Well, it's the Caps and Flames. Tonight Ovechkin is going for the record for most goals scored by a Russian born player. Here's tonight's matchup:
Notice how I flipped over the Caps jersey to highlight whom we'll all be watching with great anticipation tonight. After a pair of overturned decisions that past couple of games, Ovechkin will very likely be putting it in tonight (or at least trying harder than he did in Detroit).
Jerseys story: I got the Flames jersey in Calgary when I was going through Western Canada from FanAttic in Calgary, they had a few of these left and most were either Medium or XL (just like on the site). Unfortunately, they didn't have any Calgary Hitmen jersey (because that's what I originally went there for), so I just got the Flames Throwback jersey.
The Caps jersey is a birthday gift from my sister a loooooooong time ago and I've worn it to almost all the games I went to while in undergrad. Last season I got a bunch of signatures on it. Ovie being top and center with Kuzy to the left of his name (funny how they both end up on the top line together). Other names on there are Laich, Orlov, Chris Brown, Aaron Volpatti, Mike Green, and a few other guys I'll have to update later.
Tonight, the Caps-Rangers rivalry returns on... local television? whaaaaaaaaa, are you kidding me?
Ok, it's time to break down some numbers..
Capitals
Rangers
Edge
Road PP% vs Home PK%
18.2%
85%
Capitals
Road PK% vs Home PP%
85.7%
16.7%
Rangers
GF (Road vs Home)
2.67
3.14
Rangers
GAA (Road vs Home)
2.33
1.57
Rangers
Win % (Road vs Home)
100%
78.6%
Capitals
Shots For % (Road vs Home)
57%
50.9%
Capitals
Fenwick For % (Road vs Home)
55.4%
49.2%
Capitals
I'm going with the Caps winning a low scoring game either 2-1 or 3-1. I've also discovered that eating the chicken dog at Shake Shack causes the Caps to lose, so I stopped after two times. Another match-up I'd like to point out is T.J. Oshie vs Rick Nash. Here's the history between them...
Yea, it's a few years old, but do you think Nash has forgotten? We likely won't see them on the ice against each other, but if we do... Nash better watch out! My prediction: Caps win 3-1
Other stuff: So I'm going back (when I have time) and trying to pull screen shots from games and gifs and what not. I already have most of the games written up, but none with pics and gifs and vids and all that good stuff. I'm going to be busy until the 19th, and then that weekend and Thanksgiving weekend, you'll start seeing some of the older games pop up.
Tonight's matchup involves the Shittsburgh Pengwhines Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals facing off for the first time this season.
Last year the Caps dominated the Pens the first three match-ups before the refs FINALLY helped the Penguins win the last game (with Bettman in the house to make sure the required result came out). Tonight, the Pens bring their dysfunctional, we-can't-score, the-hockey-gods-took-Crosby's-skills-and-gave-them-to-McDavid, please-help-us team to DC to take on a Caps team that is firing on all cylinders, well most of them. The Pens have the second worst Goals-per-Game at 1.63 while allowing 2 goals per game. The Caps are on top at 4.14 goals per game and 13th and 2.57 goals allowed per game, which means you're more likely to cover the spread with the Caps, than not cover the spread (Vancouver being the one game they didn't). The Caps power play is second in the league at 31.8% while the Pens are dead last at 7.1%. The Pens have a better PK at 84.6%, which is ahead of the Caps 83.3%, but this team doesn't know how to score with the talent they've got. I honestly hope the Caps come out firing and just run over the Penguins (I'd be so happy!)
Other news: I'll be posting recaps of the Caps-Canucks, Caps-Oilers, and then Caps-Pens later this week / next week. I'm super stoked as I found myself on tv at the Oilers game after the fact and will probably gamecenter both games to see if I made it on camera with my cousins. I also met Alan May at Rexall place and will include that in my report! Keep your eyes peeled folks!
Yea... so about that... if there's anything my recent trip has taught me, it's definitely that I don't have enough time to make QUALITY daily posts with all the stuff I have to do. So I guess from here on out, I'm going to stick to only Caps games (so only about 75 more game day posts about that) and then start posting stuff that I have been working on, but haven't had the time to complete.
Things I have been working on:
Jersey Collection showcase
Predictive analysis for fantasy hockey and nhl games in general
Hockey memorabilia collection (seriously, this is becoming a problem)
Getting snapchat videos up on here (and having them rotate properly) or creating my own site ($$$) to host it
Also, a list of Caps roadtrips coming up that I plan on attending
January 5th @ Bruins
January 7th @ Islanders
January 9th @ Rangers
NHL All-Star Weekend (TBD)
March 7th @ Ducks
March 9th @ Kings
March 12th @ Sharks
While I should point out that I'm a huge Caps fan, I really love hockey and thus far I've seen two hockey games that do not include the Caps (those being the two extra WHL games I saw this weekend). I'm still trying to figure out how I want to make this, but I do want it to chronicle my journey more than anything. With that, I have a flight taking off in about 3 hours that I need to catch and will post more stuff throughout the week.Look forward to game day previews and jersey pics (yes I have Penguins jerseys, they're all blank and that's a story for another time because it is very emotional story)
6:00PM - ANAHEIM DUCKS VS MINNESOTA WILD
The Ducks are in a rut, they need a W very badly, fortunately, they've had the Wild's number for quite some time... including this year, so let's go with the Ducks
MONEYLINE: DUCKS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - NEW YORK RANGERS VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Broadway vs Broad Street.... the Flyers have played amazingly at home while the Rangers have rediscovered their scoring touch. I like the Rangers on the road in this game.
MONEYLINE: RANGERS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
8:00PM - NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS ST. LOUIS BLUES
The Islanders haven't won since last Saturday while the Blues apparently only lose the teams who's cities are start with M(Minnesota and Montreal). The Blues are starting their homestand with the Isles and they swept them last season.
MONEYLINE: BLUES O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
8:00PM - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS NASHVILLE PREDATORS
I don't like the Penguins, the Preds have only lost one game this season, not time to make it two just yet. Also, with Rinne in net, they have the better shot at winning this game.
