 Tuesday NHL Pucks Picks
Let me start with my favorite thing to doing sports betting and that is a disclaimer. I am not a hockey guru. I grew up around the game and I love to watch it but when it comes to placing wagers it is always last as I will put football, basketball, and baseball above it. That does not stop me from handicapping it when I have the time; its just a matter of finding the time when all sports are in full swing. Tonight there is only one game so I made the time to take on this wonderful sport.
I will track the record of my posts here for every sport.
Records:
NFL: 1-0, +1.00
Carolina @ Toronto
The big news for this game is a bit saddening as it was announced that forward Jason Blake has a rare form of leukemia.
The 34-year-old player said Monday he has begun treatment and will still be able to perform at a high level. He announced his condition after talking to teammates at practice. He said he has started taking a pill daily that ''has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer.''
''The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life,'' he said in a statement on the team's Web site.
Team doctor Noah Forman said the disease - chronic myelogenous leukemia - is a slow-growing cancer of the white blood cells. About 500 new cases are diagnosed each year in Canada.
There are two angles I want to look at tonight, the side and the total.
First the side:
Games Played:
The Leafs have played three games and are 1-1-1 with two of those games going into overtime. The average amount of goals scored in the games has been just over 6.
Carolina has played three games as well and is equally 1-1-1 with an impressive win over Pittsburgh and in the last meeting the Leafs beat the canes 6-1 and this was more than a regular win as it began the free fall the Hurricanes went through last year.
News:
The last game they had was a loss to Washington 2-0 and this is a loss that did not set well with the team or the coach. The Canes weren't at full strength for Friday's game with Pittsburgh but dominated the Penguins. They had enough firepower available on Saturday but lost 2-0 to the Washington Capitals.
The latter performance was so dismal that the Hurricanes spent a good chunk of the afternoon watching the video "lowlights" of the loss.
"I have a problem, sometimes, with some of the real stinkers," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said.
"That's when we'll do the meetings and the extra video and the one-on-ones, because we're frustrated. From an organizational standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, from a players' standpoint, it's frustrating.
"We want to eliminate those. If we lose, I'd really like to think we competed the very best we could. You wake up and you go for the next game. The ones like (Saturday), they stick a little bit more; and you want to try to eliminate them as much as you can."
The Hurricanes stayed in Washington on Saturday night and attended Sunday's Washington Redskins-Detroit Lions game as a team before flying to Toronto for Tuesday night's game. The day off the ice served as another opportunity to build team camaraderie.
This game is important for the Canes as they look to get a good start for a very long trip. You may want to add in your notebook that the canes are on a long road trip and could be a good fade at the end of the trip.
Toronto has struggled on the power play so far, going 0-for-17 before Tomas Kaberle scored with 1:34 left in overtime against the Canadiens. Toronto is playing its second of four straight at home here while Carolina will be playing Game 2 of a six-game road trip.
Finally when it comes to the side I am going to play with the Canes tonight as small dogs. The Leafs score a lot but they also allow plenty of goals which is exactly what this offense needs tonight. The bad loss to Washington as rallied this club and they still sting from the lost last year to the Leafs.
Trends:
NHL | CAROLINA at TORONTO
Play Against - Any team against the money line (TORONTO) off a win against a division rival, a bad team (30% to 40%) playing a team with a losing record
33-13 over the last 5 seasons. ( 71.7% | 23.3 units )
NHL | CAROLINA at TORONTO
Play Against - Any team against the money line (TORONTO) off a home win, a bad team (30% to 40%) playing a team with a losing record
59-31 over the last 5 seasons. ( 65.6% | 31.4 units )
NHL | CAROLINA at TORONTO
Play On - Road underdogs of +100 to +150 against the money line (CAROLINA) off a road loss against a division rival, with a losing record
71-53 since 1997. ( 57.3% | 38.4 units )
TORONTO is 16-30 off a home win over the last 3 seasons. (102-124 since 1996.)
CAROLINA is 16-11 off a loss against a division rival over the last 3 seasons. (35-38 since 1996.)
CAROLINA is 55-36 when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons. (184-148 since 1996.)
CAROLINA is 24-16 when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons. (85-76 since 1996.)
When TORONTO team Played as Home team as a Favorite - Total is 6.0 - Coming off vs Northeast division opponent they are 4-16 ATS
Selection: Carolina +120
When it comes to a total in tonights game look for the over to come in. The leafs should get a few goals and will finally score on a power play but the Canes will expose the leafs defense with plenty of goals.
When CAROLINA team Played as Road team as a Underdog - Before a non division game - After a division game - Coming off vs Southeast division opponent - Allowed 2 or more goals AGAINST in their last game the over is 19-9-2
When TORONTO team Played as Home team as a Favorite - Last 5 years - Coming off 1 over the over is 24-14-4
Over 6 +105
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