Saturday’s are always big days in the NHL and October 10th is no exception. There are 13 games and of those 13 I found 3 that I like the odds enough to bet. On Thursday, I didn’t have much luck, losing my first bet of the season x3, but hopefully this Saturday will turn things around.
New Jersey -115
Florida -105
Florida is playing as I write this and they aren’t looking very good, already down 3-0 to the Hurricanes. The Devils need to continue to improve if they hope to get out of their early season slump, so I look for them to dominate a tired Panthers team.
I bet New Jersey Devils at -115
Washington Capitals +120
Detroit Red Wings -140
The caps lost their second game of the season the other night and Ovechkin was help pointless. I can’t see the latter happening twice and for this reason I’m expecting a big game from Ovechkin, which should be enough to seal the win in Detroit.
I bet Washington Capitals at +120
Minnesota Wild +170
San Jose Sharks -200
These odds are too much for me not to place a bet on Martin Havlat and the Wild. They’ve gotten off to slow starts every game and if they can prevent that from happening tomorrow they should have a legitimate shot at taking down the Sharks who haven’t looked great defensively all season long.
I bet Minnesota Wild at +170
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Today is a big day in the NHL with 24 teams in action over 12 games. It will also be a pretty big betting day for myself as I have found 3 games where I like the odds and I have decided to place my unit bets. You will have noticed if you’ve been following the site that over the entire season so far I have only placed 3 bets and each one has panned out successfully. This will obviously not always be the case, but hopefully it will happen more often than not. You will also notice that I almost always bet on the underdogs. This is because I feel that there is a lot of parody in the NHL and the top teams are not that much better than the average teams. Also, sportsbooks almost always consider the home team the favourite. I don’t agree with this either, because unlike football or soccer, the home team does not have a huge advantage in hockey and the statistics will back me up on that. Anyways, here are my picks for tonight. You will notice they are all away team underdogs.
Chicago Blackhawks +130
Detroit Red Wings -150
I bet the Chicago Blackhawks at +130
Minnesota Wild +105
Los Angeles Kings – 125
I bet the Minnesota Wild at +105
Columbus Blue Jackets +155
San Jose Sharks -175
I bet the Columbus Blue Jackets at +155
I feel that the odds are in my favour in each one of these games because I think they could all go either way very easily and in the case of the Minnesota Wild, I feel they should be the favourites in this game.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
The oddsmakers have gave a slight edge to the Toronto Maple Leafs in this game due to the fact they are playing at home.
Ottawa Senators +100
Toronto Maple Leafs -120
This game is really anyone’s guess, but here is why I think the Ottawa Senators will come out on top. Ottawa has been having trouble scoring goals in the preseason and in their first regular season game against the New York Rangers. On the other hand, the Maple Leafs have had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net with 4 goals against in two regular season games. Basically, this game comes down to who can fix their issue. The way I see it, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the cure for any offensively challenged team. With neither Toskala or Gustavsson playing well against the Capitals the Leafs have decided to start Gustavsson against the Sens. There is a lot of pressure on this Swede playing in front of the harsh Maple Leaf crowd and we’ll have to see if his nerves get the best of him. As for the Sens, they just have too much scoring power to continue to get shut down.
I bet the Ottawa Senators at EV.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
The odd makers have given the Canucks a huge advantage in this tilt. Too large an advantage by my standards.
Columbus Blue Jackets +135
Vancouver Canucks -155
The Blue Jackets are currently (1-0) after fending off a tough Minnesota Wild team, whereas the Canucks are (0-2) after two tough losses their rivals the Calgary Flames. The Canucks really need to get a W so you can expect they bring their A game, but against a tough Columbus team I still think the game could go either way. Voracek played a good game against the Wild so look for him to come out strong and continue to improve in every game this year.
To conclude, I don’t think the Blue Jackets have an edge over the ‘Nucks in this game, but I don’t see them giving much up either which makes me want to bet on the underdog.
I bet the Columbus Blue Jackets at +135
Written by: Niko de Jonge
This is the only real advantageous bet I could find in the first two days of NHL betting. The line is as follows:
Detroit Red Wings -130
St. Louis Blues +110
Neither team is home because the game is being played in Sweden, so that advantage is out the window. Basically, I feel that the Blues have been playing so good in their final few preseason games that I feel they are actually the team to beat in this match-up and since the betting line favours Detroit, you can make a little extra dough placing a bet on the Blues.
Look for Paul Kariya to have a big game to prove to everyone that he is going to put up some points this year. Another player to watch for is Patrik Berglund. He wants to impress in front of his hometown fans.
I bet the St. Louis Blues at +110
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Las Vegas has come out with the over/unders on NHL team points for this upcoming season. Some of them are a little bit surprising to say the least. I don’t know how they come up with these numbers, but I do know that I (and you for that matter) can profit off of them.
This article will just look at some of the solid bets to make from the over/under lines for NHL points this season.
Buffalo Sabres Over/Under 91.5
The Sabres had 91 points last year and apparently they are supposed to get about the same this year, but I just can’t see them getting that many. Many teams in the East have improved, but in my opinion Buffalo is not one of them. A lot will depend on the 3 Canadian teams from the East because nobody really knows how things will pan out for them.
I bet the Buffalo Sabres will get UNDER 91.5 points.
Ottawa Senators Over/Under 83.5
This number is extremely low. The Senators had a horrible season last year and still got 83 points. They have done a lot to improve this off season and you shouldn’t expect to see another disaster this year. The Sens will at least be competiting for a playoff spot and they will need a lot more than 83 points to do that.