MONEYLINE: PREDATORS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
8:00PM - FLORIDA PANTHERS VS DALLAS STARS
Stars are the highest scoring team in the NHL, the Panthers can also score, so that explains the Over
MONEYLINE: STARS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
9:00PM - COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS COLORADO AVALANCHE
In Torts we don't trust. Avs didn't lose to the Hurricanes last game as much as they lost to Cam Ward who finally started playing like his 2006 self again, or maybe it was just a one time thing. Avs at home will have a better shot than the Jackets on the road to going 0-9-0.
MONEYLINE: AVALANCE O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
10:30PM - CAROLINA HURRICANES VS SAN JOSE SHARKS
Canes come up to the Shark Tank after no offense in LA (or Colorado or Washington for that matter) and the Sharks are nothing but offense. No further explanation required.
MONEYLINE: SHARKS O/U: 5 goals UNDER)
So after witnessing Kuznetsov's first Hat Trick last night, we're driving to Kelowna to see the Rockets play the Hitmen in WHL. Yes, my first WHL game! I'm stoked. I'm going to have to update my records when I get back to DC (or on the flight home). Also going to post stories and pics and all that stuff from Edmonton and Vancouver next week when I get back.
7:00PM - NEW JERSEY DEVILS VS BUFFALO SABRES (BELL TV)
For all intents and purposes, the Sabres seem to be Canada's adopted Canadian team. The Devils are on a surprising three game win streak (I really didn't think they'd ever have a win streak longer than 1 game this year) and the Sabres just got smoked by the Habs.
MONEYLINE: SABRES O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS VS MONTREAL CANADIENS (CBC)
This is easy, Habs aren't going to lose to the Leafs.
MONEYLINE: HABS O/U:5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - ARIZONA COYOTES VS OTTAWA SENATORS (CITY TV)
Coyotes are on a four game losing streak. Sens should get the W after two shootout losses.
MONEYLINE: SENATORS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
8:30PM - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (SPORTSNET 1)
The re-match of the Stanley Cup finals. With the Blackhawks at home, I think they'll win this Saturday match-up against the Bolts.
MONEYLINE: BLACKHAWKS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:00PM - DETROIT RED WINGS VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS (CBC)
The Red Wings are coming off a loss to the Flames and flew to Vancouver after that. The Red Wings are in a funk and it's not likely that they'll snap out of it in Vancouver. It's more likely they'll do it next game against the Hurricanes. For the record, Rogers Arena is a crazy awesome place. Look for my posts on the game when I get back to the states.
MONEYLINE: CANUCKS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
Got into Edmonton 3 hours before puck drop. I'll be updating all the other stuff as well as posting information on my roadtrip when I get back to DC. It will be large, and I'll try to figure out how to get my snaps up.
7:00PM - MONTREAL CANADIENS VS BUFFALO SABRES (CONDON VS JOHNSON)
The Habs are on fire and I don't see the Sabres being able to stop them, especially with Chad Johnson in net. I really don't see a reason for the Habs to lose tonight.
MONEYLINE: HABS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
7:30PM - BOSTON BRUINS VS NEW YORK ISLANDERS (GUSTAVSSON VS HALAK)
The Bruins are not that good and the Islanders are pretty damn good at home with Halak. Chara is playing in his 1,200th game tonight, but odds are, they're not going to win.
MONEYLINE: ISLANDERS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
8:00PM - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS WINNIPEG JETS (BISHOP VS PAVELEC)
Bolts and Jets are two potent offenses, but the Bolts obviously have more firepower.
MONEYLINE: BOLTS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
9:00PM - DETROIT RED WINGS VS CALGARY FLAMES (HOWARD VS HILLER)
The Flames are finally done with their musical roulette of goalies? No idea, but I think the Red Wings are upset at losing to the Oilers last game, so they'll definitely be out for blood.
MONEYLINE: RED WINGS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
9:00PM - WASHINGTON CAPITALS VS EDMONTON OILERS (GRUBAUER VS NILSSON)
This is the matchup tonight, and most likely the jerseys tonight. I'm excited to see McJesus in person and how they fare against the Caps. I'm stoked to Grubauer in net tonight and with the Oilers throwing out Nilsson, the Caps should eat them up. Also excited to see Ovechkin score another goal to continue the streak :-)
MONEYLINE: CAPITALS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:30PM - CAROLINA HURRICANES VS LOS ANGELES KINGS (WARD VS QUICK)
Canes got lucky against the Avs (because Ward stood on his head and had that crazy stick save (will be added later)), I don't see a repeat of that against the Kings so I'm expecting a heavy hitting, low scoring game.
MONEYLINE: KINGS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
8:30 PM - FLORIDA PANTHERS VS CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (LUONGO VS CRAWFORD)
I like the Blackhawks, but I don't think they'll have it today. They only seem to win on the weekend dates (Friday and Saturday thus far). The Panthers are rolling with Bobby Lu and all their guys just putting up goals.
MONEYLINE: PANTHERS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
10:00PM - WASHINGTON CAPITALS VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS (HOLTBY VS MILLER)
First off, I'm inserting this picture
Now, for the game. The Canucks have yet to win a game at home and the Caps have yet to lose a game on the road. As a result, I'm going with the Caps, Ovie scoring a goal at the end I'll be sitting in and a beat down on the hapless Canucks as a result.
Now for some info on the jersey. I got it from SportsK.com. They Heritage jersey for the Canucks has some unique novelties. For starters, it doesn't have numbers on the arms. The other thing is that this jersey was introduced the year prior to celebrate 100 years of hockey in Vancouver. Then it was recycled for the Heritage Classic with the patch added on, and reused again last year for a one-off game. It looks nice, but it hasn't brought the Canucks much luck
MONEYLINE: CAPS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:30PM - LOS ANGELES KINGS VS SAN JOSE SHARKS (ENROTH VS JONES)
Two former backups (well, Enroth is still a backup) face-off tonight. I'm calling it like I see it. The Sharks are finally done with their East Coast road trip and after dropping the last two games, they come home and rest up for the Kings. We saw on opening night, the Kings got destroyed by the Sharks at home, they're starting to win again, but the Sharks were so dominating opening night, I see no way the Kings can win (although they might finally score a few goals).
