Connect with us

Published

on

Welcome to NHL Frozen Frenzy! Not only will every team be in action, but the start times of each game will be staggered, allowing fans an opportunity to catch a piece of every game. It gets even easier, as you won’t even have to change the channel every few minutes, because John Buccigross will be hosting a live look-in show to take you inside the action in real time, starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

Sixteen games means more chances to bet on NHL action than any other night in the season. To get you started, we’ve on odds on every game, betting trends on recent history for each team, and finally the picks, props, and betting tips to come out ahead.

Betting picks from Sean Allen and Victoria Matiash.Betting trends from Mackenzie Kraemer. You can catch more NHL bets on Daily Wager on ESPN2. Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook, unless otherwise noted.

Resources: Goalie depth chart | Daily lines | Projections | Play fantasy hockey for free | Injuries | How to watch on ESPN+


Toronto Maple Leafs at Washington Capitals
Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.; Tuesday 6:00 p.m. ET

  • Puck Line: Maple Leafs -1.5

  • Moneyline: Maple Leafs (-170), Capitals (+143)

  • Total: 6.5

Betting trends:

  • Overs are 5-1-2 in eight meetings since 2019-20 with the Maple Leafs going 5-2-1.

  • Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper is -19.39 units since the start of last season, third-worst in the NHL.


Anaheim Ducks at Columbus Blue Jackets
Nationwide Arena, Columbus; Tuesday 6:30 p.m. ET


  • Puck Line: Blue Jackets -1.5

  • Moneyline: Ducks (+122), Blue Jackets (-145)

  • Total: 6.5

Best bet: Zach Werenski over .5 power-play points (+130).

No NHL team has allowed more than six power-play points to opposing defenders so far this season — except the Anaheim Ducks, who have allowed eight points on the advantage from the opposing blue line. Furthermore, the Ducks opponents have earned 4.20 power-play points per game this season, tied for the most in the NHL. Werenski is back from an early-season injury scare and patrolling the blue line when the Jackets are on the power play.

Betting trends:

  • The Ducks have won eight of the last nine meetings (+8.08 units). Three straight meetings have gone over the total.

  • The Blue Jackets are 2-4-0 as favorites since the start of last season (-4.4 units). They lost as -120 favorites against the Flyers in their season opener in their only favorite role this season.


Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators
Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa; Tuesday 6:45 p.m. ET


Best bet: Rasmus Dahlin anytime scorer (+550).

This one is off the beaten path a little, but there is some merit. The Senators have allowed a goal per game to defenders so far this season. With a total sitting at 7.0 and Dahlin still looking for his first tally of the season, here’s hoping he can join Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei, Cam York, John Carlson and Shayne Gostisbehere on the list of defenders to score on the Sens.

Betting trends:

  • The Sabres have been the most profitable team on the road since the start of last season (+16.86 units).

  • Senators games are 4-0-1 to the over this season.


Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning
Amalie Arena, St. Petersburg; Tuesday 7:00 p.m. ET


  • Puck Line: Hurricanes -1.5

  • Moneyline: Hurricanes (-125), Lightning (+105)

  • Total: 6.5

Best bet: Nikita Kucherov to be credited with 1+ power play points (-460).

The only team allowing more points this season to opposing wingers than the Lightning (4.33) are the Hurricanes (a whopping 6.33). With some questionable net-minding to date and the most goals allowed in the NHL so far this season, let’s take the Bolts best point-scorer and bank an easy one. He has a goal and six helpers in five games against the Canes since the start of 2021-22.

Betting trends:

  • All six Hurricanes games have gone over the total this season.

  • This is the Lightning’s second game as a home underdog this season after they were home underdogs one time last regular season. In the last six seasons, the Lightning have only been greater than +100 home underdogs one time (+122 vs Maple Leafs on Saturday – lost).


New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens
Bell Centre, Montreal; Tuesday 7:15 p.m. ET


Best bet: Nick Suzuki over 1.5 shots on goal (-175 on DraftKings).

The Devils have allowed 17.0 shots per game to opposing centers, easily the most in the NHL this season. Suzuki will be aiming to set up Cole Caufield more than trying to bury it himself, but he lets it go when the opportunity is there (nine shots in four games this season).

Betting trends:

  • All four Devils games have gone over the total this season.

  • The Canadiens have lost each of the last seven home meetings with the last four of those losses all coming by multiple goals.


Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh; Tuesday 7:30 p.m. ET


Betting trends:

  • The Stars are +8.3 units as a road favorite since the start of last season, the second-most profitable team in the NHL (Bruins).

  • Each of the past five meetings has gone under the total. Neither team has scored more than three goals in any of those meetings. The Penguins have scored two or fewer goals in four straight meetings.


