Colorado in his last four games with a 2.00 goals-against average.
Pick: Under
WASHINGTON (41-14-0-7, 89 pts.) at BUFFALO (33-20-0-8, 74 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 1-6 ATS (-7.2 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs this season.
WASHINGTON is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive losses over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 62-43 ATS (+14.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
BUFFALO is 9-20 ATS (-15.6 Units) when playing on back-to-back days over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
BUFFALO is 6-5 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
BUFFALO is 6-5-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.7 Units)
PHILADELPHIA (33-25-0-3, 69 pts.) at FLORIDA (24-28-0-10, 58 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 108-124 ATS (+247.1 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
FLORIDA is 4-14 ATS (+22.1 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 6-5 (+2.2 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
FLORIDA is 6-5-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.0 Units)
VANCOUVER (38-22-0-2, 78 pts.) at DETROIT (29-21-0-12, 70 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
VANCOUVER is 146-136 ATS (+293.3 Units) in road games second half of the season since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 108-80 ATS (+191.7 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
DETROIT is 29-33 ATS (-22.3 Units) in all games this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 7-3 (+2.1 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 7-3-0 straight up against VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.1 Units, Under=-0.2 Units)
EDMONTON (19-37-0-6, 44 pts.) at CHICAGO (41-16-0-5, 87 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 18-42 ATS (+74.0 Units) in all games this season.
EDMONTON is 3-18 ATS (+33.2 Units) second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 9-29 ATS (+50.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
EDMONTON is 7-21 ATS (+34.5 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
EDMONTON is 7-28 ATS (+47.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHICAGO is 207-242 ATS (+502.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
CHICAGO is 51-61 ATS (-51.1 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 7-4 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 7-4-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.7 Units)
MINNESOTA (30-27-0-4, 64 pts.) at CALGARY (30-23-0-9, 69 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 11-5 ATS (+5.9 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
MINNESOTA is 10-5 ATS (+15.8 Units) after a division game this season.
CALGARY is 29-32 ATS (+70.0 Units) in all games this season.
CALGARY is 7-15 ATS (-16.8 Units) second half of the season this season.
CALGARY is 6-10 ATS (-9.9 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
CALGARY is 14-20 ATS (-17.2 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
CALGARY is 11-5 (+6.3 Units) against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 11-5-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.4 Units)
COLORADO (35-21-0-6, 76 pts.) at ANAHEIM (30-26-0-6, 66 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 11-25 ATS (-18.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 14-8 ATS (+2.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
ANAHEIM is 21-19 ATS (+41.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 35-27 ATS (+62.8 Units) in all games this season.
COLORADO is 12-4 ATS (+16.6 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 8-1 (+7.0 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 8-1-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.1 Units)
WASHINGTON vs. BUFFALO
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Washington's last 10 games on the road
Buffalo is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games
Buffalo is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Washington
PHILADELPHIA vs. FLORIDA
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Philadelphia is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Florida's last 9 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Florida's last 17 games when playing Philadelphia
VANCOUVER vs. DETROIT
Vancouver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Vancouver is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Detroit's last 20 games at home
EDMONTON vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Edmonton's last 6 games when playing Chicago
Edmonton is 3-19 SU in its last 22 games
Chicago is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing Edmonton
COLORADO vs. ANAHEIM
Colorado is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Colorado's last 8 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
Anaheim is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
Anaheim is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
MINNESOTA vs. CALGARY
Minnesota is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games when playing Calgary
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Minnesota's last 24 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Calgary's last 7 games
Calgary is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games at home
WASHINGTON at BUFFALO
WASHINGTON: 39-14 SU as a favorite
BUFFALO: 9-20 SU when playing on BB days
PHILADELPHIA at FLORIDA
PHILADELPHIA: 11-5 SU Away off a win
FLORIDA: 4-14 SU after a loss by 2+ goals
VANCOUVER at DETROIT
VANCOUVER: 7-18 SU after winning in OT
DETROIT: 16-11 SU as a home favorite
EDMONTON at CHICAGO
EDMONTON: 3-18 SU second half of the season
CHICAGO: 41-19 SU after 2+ consecutive overs
MINNESOTA at CALGARY
MINNESOTA: 11-5 SU versus division opponents
CALGARY: 6-11 SU in BB home games
COLORADO at ANAHEIM
COLORADO: 21-14 SU as an underdog
ANAHEIM: 1-6 SU at home when playing 3 or less games in 10 days
Hot Teams
-- Flyers won last five games, scoring 13 goals in last two.
-- Canucks won four of their last five games.
-- Blackhawks won three of their last four games.
-- Ducks won five of their last seven games.
Cold Teams
-- Sabres lost seven of their last eight games. Washington lost last three games, allowing 16 goals.
-- Florida lost its last seven games, scoring eight goals.
-- Red Wings lost 11 of their last 16 games.
-- Oilers lost five of their last six games.
-- Flames lost three of their last four games. Minnesota lost seven of its last eight road games.
-- Colorado lost last three road games, scoring five goals.
Totals
-- Last six Washington games went over the total. Under is 3-1-1 in last five Buffalo games.
-- Under is 11-2-1 in last fourteen Florida games.
-- Last three Detroit games stayed under the total.
-- Last three Chicago games went over the total.
-- Under is 6-0-1 in last seven Calgary games.
-- Under is 6-2-1 in last nine Anaheim games.
Playing second of back-to-back nights
-- Buffalo is 4-7 if it played night before, 1-2 if it lost.
-- Panthers are 3-10 if they played the night before. Flyers are 5-2 when they won a game the night before.
-- Canucks are 6-2 when they played the night before.
-- Oilers are 1-5 when they played the night before. Chicago is 10-3 if it played night before, 5-3 if they lost.
Series Records
-- Caps lost seven of their last eight visits to Buffalo.
-- Flyers lost four of their last five games against Florida.
-- Red Wings won their last four games against Vancouver.
-- Blackhawks won their last six games against Edmonton.
-- Minnesota won last three games vs Calgary, outscoring them 10-2.
-- Ducks won their last four games against Colorado.