MONEYLINE: SHARKS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - ARIZONA COYOTES VS NEW YORK RANGERS (SMITH VS LUNDQVIST)
The Rangers are coming off a thumping of the Sharks and with this game at home, the Coyotes don't have much luck going into the garden.
MONEYLINE: RANGERS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - DALLAS STARS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (NIEMI VS FLEURY)
The Stars beat them earlier this season, and they'll do it again. Benn & Seguin are clearly better than Crosby & Malkin at this point.
MONEYLINE: STARS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:30PM - NEW JERSEY DEVILS VS OTTAWA SENATORS (SCHNEIDER VS HAMMOND)
The Devils are coming off two overtime wins while the Sens will welcome back the Hamburgular. I like the Hamburgular at home.
MONEYLINE: SENATORS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
8:00PM - COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS MINNESOTA WILD (BOBROVSKY VS DUBNYK)
Torts with his new club, I honestly have no idea how they're going to come out and play, so I'm going to stay safe, assume they're the same club and go with that result
MONEYLINE: WILD O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
8:00PM - ANAHEIM DUCKS VS NASHVILLE PREDATORS (KHUDOBIN VS RINNE)
Khudobin led the Ducks to their first win. Rinne is a stud, but after getting lit up by the Bolts last game and having his team bail him out, I don't think he's going to be able to get away with it again after Khudobin showed the Wild the goalie he is fully capable of being.
MONEYLINE: DUCKS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
Greetings readers! Here's an update. So I'm currently in Surrey, BC. The plan is to attend the CanucksCapitals game tonight followed by immediately driving up to Edmonton (~11ish hour drive), get there tomorrow afternoon, crash a bit, catch the Caps game. Sleep in Edmonton, wake-up, drive like 9 hours to Kelowna, catch the Calgary Hitmen vs Kelowna Rockets game. Spend the night in Kelowna, er... just crash there. Then drive back to Vancouver and see the Vancouver Giants play Sunday morning. Right now I have two cousins joining me in Edmonton, perhaps more will drive from Vancouver to join us in Kelowna, and then most of them at the Giants game. It is going to be a WILD weekend of hockey, but that's what I love, watching hockey and spending time with my family. If I can do both in one go, why not?
Greetings all, I'm posting from Vamcouver! (and on my phone)
Sabres over Leafs; over 5.5 goals
Flyers over Bruins; under 5 goals
Red Wings over Oilers; over 5 goals
Avalanche over Hurricanes; over 5.5 goals
Nailed the O/U yesterday, got the game completely wrong though. Looking at today's games though, the big match-up would have to be the Blues and the Habs.
MONEYLINE: 44-36 (0-1)
OVER/UNDER 31-38-11 (1-0-0)
7:00PM - NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (HALAK vs McELHINNEY)
The Blue Jackets are sending Bobrovsky to the bench and putting in the backup. The Islanders have been rolling with Halak, so I'm going with the hot hand.
MONEYLINE: ISLANDERS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - FLORIDA PANTHERS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (LUONGO vs FLEURY)
I like the Panthers, but I think Crosby will finally get on the scoresheet too, so let's go Cats! Jagr's line has been hot, something the Pens can't say about their top two lines.
MONEYLINE: PANTHERS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - ARIZONA COYOTES VS NEW JERSEY DEVILS (SMITH vs SCHNEIDER)
Devils got lucky against the Rags on Sunday, definitely not going to happen twice. Coyotes should win this handily.
MONEYLINE: COYOTES O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:30PM - DALLAS STARS VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (NIEMI vs MASON)
Mason got lit up last time out, so now he faces the highest scoring team in the NHL... light 'em up!
MONEYLINE: STARS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:30PM - ST. LOUIS BLUES VS MONTREAL CANADIENS (ALLEN vs PRICE)
The biggest game of the night, I like the Blues, don't like Backes on the third line, but I like Tarasenko putting at least one past Price. Of course, the Blues put Allen in net (the better of the two goalies), so I expect the W for the Blues.
MONEYLINE: BLUES O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
8:00PM - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS NASHVILLE PREDATORS (BISHOP vs RINNE)
I like the Preds at home, because they're pretty damn good.
MONEYLINE: PREDATORS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
9:00PM - WASHINGTON CAPITALS VS CALGARY FLAMES (HOLTBY vs RAMO)
Flames can't figure out which goalie to roll with, on the other hand, the Caps are hot when Ovie is in the lineup so...
MONEYLINE: CAPITALS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
Another home with for the Caps, this time against the defending Stanley Cup champs! But to be fair, the Blackhawks haven't won in DC since January 10th, 2006 (I may be wrong, but I doubt it). So it was kind of expected. Also, after the dud they put up against the Flyers the night before, the feeling coming in was that they were not clicking on all cylinders, and it showed.
So, for once, I went on reddit and randomly picked someone to go with me to the game since no one else was available. I'd have to say it's a unique experience just randomly picking someone to go to a hockey game with. It could turn out great, it could turn out bad. In this case, it went well. I met reddittor Jankinator (great name by the way) who has a real name of Alex. Alex is a college graduate who just finished taking his MCATs and is taking the year off before going to med school. Alex did extremely well on his MCATs, so there's a bright future ahead of him. He's currently working as a scribe, so he's keeping himself invested in
As you can see, we're both rocking Ovie jerseys, his being the standard home and I of the Winter Classic variety. Speaking of Ovie, he had another great goal in this game as you'll see below. Nah, let's not wait til the end, roll it first.
If there's one thing we can all learn from this goal, it's that the Blackhawks could use a lesson on playing D from Sir Charles(It's called Defense! D-E-F-E-N-S-E, DEFENSE!)
Here's the first power play set up on the other side of the ice that led up to this goal by T.J. Oshie.
Another thing Alex and I noticed was the bad luck of Andrew Shaw. Andrew Shaw is a very versatile player for the Blackhawks, but tonight was not his night. He was whiffing on clearing it in, he was blowing edges, eating the boards as well as the ice, and just overall having a bad game. His frustration finally got to the point where he decided to pull this shit. Somebody needs to tell Shaw to just play the game, stats don't mean a thing.