San Jose Sharks at Florida Panthers
Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise; Tuesday 7:45 p.m. ET


Best bet: Tomas Hertl to be credited with 1+ power play points (-410).

The Panthers are allowing 2.0 power-play points per game to their opposing wingers. To be clear, that’s just wingers in the Panthers previous five games notching at least two power-play points per contest. The Sharks advantage remains a hot mess with no consistent quarterback, but the opportunity will be there (Panthers are fifth in the league with 23 power-play opportunities given up).

Betting trends:

  • The Sharks have lost 11 straight games dating back to last season, including all five this season. Nine of their last ten losses are by multiple goals including four of five this season.

  • The Panthers have won each of the last eight meetings (+8.82 units).


Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders
UBS Arena, Belmont, New York; Tuesday 8:00 p.m. ET


  • Puck Line: Avalanche -1.5

  • Moneyline: Avalanche (-140), Islanders (+118)

  • Total: 6.0

Best bet: Under 6.0 (-125).

The Avs have been smothering opponents this season as if they were, well, the Islanders. Even with a subdued total, the under looks appealing for two teams that are both top 10 so far this season in limiting goals against. They’ve given up a total of 18 goals in nine games between them.

Betting trends:

  • The Avalanche have won all five games this season, with four of those wins by multiple goals. They have also won 12 straight regular-season road games, all as a favorite.

  • The Islanders have covered +1.5 goals in 18 of their past 20 home games including all three this season.


Seattle Kraken at Detroit Red Wings
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit; Tuesday 8:15 p.m. ET


  • Puck line: Red Wings -1.5

  • Money line: Kraken (+115), Red Wings (-145)

  • Total: 6.5

Best bet: Red Wings -2.0 alternate puck line (+213)

Since their opening day loss to the Devils, the red-hot Red Wings, driven by a sizzling Alex DeBrincat, are a pristine 5-0, beating their opponents by an average margin of 3.2 goals/game. The Kraken are rounding out only 1.83 goals/game, including an irregular 7-4 win over the Hurricanes. Melding all that math, this projects to be a comfortable-enough victory on behalf of the home team.

Betting trends:

  • The Kraken are +9.59 units as a road underdog since the start of last season, the second-best record in the NHL (Sabres).

  • Five of the first six Red Wings games have gone over the total this season.


Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks
United Center, Chicago; Tuesday 8:30 p.m. ET


Best bet: Method of victory, Bruins in 60 minutes (-170)

A perfect 5-0, Boston has yet to wade into the extra frame, regardless of starting goaltender. They’ve yet to surrender more than two goals in any game, allowing a total of seven through five contests altogether. I’m all over another regulation win by the Bruins after they beat Chicago 3-1 nearly two weeks ago.

Betting trends:

  • The Bruins are +35.45 units since the start of last season, over twice as many units won as the next-best team in that span (Golden Knights: +16.03).

  • The Blackhawks have lost seven straight home games dating back to last season, with six of the seven losses coming by multiple goals.


St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets
Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg; Tuesday 8:45 p.m. ET


Best bet: Under 5.5 alternate total (+120)

Goaltender Jordan Binnington has been superb this season, surrendering only four goals through three contests (1.26 GAA, .959 SV%). The Blues No. 1 has also received very little scoring support from his teammates out front. Meanwhile, the Jets sit middle of the NHL pack in scoring to date and Connor Hellebuyck is coming off his best performance of this young season, a 3-2 OT win in Edmonton. Go Under 5.5 for value in this matchup.

Bonus tidbit: If keen to wager on an individual scoring proposition, know that Brandon Saad (+310 anytime goalscorer) potted his first two of the season against the Penguins over the weekend. One the league’s streakier producers, Saad is skating on a top line with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

Betting trends:

  • First-period unders are 3-0-1 in Blues games this season. The Blues have scored one first-period goal all season.

  • First-period overs are 3-1-1 in Jets games this season with four of the five games having multiple goals. The Jets have not led after the first period this season.


Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul; Tuesday 9:00 p.m. ET


Best bet: Joel Eriksson Ek anytime goalscorer (+185)

The Wild’s leading scorer has found the back of the net in three of five contests, totaling four goals altogether. He scored two through three games against Edmonton this past season. The Oilers – who certainly aren’t better without an injured Connor McDavid – are giving up too many quality scoring opportunities, resulting in goals. Siding with the Over also feels sound, since Minnesota is still trying to find its own defensive footing to launch 2023-24.

Betting trends:

  • Entering tonight, the Oilers have been favored in 32 straight games including the playoffs, the longest active streak in the NHL. They are 1-3-1 this season (-6.65 units), all as a favorite.

