NHL Expert Matt DiLeo (4-1 in last Article) previews Tuesday’s slate and gives his 5 best bets
Season Record: 9-4
Tuesday Night’s 5 Best Bets
First off, if you haven’t had a chance to check out my futures article, please take a look as there is tremendous value in NHL futures right now. We have a juicy 10 game slate to choose from and we have some of my favorite trends to bet on as well. There are tremendous value plays with a lot of pick em matchups and we’re gonna dive right in to the best games to put your money on.
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
I am actually going to have 2 plays in this game. The Toronto Maple Leafs just lost a heartbreaker at home against the Blue Jackets in Overtime on a controversial call. Then they had to get on a plane and fly to Boston and suit up to play against a well rested Bruins team playing at home. Tuuka Rask hasn’t lost a game yet this year and backup goalie Michael Hutchinson hasn’t won a game for the Maple Leafs. David Pastrnak has a league leading 9 goals and he will gladly look to put another one in the back of the net. He has 7 goals in his last 3 games and I will certainly ride the momentum with David as he looks to gain a bigger lead in the race for the most goals. The Maple leafs are without captain John Tavares again and they are 1-1 in the 2 games that he hasn’t played. I’ll take my money on the Bruins with Rask in goal. I love betting against teams on the back end of a back to back as well. The Bruins should be hungry for sweet revenge after just losing in overtime to this same Leafs team on the road.
Buffalo Sabres vs. San Jose Sharks
The Sabres are off to a surprising 7-1-1 start through their first 9 games and are sitting pretty atop the Eastern Conference. The Sharks are 3-5 this year and are definitely under performing to say the least at this point in the season. The Sabres are undefeated at home and have Carter Sutton in goal who has a .953 Save percentage and is 5-0 this year. The Sharks are 1-3 on the road this season and Goalie Martin Jones has been sub par on the road. I think the Sabres will get the job done again just like they did on Saturday. These teams have just played each other and the Sabres won a close matchup 4-3, but I think things will easier this time around for the Sabres and they’ll win convincingly. The Sabres have 6 players with over 7 points in their first 9 games and that goes to show how they are absolutely lighting up the scoreboard every time they go out there.
Minnesota Wild vs. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers (similar to the Sabres) are 7-1-1 and are at the top of the Western Conference with the Colorado Avalanche who are also 7-1-1. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and James Neal are absolutely dominating through 9 games and all have 10 points or more. McDavid has an absurd 12 Assists already to add to his 17 points. This Oilers team is an absolute problem right now and I would not want to be in their way. They also have a league leading 38.5% power play percentage which is almost double the league average at 20%. The Wild have a questionable defense already. The Oilers can take advantage of some sloppy play by the Wild and will make them pay for it. I will gladly take the Oilers and the + money here.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Los Angeles Kings
The Jets are coming off a shootout victory over the Oilers where they actually shutout the Oilers in 3 full periods, overtime, and their shootouts. The only bad sign there is that the Jets were also shutout against the Oilers up until the shootout. The Jets are 5-5 this season and the Kings are 3-5. The Jets are only 2-3 at home, but the Kings are even worse on the road at 1-2 on the year. The only consistent part of this Jets team is their goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck who is posting a .930 save percentage. The Kings are sending veteran Johnathan Quick out there who has a save percentage of .828 and is allowing over 5 goals a game. I’ll take the Jets who have just shut out the hottest team in the league and expect them to get at least a couple of goals past Quick in the net. Take the Jets Money line here to be safe.