Another item to note is that Patrick Kane didn't get as bad of a response here as he did in Philly (I'm not even going to try and embed it because it's so ridiculous). We booed him, we booed him some more, and we cheered every time he got hit.
The Blackhawks just weren't on their game tonight, Toews got decked early in the game (might've been his first shift as well). The Blackhawks also lost their cool on several occasions, and the Caps were able to
Lastly, the pic on the right celebrating the W for the Caps!
So last night I went...
MONEYLINE: 44-35 (2-3)
OVER/UNDER: 30-38-11 (3-1-1)
God, I need some better picks... only one game tonight though...
7:00PM SAN JOSE SHARKS VS NEW YORK RANGERS (JONES VS RAANTA)
Immediately, I think this is going to be a low scoring game. I also think about the streaks the two teams are coming in on. San Jose finally lost a game Saturday Night to the Islanders, while the Rangers lost yesterday to a listless Devils club (thanks Henrique and Stempniak). My gut is on the Sharks because the Rags have had no offense the past three games. Also Martin Jones is... Martin Jones.
MONEYLINE: SHARKS
OVER/UNDER: 5 goals (UNDER)
Sunday... a great time for football, so I'm keeping this short. First set of parenthesis is Friday, second set is Saturday.
MONEYLINE: 42-32 (3-4) (6-4)
OVER/UNDER: 27-37-10 (3-4-0) (5-4-1)
1:00PM - NEW JERSEY DEVILS VS NEW YORK RANGERS (SCHNEIDER VS LUNDQVIST)
MONEYLINE: RANGERS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
3:00PM - ST. LOUIS BLUES VS WINNIPEG JETS (ELLIOTT VS PAVELEC(?))
MONEYLINE: BLUES O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
8:00PM - MINNESOTA WILD VS ANAHEIM DUCKS (DUBNYK VS ANDERSEN(?))
MONEYLINE: DUCKS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
9:00PM - EDMONTON OILERS VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS (TALBOT(?) VS MILLER(?))
MONEYLINE: CANUCKS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
10:00PM - COLORADO AVALANCHE VS LOS ANGELES KINGS (BERRA VS QUICK(?))
MONEYLINE: AVALANCHE O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - DALLAS STARS VS FLORIDA PANTHERS (LEHTONEN(?) VS LUONGO)
The Panthers and Stars are both 3-1. The game is in Florida, but I think the Stars will pull this out.
MONEYLINE: STARS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - CAROLINA HURRICANES VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS (WARD VS HOLTBY)
First Caps game I'm missing, but oh well, Go Caps! Backstrom is coming back! I'm ecstatic to see what production Backstrom's presence will create.
MONEYLINE: CAPITALS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
7:30PM - SAN JOSE SHARKS VS NEW YORK ISLANDERS (JONES(?) VS HALAK)
I think this is the game Jones finally gets beat and Halak, making his Islander debut should get the win in a high scoring affair.
MONEYLINE: ISLANDERS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
8:30PM - COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (BOBROVSKY(?) VS CRAWFORD)
I've given up on the Blue Jackets, they have no defense and Bobrovsky has been garbage.
MONEYLINE: BLACKHAWKS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:00PM - BOSTON BRUINS VS ARIZONA COYOTES (RASK VS SMITH)
Mike Smith is in top form and the Bruins are coming off their first win against the Avalanche. I like the Bruins, but the Coyotes should be able to shut them down and win this one
MONEYLINE: COYOTES O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - DETROIT RED WINGS VS MONTREAL CANADIENS (MRAZEK VS PRICE)
Ohhhhhhhh this is the HNIC game! Should be a low scoring affair with the two goalies dueling it out to win this.
MONEYLINE: RED WINGS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - NASHVILLE PREDATORS VS OTTAWA SENATORS (HUTTON VS ANDERSON)
Tonight, we'll find out if it's Rinne or the defense in front of him that makes him so good. In this case, I hope it's Rinne because the Senators put 6 past Bobrvosky last game.
MONEYLINE: SENATORS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - BUFFALO SABRES VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (JOHNSON VS BISHOP)
While technically not a match-up of Canadian teams, it will be broadcast on Canadian television, so I'm throwing it in here. I like the Sabres, but this is in Tampa and the Bolts are steaming after a loss to the Stars.
MONEYLINE: BOLTS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (BERNIER VS FLEURY)
A match-up of two terrible teams. Honestly, I want the Maple Leafs to win, but I feel like this is the game the Penguins top 6 break out
MONEYLINE: PENGUINS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:00PM - EDMONTON OILERS VS CALGARY FLAMES (TALBOT VS HILLER)
The Battle of Alberta... this is going to be exciting, except the Oilers are not that good outside of their top 6. With the game in the Saddledome, I'm going with the home team!
MONEYLINE: FLAMES O/U: 5.5 goals(OVER)
Apologies for the shit show yesterday. Tallying up my picks... first set of parentheses are Wednesday and the second set are last night
MONEYLINE: 33-24 (1-3) (4-4)
OVER/UNDER: 19-29-9 (3-1-0) (2-5-1)
My Over/Under picks are pretty bad, thank god I'm not actually gambling on these games (Really, I'm not!) I just don't have the time to really pour over stats and figure out how everything is going to play out. I used to have algorithms set up, but for them to be efficient, I need them to be coded on a server that'll scan the box scores and other data into formulas and sending me the results day in and day out, which I just don't have the time to set up. Anyways, here's tonight's games...
7:00PM - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS VS COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (REIMER vs BOBROVSKY)
The battle of two winless teams, in this case I think the worse team is Toronto even though the Blue Jackets have twice as many losses (4 to 2). In their last game against Ottawa, the top line of Saad, Johansen, and Foligno started to click and put up a few points, unfortunately, Ottawa put up 7 goals. Bobrovsky should be able to shake it off and get a win at home tonight. While they're the same Senators the Leafs took to OT (AT HOME, I should mention), not gonna happen on the road.