  • Four straight Wild games have gone over the total, averaging 9.3 goals per game in that span.


Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville; Tuesday 9:15 p.m. ET


  • Puck line: Predators (-1.5)

  • Money line: Canucks (+100), Predators (-130)

  • Total: 6.5

Best bet: Predators win (-130)

The promised commitment to ramping up the offense under new coach Andrew Brunette is starting to take shape, as the Predators are nine total goals to the good in subsequent wins over the Rangers and Sharks. If the Canucks – fifth in league scoring – can rifle home a pair themselves, then the over 6.5 appears extra appealing.

Betting trends:

  • The Canucks are 11-5-1 in their past 17 games as a road underdog (+10.17 units) including 3-1-0 this season (+3.48 units).

  • The over has hit in four straight meetings, with the last three going to a shootout. The Predators won three of those four games.


New York Rangers at Calgary Flames
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary; Tuesday 9:45 p.m. ET


Best bet: Yegor Sharangovich anytime goalscorer (+490)

A longshot, to be sure, but Sharangovich played his best game as a member of the Flames in Sunday’s loss to Detroit, scoring his first goal with his new team. So much so, he moved up the lineup mid-contest, joining center Elias Lindholm. An expected line re-shuffling should see the former Devil fall into a more prominent position against a team with which he’s well familiar from the start. Sharangovich scored two goals against New York through four contests in 2022-23.

Betting trends:

  • This is the first time this season the Flames have been underdogs. Last season, they were home underdogs only one time all season (Feb. 28 vs Bruins).

  • The Rangers have won each of the past four meetings in Calgary, all as an underdog.


Arizona Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles; Tuesday 10:30 p.m. ET


Best bet: Over 7.0 alternate total (+143)

The Kings can score, and while the Coyotes are riding a nice stingy streak to launch 2023-24, the teams they’ve managed to best suffocate – Islanders, Blues, Ducks – all rank in the NHL’s bottom six in goals/game. This contest sets up to be a much more entertaining affair. Especially since Los Angeles is also allowing 3.60 goals/game. I further like Trevor Moore to dent the score sheet in this one.

Betting trends:

  • First-period unders are 5-0 in Coyotes games this season.

  • The Kings are 15-0-2 in their past 17 games as a favorite (+12.2 units) with five straight wins. This is the first time the Kings have been favored this season.


Philadelphia Flyers at Vegas Golden Knights
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas; Tuesday 11:00 p.m. ET


Best bet: Golden Knights -2.0 alternate puck line (+143)

The perfect 6-0 Knights, and their balanced scoring, have secured five of their six victories by a margin of two goals or more. Meanwhile Philadelphia, competitive thus far, has only beaten the Blue Jackets on the road, losing both other contests away from home to the Senators and Stars (OT). Yes, Vegas is going to lose at some point, undoubtedly in the foreseeable future, but I’m skeptical about that happening at home, Tuesday. As are the oddsmakers.

Betting trends:

  • Underdogs are 6-2-1 all-time in this series (+6.35 units). This is the sixth straight time the Flyers will be underdogs against the Golden Knights.

  • The Golden Knights are 19-5-0 in Adin Hill home starts including playoffs.

Continue Reading

Sports

Phillies pound Mets, punch ticket to postseason

Published

on

By

Phillies pound Mets, punch ticket to postseason

NEW YORK — Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their third consecutive playoff appearance Friday night with a 12-2 victory over the New York Mets.

Assured at least a National League wild card, the Phillies can secure their first NL East title since 2011 with one more win this weekend against the second-place Mets at Citi Field.

With the division crown so close, Philadelphia planned a mellow celebration following Friday night’s game — hoping to let loose soon with a boozy clubhouse bash after locking up first place.

Seeking their third World Series championship, the Phillies overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and haven’t trailed since. Their victory coupled with the Braves’ 4-3 loss in Miami eliminated Atlanta from contention for the NL East crown — ending its six-year reign atop the division.

Alec Bohm had four hits and four RBIs, including a three-run homer, in Friday night’s blowout. Nick Castellanos had three hits and two RBIs, J.T. Realmuto added a two-run homer and the Phillies extended their NL East lead to seven games over the second-place Mets (85-69) with eight to play.

Philadelphia stole five bases — four in a six-run fourth inning capped by Bohm’s homer off reliever Adam Ottavino. Johan Rojas had a two-run double off starter David Peterson (9-3), who was pulled after just 64 pitches and 3 2/3 innings — his shortest start of the season.

Cristopher Sanchez (11-9) overcame a shaky start and five walks in five innings for the win. Philadelphia outhit the Mets 17-4.

