We’re just a month into the NHL season, but the unemployment line is already starting to grow. Two days after the Kings fired John Stevens on Sunday (the first midseason coaching change in a couple of years), Chicago canned Joel Quenneville earlier today.
The gut reaction here is to bet on teams who just fired their coach, thinking that they’re suddenly going to start playing better. That hasn’t necessarily been the case over the last few years, however, with the last 12 teams to change coaches in the middle of the season going a combined 4-8.
Will the coaching change pay off immediately tonight in LA? Maybe, but a Kings victory tonight probably has more to do with the Ducks’ scoring woes than it does a fresh new voice behind the bench. We’re not quite sure how LA reacts — and we’re not interested in laying -145 with the Kings these days — so we’re passing on that game altogether.
We are, however, on three of the other eight games tonight in the National Hockey League. Last night’s three plays finished 1-1-1, although we were a bit unlucky with the Devils and Penguins not scoring in the final 19 minutes (pushing the total of 6) and the Oilers not scoring in the final 29 minutes of their game versus Washington (coming 1 goal short of the Team Total Over 2.5). Hopefully, Lady Luck shines back in our direction tonight as we’ve got a pair of first-period plays and another Team Total Over.
Good luck if you’re tailing along, or on whatever you play.
Odds below are at the time we made the pick. Be sure to check out our live odds page for updated odds on today’s games.
Reasons to bet Montreal: The Canadiens are 3-1-2 on the road this season, including a 4-3 come-from-behind win at the Islanders last night. The Rangers have been outshot by 15+ shots in 4 of their last 6 games.
Reasons to bet New York: The Rangers have won 3 straight games and earned points in 6 of their last 9 (5-3-1). Montreal is playing for the second straight night, third in four and fourth in six.
Other things to know:
- The home team has won 6 of the last 8 meetings
- Montreal has allowed 3+ goals in 4 straight games and 5 of 6
- Montreal has scored 3+ goals in 8 of its last 10 games
- New York has scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 6 of its last 10 games, excluding empty netters
- Montreal has lost 6 of its last 7 games when playing its 3rd game in 4 days
- The Under is 6-1 in New York’s last 7 home games
- The Under is 19-7-7 in the last 33 meetings
Probable goalies: Price (confirmed), Lundqvist
Reasons to bet Dallas: The Stars are 5-1-1 in their last 7 games and have allowed 2 regulation time goals or less in 7 of 8. Columbus is playing its 4th game in 6 days and just returned home from a west coast road trip.
Reasons to bet Columbus: The Blue Jackets have won 5 straight meetings and 8 of the last 10. Dallas is playing on the road for the second straight night, 3rd in 4 and 4th in 6.
Other things to know:
- Dallas has scored 4 goals in the last 4 meetings
- Columbus has scored 2 regulation time goals in each of the last 4 meetings (excluding empty netters)
- There have been 11 regulation time goals scored in the last 4 meetings, excluding empty netters
- Dallas is playing its final game of a 6-game road trip (3-1-1 so far)
- Dallas has lost 6 of its last 7 games when playing for the 4th time in 6 days
- Columbus has lost 8 of its last 11 home games
- The Under is 5-1 in Dallas’ last 7 road games
Probable goalies: Bishop, Bobrovsky (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Minnesota: The Wild has won 7 of its last 8 games and scored 4+ goals in 4 of its last 6. San Jose has 1 regulation time win in its last 5 games and allowed 3+ goals in 6 straight.
Reasons to bet San Jose: The Sharks have earned points in 7 of their last 8 games (5-1-2), scoring at least 3 goals in 7 of those contests. Minnesota is playing its fourth straight road game.
Other things to know:
- Minnesota has won 6 straight meetings
- Minnesota outshot St. Louis 45-16 Saturday in St. Louis
- Minnesota has won 7 of its last 9 games on 2 days rest
- The Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in San Jose
- The Over is 11-2 in San Jose’s last 13 games on 2 days rest
Probable goalies: Dubnyk, Jones
Reasons to bet Vegas: The Golden Knights have allowed 28 shots or fewer in 9 of their last 10 games. Toronto has scored 6 goals in its last games at home, where the Leafs are just 3-5 on the year.
Reasons to bet Toronto: The Leafs whipped the Penguins 5-0 Saturday in Pittsburgh. Vegas has scored only 12 regulation time goals in 7 road games this season.
Other things to know:
- Vegas is playing its first game of a 4-game road trip
- Vegas has allowed 4+ goals in 3 of its last 4 road games
- Vegas has 1 regulation time win in its last 7 games
- Vegas has allowed 3+ goals in 5 of its last 6 games
- Toronto has allowed 13 goals in its last 8 games, excluding empty netters.