MONEYLINE: BLUE JACKETS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - SAN JOSE SHARKS VS NEW JERSEY DEVILS (JONES vs SCHNEIDER)
This is easy, Jones in net, playing the Devils, might take the -1.5 spread on this one.
MONEYLINE: SHARKS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:30PM - CAROLINA HURRICANES VS DETROIT RED WINGS (WARD vs HOWARD)
Another easy one. Red Wings at home where they've won by 2 goals at every home game. The Hurricanes are terrible, chalk this one up to the Red Wings
MONEYLINE: RED WINGS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
8:00PM - CALGARY FLAMES VS WINNIPEG JETS (RAMO vs PAVELEC)
This is more difficult to discern because the Flames are going with Ramo instead of Hiller. Ramo got lit up against the Canucks and as a result, I actually switched this pick from the Flames to the Jets.
MONEYLINE: JETS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:00PM - COLORADO AVALANCHE VS ANAHEIM DUCKS (BERRA vs ANDERSON)
Avs are starting the backup while the Ducks go with Anderson (who won't choke away his opportunity like Khudobin did. SHAME ON YOU KHUDOBIN! You made Russian goaltenders look bad!) Boudreau is shuffling up the lines tonight and I expect good results, so I'm going with the Ducks (The Perry on the third line experiment is over! Rejoice Ducks fans!)
MONEYLINE: DUCKS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:00PM - ST. LOUIS BLUES VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS (ALLEN vs MILLER)
I like the Blues and they've moved Jaskin up to the second line with Fabri's injury. I expect great things from that kid. Also, Jake Allen, the superior of the two goalies in St. Louis is in net, so the game should be low scoring
MONEYLINE: BLUES O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
10:00PM - MINNESOTA WILD VS LOS ANGELES KINGS (KUEMPER vs QUICK)
The Wild have been exceptionally good thus far this season. Do the Kings win tonight... i don't know what to pick with Kuemper in net, I expect it to be a goal or two more scored tonight. Maybe Parise will score a few more goals.
MONEYLINE: WILD O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
So I've finally calmed down about Tim Peel (not really, but enough to actually be able to put together a post where I won't flame him... no I lied, I'm going to flame him, but apparently I need to upload my videos to youtube in order to properly post them here and at the moment, editing them into the correct aspect-ratio and turning them sideways seems like it'll take too much of my time to figure out at the moment) So here goes...
I went to the game with my buddy Jeff (a flamboyant Sharks fan who reps #39 Logan Couture). Jeff is a researcher at a PR firm in the DC area. He's from Monterey, California so he's been a Sharks fan for quite some time. I met Jeff at GWRadio when the sports department was being run by a turdsicle who pretty much ruined my experience from the prior years. Jeff's fun fact is that his dad had to give up season tix at the Cow Palace after he was born. So the fandom has been passed down from father to son. That lanyard from the Stadium Series? He's bumming mine (picture way down at the bottom) that I wore to the game.
Logan Couture broke his leg last night and is out 4-6 weeks (TAKE THAT JEFF!) Anyways, it was a shit show to sit through. The Sharks took it to us hard the entire game. The one good moment was the Joel Ward tribute video. I think the first moment I realized we were pucked was when Jay Beagle got called for slashing against Joe Thornton and a guy walking down the steps to my right yelled "YOU SUCK TIM PEEL" I quickly went to scoutingtherefs.com and saw that we did in fact have Tim Peel. So I wasn't happy and it became more apparent as I received texts and facebook messages pretty much bashing Tim Peel the rest of the game. Even one of my cousins in Vancouver was pissed off about the result (might have something to do with have an invested interest).
The biggest puck up by Tim Peel had to be the waived off goal by Orlov (sorry for not embedding this). If you look at the side view, he doesn't touch him, he just doesn't. It looks like does from the overheard because Martin Jones' glove disappears under Beagle,but when you look that the side view, Beagle had his knees bent and the glove went below his butt and behind Beagle's knees. This was a terrible call by Tim Peel because TJ Luxmore actually called the goal good down at the goal line.
The second one would have to be when Chimera was on a breakaway and got hauled down from behind. Some of the guys in my section were yelling for a penalty shot or at least a penalty on the play, but no.... Tim Peel was like "net got knocked off, face-off here". So that sucked, it didn't just suck... (taken off the RMNB comments, not gonna lie, it pretty much summed up the night).
So while the final score may have been 5-0, it really should have some asterisks like Martin Jones shouldn't have gotten a shutout, Tim Peel was reffing, Ovie overslept (OMG! The one time he screws up setting his alarm clock), no Backstrom, and we had Galiev on point in the Ovie spot which did not yield good results during the power play. Also it was 3-0 before a pair of empty net goals. I also just realized that I didn't save a lot of the snaps from the game (crap!) But here's a few pics to throw in.
Martin Jones, whom I thought was a great goalie from the start is finally going to stick it to LA that he should've never been traded. I honestly think he'll do well for a few years in the NHL.
I believe this is when the Caps took their timeout to try to resolve their power play issues before their first one in the third... it didn't help, but alas, you can't win them all.
And of course, my stadium series pic rocking the Sharks jersey with my good buddies Saurabh and Maurycy! Hey guys, I'll be back in the bay area again in March for Caps-Sharks!
THE CAPTAIN IS BACK! EXPECT A HAT TRICK TONIGHT FROM THE GREAT 8! The Blackhawks and Caps are both coming off shutouts, but the Caps were missing their Captain while the Blackhawks looked even worse than their home opener. I'm expecting a repeat of a Caps win in like in the Winter Classic!
The jerseys... I went with Kaner, because it's Kaner and at the time he had reformed, but now he hasn't, but he got setup, wtf happened with that case is just way too complex to figure out. Anyways, got it from SportsK for $150 and you can see that they did a great job, everything was stitched on, including the patch and it looked amazing! The Ovie jersey on the other hand, deserves mention as I got it a few days before the Winter Classic from Modell's... at $90.