I bet the Ottawa Senators will get OVER 83.5 points.
Montreal Canadiens Over/Under 93.5 points
The way I see it, almost every move the Habs made this summer made them a worse team. The only chance they have of getting this many points is Martin working his magic as coach.
I bet the Montreal Canadiens will get UNDER 93.5 points.
New York Islanders Over/Under 70.5 points.
Tavares and the Islanders will be lucky to get 50 points this season.
I bet the New York Islanders will get UNDER 70.5 points.
Chicago Blackhawks Over/Under 105.5
As much as many people think they did, the ‘Hawks did not improve over the off season. They still have an awesome set of defencemen and a deep forward core, but their goaltending is suspect and I wouldn’t be surprised if Huet loses them a few games. They had a tremendous regular season last year and to improve on it once again would be quite something.
I bet the Chicago Blackhawks will get UNDER 105.5 points.
Colorado Avalanche Over/Under 72.5
The Avs are going to be bad this year. They really have nothing going for them. I don’t even think they will get over 72 points.
I bet the Colorado Avalanche will get UNDER 72.5 points.
Columbus Blue Jackets Over/Under 86.5
Apparently Las Vegas thinks last year was a fluke for the Jackets. I don’t. They have a solid core with a lot of young players improving such as Voracek and Brassard. Look for the Blue Jackets to improve on last season once again.
I bet the Columbus Blue Jackets will get OVER 86.5 points.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
For the first post of this new site I’m going to be looking at some good futures bets you can make for this upcoming NHL season.
Future bets are a lot of fun because you can follow the team or player you bet on throughout the season and cheer them on to victory. The problem is your money will be tied up for a long time and you will often not find the odds necessary for you to make a positive ROI bet.
In this article I’m going to be checking out the division winner odds at Bookmaker.com and see if I can find a few solid bets to go after.
Atlantic Division
- Pittsburgh Penguins -150
- Philadelphia Flyers +250
- New Jersey Devils +375
- New York Rangers +565
- New York Islanders +3000
In this case I would advise you to stay away from the New York Islanders because there is no way in a million years they are going to win the division. Even if you got 100 to 1 odds do not take that bet. The others all have a chance however and for this reason I would also stay away from the Penguins. This team goes through ups and downs and they could very easily have a long slump that would take them out of contention for the division win. The smart money goes on the Devils. This team is always consistent from year to year and almost always takes down the division even though they are not expected to do much before the season begins. At +375 the Devils is by far the smartest bet in this division.
I bet the New Jersey Devils at +375.
Northeast Division
- Boston Bruins -150
- Montreal Canadiens +300
- Buffalo Sabres +400
- Ottawa Senators +700
- Toronto Maple Leafs +1100
This division is very strange this year. Usually the strongest division in the conference, the Northeast has been on the decline for the past couple years. This year, Montreal and Toronto completely shook up their rosters, but in my opinion the Habs got much worse. I would definitely stay away from them with those subpar odds. The chances are the Bruins will repeat as division champs because they really don’t have much competition, but if anyone is going to take them down, I think it will be the Senators. The Sens have the lineup to win a lot of games. If they can just mesh better this year they could easily win the division. At +700 that is a bet I am definitely willing to take.
I bet the Ottawa Senators at +700.
Southeast Division
- Washington Capitals -185
- Carolina Hurricanes +250
- Florida Panthers +600
- Atlanta Thrashers +1000
- Tampa Bay Lightning +1000
This is easily the worst division in the league. The Capitals should have no trouble winning the division for the third year in a row. This division is as close to a sure thing as you will find and that is why the odds are not very favourable when betting on the Caps. However, I can’t see any of the other teams taking down Ovechkin and company so….
I bet the Washington Capitals at -185
Central Division
- Detroit Red Wings -135
- Chicago Blackhawks +135
- St. Louis Blues +1000
- Columbus Blue Jackets +1100
- Nashville Predators +1100
This division is turning into quite the power house. The Red Wings are obviously the front runners and it’s only the supposed promise of the Blackhawks that are keeping the Red Wings odds reasonable. And personally, I don’t like the Blackhawks for the upcoming season. Losing Havlat and Khabibulin over the summer will take it’s toll, especially with Hossa out for the first couple of months. Personally, I think St. Louis is the team Detroit really needs to worry about. Although I think the Blues will come second in the division, I’m not sure that they are quite over the hump yet and can make a run at the division title, but the odds are just so tempting.
I bet on the Blues at +1000 & I bet on the Red Wings at -135
Northwest Division
- Calgary Flames +130
- Vancouver Canucks +130
- Edmonton Oilers +500
- Minnesota Wild +650
- Colorado Avalanche +1010
This is going to be a tight race between the top 4 teams. Colorado will likely come last in the league. I actually don’t think the Oilers are going to be much of a factor either, but I like the Wild a lot for the upcoming season. The Wild seems like the only logical bet from this division.
I bet the Minnesota Wild at +650
Pacific Conference
- San Jose Sharks -150
- Anaheim Mighty Ducks +175
- Dallas Stars +600
- Los Angeles Kings +1000
- Phoenix Coyotes +1500
The Mighty Ducks are not a regular season team and the other three teams do not have what it takes to overthrow the Sharks from their rightful position on top of this division. Basically it comes down to a process of elimination. The Sharks are the only team that has any real chance of winning this division.
I bet San Jose Sharks at -150
Written by: Niko de Jonge