- The Under is 9-0 in Toronto’s last 9 games overall and 6-0 in Toronto’s last 6 at home
Probable goalies: Fleury, Andersen (confirmed)
Reasons to bet New Jersey: The Devils are coming off an impressive 5-1 win last night in Pittsburgh. Ottawa has lost 6 of its last 7 games, giving up at least 4 goals in each of them.
Reasons to bet Ottawa: The Senators are 4-2-2 at home this season while the Devils have lost 8 of 9 on the road. New Jersey is playing for the second straight night.
Other things to know:
- Both teams are playing their 3rd game in 4 days and 4th in 6
- The Over is 10-2 in Ottawa’s games this year
- New Jersey is playing its 5th straight road game
- New Jersey has scored 3+ goals in 5 of its last 6 games and 8 of 10
- Ottawa has scored 3+ goals in 7 of its last 10 games
- Ottawa has lost 7 of its last 8 games when playing for the 4th time in 6 days
- The Over is 9-3-1 in New Jersey’s last 13 road games
- The Under is 12-4-2 in the last 18 meetings in Ottawa
Probable goalies: Kinkaid, Anderson (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Vancouver: The Canucks have scored 16 goals in their last 3 games, including a wild 7-6 OT win over Colorado Friday. The Red Wings are just 2-4-1 at home.
Reasons to bet Detroit: The Red Wings’ offense has struck for 16 goals in its last 4 games after managing just 6 regulation time markers in its previous 4. Vancouver has allowed 4+ goals in 3 of its last 5 games and 5 of 9.
Other things to know:
- The road team has won 5 of the last 6 meetings
- 6 of the last 7 meetings featured 5 goals or less
- Vancouver is playing its first game of a 6-game eastern road trip
- Detroit has allowed 3+ goals in 8 of its last 10 games
Probable goalies: Markstrom, Howard
Reasons to bet Edmonton: The Oilers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have won 5 of 8 on the road. Tampa Bay has allowed 3+ goals in 4 of its last 5 games.
Reasons to bet Tampa: The Lightning has won 6 of its last 8 games and recorded 40+ shots in 3 of 4. Edmonton is playing for the second straight night and has lost its last 6 visits to Tampa.
Other things to know:
- Both teams are playing for the 3rd time in 4 days and 4th in 6
- Edmonton has outshot its last 2 opponents by a margin of 75-49
- Edmonton has scored 3+ goals in 6 of its last 8 games
- The home team has won 9 of the last 10 meetings and 13 of 16
- The Under is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings in Tampa
Probable goalies: Koskinen (confirmed), Vasilevskiy
Reasons to bet Carolina: The Hurricanes continue to dominate the shot counts, outshooting their opponents by an average of 43.1 to 24.3 in their last 10 games. St. Louis was outshot 45-16 in a 5-1 loss at home to Minnesota Saturday night, the Blues’ sixth loss in 9 games.
Reasons to bet St. Louis: The Blues had scored 4+ goals in 5 straight games before Saturday’s loss to the Wild. Carolina has scored just 15 regulation time goals in its last 9 games, excluding empty netters.
Other things to know:
- The road team is 6-1-1 in the last 8 meetings
- Carolina has lost 4 straight and 7 of 9
- Carolina has allowed 3+ goals in 8 of its last 10 games
- St. Louis has allowed 23 goals in its last 5 games
- The Over is 5-0 in St. Louis’ last 5 games and 8-3 on the season
Probable goalies: McElhinney (confirmed), Johnson (confirmed)
Reasons to bet Anaheim: The Ducks snapped a 7-game losing streak Sunday with a 3-2 OT win over Columbus. LA has allowed 4+ goals in 7 of its last 9 games.
Reasons to bet Los Angeles: The Kings should come out fired up in their first game since head coach John Stevens was fired and replaced by Willie Desjardins. Anaheim has scored 2 regulation time goals or less in 7 of its last 8 games.
Other things to know:
- Anaheim has won 3 straight meetings and is 2-1-1 in its last 4 games in LA
- LA has scored 5 regulation time goals in the last 4 meetings
- LA has allowed 1 powerplay goal in its last 6 games
- LA has scored 10 goals in its last 3 games after scoring 8 in its previous 6
- The Under is 16-6-4 in the last 26 meetings in LA
- The Under is 10-4 in Anaheim’s games this year
- Getzlaf is questionable for Anaheim
Probable goalies: Gibson, Campbell
Good luck!
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