Picture included below :-)
Last night was rough, for my picks AND for the Caps. (PUCK TIM PEEL!) My write-up will be up probably on Friday (after I've calmed down)
MONEYLINE: 28-17 (4-5)
O/U: 14-23-8 (2-5-2)
7:00PM - OTTAWA SENATORS VS COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (ANDERSON VS BOBROVSKY)
I think the Blue Jackets are due for a W, then again, I said that about the Kings last night and they failed to live up to expectations. Maybe because the Blue Jackets just need to be at home to win their first game and build off that. Also, Jack Eichel is legit and proved it in the last game between the Sabres and Blue Jackets.
MONEYLINE: JACKETS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
8:00PM - CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (CRAWFORD VS NEVIRTH) (NBCSN)
Lose opening night to the Rags, beat up the Islanders twice, now time to play Philly in Philly. Philly, for the record, is notorious for having a rowdy crowd and they probably still remember 2010, and they will rip on Kane (the chants in this game will be amazing!) That being said, I also like Neuvy and I think Chicago has a system where you can plug in any goalie and they'll excel as long as they don't ask for too much money. But I like the Flyers tonight. It's a big game and I believe they'll come out swinging on national tv, unlike the Blackhawks last Wednesday night.
MONEYLINE: FLYERS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
10:00PM - BOSTON BRUINS VS COLORADO AVALANCHE (GUSTAVSSON VS VARLAMOV)
So after the opening game meltdown against Parise and the Wild, the Avs returned the favor against the Stars and put up a six-pack. Soderberg gets to face his old team once again and look for him to just tear them a new one. Also the Avs have a lot of talent offensively, and their defense is coming around whereas the Bruins are a dumpster fire right now. (THANKS SWEENEY!)
MONEYLINE: AVALANCHE O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
10:30PM - ARIZONA COYOTES VS ANAHEIM DUCKS (SMITH VS KHUDOBIN)
Mike Smith is on fire to start the season once again (so '11-12 again?) The Ducks are not desperate, but they probably want a win. I don't think it'll be another L tonight, so.... QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! (you get the idea)
MONEYLINE: DUCKS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:30PM - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS DETROIT RED WINGS (BISHOP VS HOWARD)
A rematch of last year's first round series. Howard never got a chance to start against the Bolts, so this is his chance to prove to the coaching staff that he should've started. Both teams are coming in undefeated, but the Bolts are carrying a lot of offensive firepower. I believe the Red Wings are capable of keeping pace with them as their defense can help slow down Tampa, even sans Datsyuk. Nope, changed my mind, going Bolts.
MONEYLINE: BOLTS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
8:30PM - EDMONTON OILERS VS DALLAS STARS (NILSSON VS LEHTONEN)
I don't think the Oilers suck, it's just that the Stars have a lot more depth and defense, and ACTUAL GOALTENDING. The Oilers are still a work in progress, but I don't expect them to beat the Stars.
MONEYLINE: STARS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
9:00PM - ST. LOUIS BLUES VS CALGARY FLAMES (ELLIOTT VS HILLER)
Blues. They're better than the Flames, that's all I got. I'd prefer Jake Allen in net, but either way, Blues win.
MONEYLINE: BLUES O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
10:30PM - VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS LOS ANGELES KINGS (MILLER VS QUICK(?))
Ya know, the Kings have to win at some point this year. I think tonight is the night. I have no idea if Quick or Enroth are going to pay, but I think the Kings are going to come out charged up to win their first game.
MONEYLINE: KINGS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
Let's just call it like it is, I did a shit job with picks yesterday. Here's the picks for today. I think I'm going to start adding goalies underneath to help start backing my picks.
MONEYLINE: 24-12 (1-4)
O/U: 12-18-6 (3-2-0)
7:00PM - WASHINGTON CAPITALS VS SAN JOSE SHARKS (JONES VS HOLTBY)
I believe every time the Sharks and Caps play, it turns into a high scoring affair. I think a lot of us remember last year's affair when the Caps were down 3-0 early after John Scott (really, of all people) beat Holtby top shelf to chase him from the game, only for the Caps to claw back from 4-1 to make it 4-3 and then send it into OT with under 5 minutes remaining. If you don't, sorry, but I do because I went with my buddy Sam who is currently at Stanford. Sam will be in town next year.
I think this is how we felt after the Caps went down by 3 goals. Damn, my face is chubby, that double chin was really noticeable. Sam is the knock-off Harry Potter. And there's an indian guy behind me who couldn't care less about this game.... Anyways, going with my buddy Jeff this year, he's a sharks fan an all I've received from him is shit about John Scott chasing Braden Holtby out of the game.
As for the jersey above, I purchased it at Dick's over the summer when it was on sale (~$91 after taxes). It doesn't have a Stadium Series patch (which needs to be added on), but it was a sweet deal, so I had to take it. The kit was heat-pressed, so I have to be a little more careful with it so that it doesn't peel off at some point (like what happened to my old Ovechkin jersey, which is also signed and deserves to be framed because my mom helped stitch the crest back on). The jersey I wore at the Stadium Series last year was my Pavelski jersey, but I'll wait til March to bring out the dueling 8's.
UPDATE: Ovechkin may or may not play, but I can't betray my confidence in the Caps
MONEYLINE: CAPS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - NASHVILLE PREDATORS VS NEW JERSEY DEVILS (RINNE VS KINKAID)
The Predators are a stingy team defensively, and not yet clicking on all cylinders offensively. The Devils just suck and got lucky they scored 3 goals against the Caps. As long as Rinne is in net, I'm going with the Preds. I subtly made the reference that I changed by mind during the day since Schneider is out and Kinkaid is in. Expect a big night for the Preds offensively.
MONEYLINE: PREDS O/U: 5 goals (UNDEROVER)
7:00PM - MONTREAL CANADIENS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (PRICE VS FLEURY)
Carey Price is fully rested after taking another 2 days offs. (Wednesday to Saturday to Tuesday). And the Penguins can't seem to figure out how to score. Sure they got one against the Coyotes, but they should've lit them up instead! The Habs have finally figured out how to score goals and not rely on Carey Price to win them games by standing on his head.