Philadelphia (92-62) has the best record in the major leagues and is on track for a first-round bye in the playoffs. It’s the third time the Phillies have reached the postseason three years in a row (1976-78 and 2007-11).

Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. A wild-card entry each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies put together consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.

They reached the 2022 World Series, losing to Houston in six games, and dropped a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year after leading the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0 and 3-2.

So this time, the Phillies are looking to go all the way and finally finish the job.

Philadelphia’s only World Series championships came in 1980 and 2008.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Soto scratched after reporting soreness in leg

Published

on

By

Soto scratched after reporting soreness in leg

OAKLAND, Calif. — New York Yankees star right fielder Juan Soto was scratched from the lineup a day after hurting his left leg sliding into a wall to make a catch.

Soto was originally in the lineup for Friday night’s series opener against the Oakland Athletics but was pulled out after reporting soreness and swelling in the leg. Manager Aaron Boone said X-rays were negative and Soto will not need additional testing.

Soto hurt the leg Thursday in Seattle when he slid into the short wall in foul territory down the right-field line while making a highlight-reel catch. He remained in the game.

Boone said Soto is day-to-day. The manager noted that he wasn’t “overly concerned” that the injury will linger into the postseason. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth Wednesday night and went into Friday holding a four-game lead in the AL East over Baltimore with nine games to play.

“Guys do a good job of knowing how to protect themselves and playing smart in certain situations,” Boone said. “I think him getting down the way he did protected him a little bit. Obviously, he bruised it and he’s out today. But I think the way he did it avoided something serious.”

Soto is batting .286 with 40 homers and 103 RBIs in his first season with the Yankees. He entered the day second in the majors with 125 walks, 284 times on base and a .418 on-base percentage, trailing only teammate Aaron Judge in all three categories. Soto is third in the majors with 120 runs scored.

Soto missed three games in June with left forearm inflammation.

Continue Reading

Sports

A’s brace for emotions of final Coliseum ‘hurrah’

Published

on

By

A's brace for emotions of final Coliseum 'hurrah'

OAKLAND, Calif. — The A’s began their final homestand of their final season in Oakland on Friday night, and nobody can predict what might take place over the next six games and seven days.

After 57 seasons in the Coliseum, there will be emotion, but how that emotion will manifest itself is the main question on everyone’s mind.

“We’ve heard some rumblings, and we’re going to have some more meetings about it,” said left fielder Seth Brown, who, in his sixth season, is the longest-tenured Athletic. “The fans have always supported us, and we just hope they support us in a positive manner. We want everyone to come out and enjoy the time and give it its last hurrah, and at the same time we’re hoping it’s done the right way.”

The A’s will play three games against the New York Yankees before finishing the home portion of their schedule with three games against the Texas Rangers. The final game, on Thursday afternoon, will be the final major professional game in Oakland, which has lost three major franchises — the Warriors, the Raiders and now the A’s — in five years.

Beginning next spring, the A’s will play a minimum of three seasons in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento before making a permanent move to Las Vegas.

The A’s have been forced to deal with one off-the-field distraction after another over the past two seasons, from the Las Vegas announcement last April to the Sacramento announcement this April.

“This isn’t really new for us,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “But the emotion last year was a lot greater in terms of the anger. This year has been really, really calm, and I don’t know if that’s because they’ve gotten the anger out. There’s still going to be that emotion as we near Thursday, but that’s part of whenever the healing process starts.”

Fans in Oakland have staged numerous protests aimed at owner John Fisher, who pulled out of a massive development deal in Oakland in April 2023 and announced the move to Las Vegas. There was a highly publicized “reverse boycott” last year and an Opening Day parking lot boycott — where fans congregated in the parking lot but refused to enter the stadium — this season.

Before Friday, the team had drawn 738,438 fans, the worst in Major League Baseball.

“The last three games are going to be pretty epic for us and the fan base,” outfielder JJ Bleday said. “I’m kind of looking forward to it, though. It’ll be exciting to play some games with a crowd. Obviously, I feel bad for the fan base, but we’ll be a part of history.”

The A’s have instituted some precautions for the final homestand, alerting the players to be aware of their surroundings in case fans decide to take the field. Players have also been told not to gather for photographs with family on the field after games.

“Just get on out of there,” Bleday said.

Before Friday’s series opener against the Yankees, fans taped the ubiquitous “SELL” signs to the railings in the right- and left-field bleachers. Another sign — “VIVEK REPENT” — was a reference to Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who also owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, who will share Sutter Health Park with the A’s.

Ranadive, a friend of A’s owner Fisher, engineered the deal to provide the A’s with a temporary home, rent-free.

“I wish we were staying here,” Bleday said, “but it’s not up to me. I do have a jar ready to fill up with some dirt, though.”

Continue Reading

Trending