MONEYLINE: HABS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - WINNIPEG JETS VS NEW YORK RANGERS (HUTCHINSON VS LUNDQVIST)
The Jets are starting to get fatigued after starting the season with 4 games on the road. The Rangers are going to be the most difficult to beat for them, and very unlikely to do so. I think the Jets are gassed and this is going to be a 3-0 or 4-1 loss at most
MONEYLINE: RANGERS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - FLORIDA PANTHERS VS CAROLINA HURRICANES (MONTOYA VS LACK)
Well, the Panthers had an up and down start to the season, score 7 against Philly at home, then score 0 against Philly on the road. At least Philly was consistent scoring one goal each game. On the other hand, the Hurricanes take on the Panthers at home (who went 3-0 against them last year), but instead of Luongo, Al Montoya is in net.
MONEYLINE: HURRICANES O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
Saturday Night was the first night of hockey in DC, and what a glorious night it was. I went to the game with my dad (since I couldn't find anyone else) and we enjoyed seeing a great performance by the Caps offensively. Defensively... meh, but regardless they won, and some of the highlights are included below.
So that's us, the score is 3-2 (this is a little bit after Ovie's goal if you can see the scoreboard behind us. We actually left the game after Niskanen blasted a shot past the poor Devils defender who was a poor man's excuse for a goalie (Really, you pull your goalie while on the PK and can't establish possession?) Here's video of Ovie's insane goal that even got my dad out of his seat (as soon as I figure out how to embed it, I'll move it here).
Also, the opening to the game gave me chills, because it was awesome.
It was epic, and I'm glad I got to share that moment with my dad as he doesn't get out much for sports. The opening video was also posted on youtube as well, much better than last year IMO.
As soon as I get some of snapchat videos to stop loading sideways, I'll post those up, but until then, I leave you with the player intros, and you can imagine how it looked from my view.
And here's the opening video... on Monumental Network (I'm working on embedding stuff, haven't had to do this shit in quite some time) Well, I'll hopefully have more vids, and pics up for you guys after the Caps-Sharks game.
Well, screwed the pooch last night. Seems like the Habs are more than Carey Price and let's see how many shots he can stop. Will probably have a post on my first Caps game of the season up tonight (still working thru gifs, pics, and w/e else I want to put in).
MONEYLINE: 23-8 (0-1)
O/U: 9-16-6 (0-1-0)
1:00PM - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS BOSTON BRUINS
Marchand is injured, Seidenberg is still injured, Chara may or may not play, but he'll be injured. The Bolts really have a shot here to make life miserable for Boston early in the season.
MONEYLINE: BOLTS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
1:00PM - WINNIPEG JETS VS NEW YORK ISLANDERS
The Islanders are starting Greiss again. In this day and age, I guess it would be nice to have a backup goalie that's pretty decent, but in this matchup, only the Jets do (Hutchinson and Pavelec). They've started the season scoring a lot of goals on the Bruins and Devils. I think the Isles don't want to get embarrassed for a third straight game, but there's not much you can do if your backup sucks...
MONEYLINE: JETS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
3:00PM - COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS BUFFALO SABRES
I'm convinced that today, we'll finally see the Saad-Johansen-Foligno line break out, mainly because the Sabres either riding Chad Johnson or their AHL goalie. The Blue Jackets have the talent, just not enough to top the Rangers... yet.
MONEYLINE: BLUE JACKETS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - FLORIDA PANTHERS VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
The Panthers opened the season by scoring the fastest four goals to open a season in NHL history. Steve Mason lasted all of 6:46 and won't be playing in the revenge game. Neuvy isn't better either. He went 0-3-1 (with the tanking Sabres) last year against the Cats and is 3-7-2 in his career, and that includes his time with the offensive juggernauts in DC. Also kind of hard to beat Bobby Lou when he's pulling shit like this
MONEYLINE: PANTHERS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
10:00PM - VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS ANAHEIM DUCKS
I'm sorry Vancouver, but the Ducks are going to let out all their frustration of the loss against the Sharks on you guys. I think there's a lot of talent in Vancouver, but they're not quite at the level of the Ducks.
MONEYLINE: DUCKS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
Damn... that was a fun Caps game to be at, even though none of the Caps' goals were scored at my end, it was fun as hell to watch. But that's for the other post to go through, this post is regarding my picks and results.
Moneyline: 23-7 (Part 1: 6-1, Part 2: 3-4) Second half of games were poor choices, I blame the lack of time.
O/U: 9-15-6(Part 1: 2-3-2, Part 2: 3-3-1)
7:00PM - MONTREAL CANADIENS VS OTTAWA SENATORS
Carey Price is gonna ride the pine for this one. I like the Senators then because they're DEFINITELY going to take advantage of Price being on the bench.
MONEYLINE: SENS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
So here's the second part, I couldn't find the Over and Unders this morning, so I had to wait until after the Bolts-Sabres game was finished in order to make those posts, but instead of editing, I figured I'd just split it up so no one can say "LOOK, THERE'S AN EDIT, HE MUST BE EDITING HIS SHIT TO GET HIS PICKS RIGHT!" Anyways, this also gives me the time to fill out more info on the Caps game tonight.
7:00PM - NEW JERSEY DEVILS VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS
THIS IS THE BIG GAME (for me anyways) Cory Schneider (Some dude named Kevin Kincaid is actually starting) is coming to town with a rag-tag group of devils that lost to Winnipeg last night 3-1. I honestly think the Capitals are going to DESTROY the devils. Like a slaughter. It's going to be bad... like really bad... gonna take the Caps -2.5 spread for this game...I'm stoked to go see the Devils get destroyed in the home opener.
A little background about what I did above. I clearly own those two jerseys (I collect jerseys). I was kind of looking around my room where I should put them to take the best picture and I hung them from my drapes in my bedroom. The Devils jersey was purchased from Lids.com very recently during a sale and the Caps jersey was purchased from reebok.com (which is having a sale THSI WEEKEND where everything you buy is 30% off, so that jersey comes out to like ~$55, promo code OCTOBER). Both jerseys are premiers and the Devils jersey is actually a vector logo jersey (made prior to the 2011-2012 season). I think setting these up is pretty cool, but I won't be able to do this for every Caps game. I could do it for several other teams as well, but I want to wait until I have all 30 teams.
MONEYLINE: CAPS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS NEW YORK RANGERS
Revenge game... this time the Saad-Johansen-Foligno line LIGHT 'EM UP (insert song by fall out boy here), no wait, I will ACTUALLY insert the song below
Revenge game for the Blue Jackets, for the love of god, don't let the Rags go 3-for-3 to start the season.
MONEYLINE: BLUE JACKETS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
8:30PM - NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
This is the revenge game.. cept the Isles STILL don't have a goalie. Blackhawks are finally going to get the W at home.
MONEYLINE: HAWKS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
9:00PM - DALLAS STARS VS COLORADO AVALANCHE
After the meltdown mentioned in the prior post, the Avs now host the Stars... yea... good luck with that. Sharp should make some contributions after starting with Spezza. Cody Eakin on the top line between Seguin and Benn is absurd. The Caps gave away this kid for Ribeiro who turned out to be a woman-beater and lasted only a short time in DC, another GMGM puck up.
MONEYLINE: STARS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER if Lehtonen in net, UNDER if Niemi in net)
10:00PM - CALGARY FLAMES VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS
The revenge game again! There's a lot of those tonight. Unfortunately, the Flames still suck and the Nucks are going to put some goals in tonight against Hiller. Won't be as bad as the last game though because Hiller doesn't actually suck. Ramo actually sucks.
MONEYLINE: CANUCKS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
10:00PM - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS ARIZONA COYOTES
I went with the Coyotes last time, I'm sticking with them again. Puck the Pens.
MONEYLINE: COYOTES O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
10:30PM - ANAHEIM DUCKS VS SAN JOSE SHARKS
Another California Rivalry game. This is going to be a good game and very likely high scoring. I liked the Sharks in the road opener. I don't like them in the home opener, mainly because these are ths Sharks. So a lot of goals, but the Ducks likely win.
MONEYLINE: DUCKS O/U: 5.5 goals (OVER)
FINALLY! We've reached the Caps home opener! I'm stoked to finally get back to a hockey game! 14 games tonight! Good lord... there's going to be a lot of write-ups... I'll keep them short, save for the Caps game. Also doing a noon opener since we have a game at 1pm (damn Panthers can't get a night game in Sunrise Florida). Another interesting thing to note. I'm going to have to split up tonight's games into two posts because a lot of the Over/Unders aren't listed yet
MONEYLINE:14-2 (4-1 Last Night)
O/U: 4-9-3 (2-1-2 Last Night)
1:00PM - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS BUFFALO SABRES
Lehner is injured, so the Sabres are down to Chad Johnson. Think about that, Chad Johnson... not Ocho Cinco, the perennial backup goalie. The Bolts are going to eat him for breakfast. Er... brunch in this case. Drouin is finally having the breakout season we expected when he first came into the league on a line with Stammer and Callahan (how's that trade look now Rangers fans?). While the triplets form the second line, they just have two very good lines to run people over with. Good luck Jack Eichel, may you survive this horrific season to someday lead 'Murica to a gold medal in Olympic Hockey.
MONEYLINE: BOLTS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - MONTREAL CANADIENS VS BOSTON BRUINS
The first of five games between the Habs and Bruins. Oh god... no Seidenberg and no Chara... gonna have to go with Price and Patches and the rest of the Habs. This will be the first of three previews for the Winter Classic, but this time, the hosts don't look like they'll be going to the playoffs.
MONEYLINE: HABS O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - OTTAWA SENATORS VS TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
The Sens do not suck and the Leafs played last night, the Leafs also have a problem with scoring goals, as well as defense, goaltending (the list goes on and on). I'm sorry Mike Babcock, you picked the wrong ship to ride this season on.
MONEYLINE: SENS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - PHILADELPHIA FLYERS VS FLORIDA PANTHERS
The Flyers took the Bolts to OT in one of the CRAZIEST SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Yea... so after that, they really should go back to 4-on-4. It is absolutely nuts. I don't think the Flyers want to do that again and the Panthers surprisingly had been on a run of W's in season openers until last year and again with the home openers until last year. I think they'll go back to winning home openers with Jagr showing the young-uns (is that how you spell it?) the ropes.
MONEYLINE: PANTHERS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
7:00PM - DETROIT RED WINGS VS CAROLINA HURRICANES
The Leafs lack any teeth right now. Justin Abdelkader scored a hat trick last night and the Wings are rolling (sans Datsyuk) and with Mrazek in net tonight, I expect them to run over Carolina.
I honestly think the Canes are not a playoff team and no where close to the caliber of talent that is oozing out of the motor city. I also expect more goals and the Canes have a bit more talent than the Leafs, so they may get 1.. or 2 if they're lucky.
MONEYLINE: RED WINGS O/U: 5 goals (OVER)
7:00PM - EDMONTON OILERS VS NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Will Connor McDavid score a goal? No, very unlikely to do so against Pekka Rinne and the Preds. I really could post more stuff, but not important atm. Pred rule and Oilers about to go 0-2 under new coach Todd McClellan. They still need a defense and some goaltending.For the Blues on the other hand, I consider Jake Allen to be superior to Brian Elliott, so good luck northern Alberta, it's not going to be a fun night.
MONEYLINE: PREDATORS O/U: 5.5 goals (UNDER)
8:00PM - ST. LOUIS BLUES VS MINNESOTA WILD
Last year, the Wild surprisingly beat the Blues in a six games series. Since then, the Blues have allegedly gotten "tougher" and are built stronger for the playoffs, although if you were to ask my buddy who is a Blues fan (Sam, this is where I'm talking about you), he'd tell you the Caps absolutely robbed the Blues of T.J. Oshie. The Wild had an amazing comeback on Thursday night, so my opinion of them is very high right now, either that, or the Avs suck which is pretty hard to believe (but with the loss of Ryan O'Reilly...)
MONEYLINE: BLUES O/U: 5 goals (UNDER)
