It’s a busy night on the ice, with 11 NHL games on the schedule, and that offers many opportunities to make money on Monkey Knife Fight.
Columbus at Pittsburgh and Colorado at Dallas are two games among those in the thick of the playoff race, but the Edmonton Oilers hosting the Vancouver Canucks could very well present some opportunities. Connor McDavid drives the Oilers attack, of course, but there could be a few Oilers that have a positive outcome going against a Canucks team coming off a big overtime win against Toronto last night.
One thing that I’ve noticed, going through the props, is that it’s hard to count on goals being scored by an individual. Every once in a while, a player is a on a hot streak or has great home/road splits but, for the most part, it’s difficult to score goals and that makes it difficult to take the over on any parlay options.
Here are some angles to consider before the puck drops tonight.
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FLORIDA-BOSTON
OVER/UNDERS
Brad Marchand UNDER 0.5 GOALS – This isn’t a reflection on Marchand, who is great, especially at home, but it’s hard to bank on goals. He’s scored in 17 of 35 home games this season, which is not enough to like the over, even against a Florida team that has suspect goaltending.
RAPID FIRE
Roberto Luongo -2.5 saves vs. Tuukka Rask – There is risk involved in this one, because Luongo has struggled on the road, with a .887 save percentage this season, and if the Bruins bury the Panthers it’s possible that Luongo could get pulled but the likely scenario is that the Bruins dominate the shot clock and Luongo has 29.5 saves per 60 on the road while Rask has 25.5 saves per 60 on home ice.
COLUMBUS-PITTSBURGH
OVER/UNDERS
Evgeni Malkin UNDER 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – As great as Malkin is, he has the potential to throw up big numbers, but it’s not necessarily his standard. For one thing, he doesn’t block a lot of shots, so hitting this number is not easy. In his past 20 home games, he has finished with four or fewer shots plus blocks 16 times.
Matt Duchene UNDER 0.5 GOALS – Since joining the Blue Jackets, Duchene has managed one goal in seven games and he’s down from 2.5 shots per game in Ottawa to 2.3 per game for Columbus.
Sidney Crosby OVER 0.5 ASSISTS – On a five-game point streak, Crosby has recorded assists in four of his past five home games.
RANGERS-DETROIT
OVER/UNDERS
Danny DeKeyser OVER 3.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – This is not a sure thing, but DeKeyser is playing a big role on the Detroit blueline, more than 22 minutes per game in the past month, and his contributions as a shot blocker give him a chance to hit the over.
Chris Kreider UNDER 0.5 GOALS – As good as Kreider has been this season, he’s struggled to find the net on the road. In the past 14 road games, he’s scored a goal in just three. Even with the Red Wings a below-average opponent, it’s not enough to bank on Kreider scoring a goal.
ISLANDERS-OTTAWA
OVER/UNDERS
Chris Tierney UNDER 0.5 ASSISTS – While the Senators center has been a surprisingly successful playmaker, recording 34 assists in 67 games, he has gone eight straight games without an assist.
Cody Ceci UNDER 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – From time to time, the Senators defenseman can pick up a bunch of blocked shots, but not consistently. He’s recorded four or fewer shots plus blocks in six of his past seven home games.
MINNESOTA-TAMPA BAY
OVER/UNDERS
Zach Parise UNDER 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – That’s a big number, even for a winger putting up better than three shots on goal per game, like Parise, and he’s finished with four or fewer shots plus blocks in 11 of his past 14 road games. Visiting Tampa Bay never seems like the best path to busting out.
Steven Stamkos UNDER 0.5 GOALS – Although he’s one of the best shooters in the game, Stamkos has recorded goals in four of his past 14 home games so it seems safer to take the under.
COLORADO-DALLAS
OVER/UNDERS
Tyler Seguin OVER 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – The Stars center has recorded at least five shots plus blocks in nine of the past 14 home games. He averages 4.4 shots on goal per game at home, and contributes blocked shots, too, so he could combine for five or more against a mediocre opponent like the Avalanche.
Nathan MacKinnon UNDER 0.5 GOALS – Although he’s scored in the past two Colorado home games, MacKinnon has goals in just three of the past 12 games at home. Odds are on the side of the under.
BUFFALO-CHICAGO
OVER/UNDERS
Jack Eichel OVER 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – This is not an easy number to hit but Eichel has gone for at least five shots plus blocks in five straight road games. He’s playing really well lately and going against the defensively-bankrupt Blackhawks should keep the opportunities flowing.
Patrick Kane OVER 0.5 ASSISTS – Call this one a bit of a hunch, as Kane has gone six straight games without a helper. Nevertheless, he’s recorded 26 assists in 33 home games and the Sabres are shaky enough defensively to get Kane back on the board.
VANCOUVER-EDMONTON
OVER/UNDERS
Oscar Klefbom OVER 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – It seems like a lot to count on a defenseman to get over this number, but he has recorded at least five shots plus blocks in seven of his past dozen home games. With that lean towards his productivity, going against a Canucks team that is on the second night of a back-to-back, that should be ample opportunity for Edmonton’s puck-moving defenseman to hit the over.
Bo Horvat UNDER 0.5 ASSISTS – The Canucks center is a solid contributor but has also managed one assist in the past 15 games overall. Edmonton isn’t exactly a shutdown team, yet with the Canucks on the second night of a back-to-back, it’s hard to be optimistic about Horvat’s production.
RAPID FIRE
Connor McDavid -0.5 points vs. Bo Horvat – Given Horvat’s trouble getting on the board (six points in the past 15 games), he’s a massive underdog against McDavid, who has points in 14 of his past 15 games.
CALGARY-ARIZONA
OVER/UNDERS
Alex Galchenyuk UNDER 0.5 ASSISTS – Although Galchenyuk’s production has been solid enough, he’s managed to record assists in just two of the past 11 home games. Putting that up against a strong team like Calgary is not a recipe for point production.
Johnny Gaudreau UNDER 3.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – Johnny Hockey puts up more than three shots per game, but he doesn’t block shots – just nine in 67 games – so the safer play here is the under.
MONTREAL-SAN JOSE
OVER/UNDERS
Jonathan Drouin UNDER 0.5 ASSISTS – Picking up one assist shouldn’t be that difficult, but Drouin has failed to pick up an assist in 12 of his past 13 road games. That one game that he did get on the board he actually had four assists at New Jersey, but on a nightly basis he hasn’t been very productive.
Shea Weber OVER 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – Not only has Weber recorded at least five shots plus blocks in five of his past eight road games. He had four in two of the three that fell short.
ST. LOUIS-LOS ANGELES
OVER/UNDERS
Drew Doughty OVER 0.5 ASSISTS – Goals take a lot of effort for the Kings, but their No. 1 defenseman has put up assists in five straight home games. Even against a good Blues squad, he can keep that run going for another game.
RAPID FIRE
Jake Allen +0.5 saves vs. Jonathan Quick – It hasn’t come easily for Allen this year, as he’s lost playing time to rookie Jordan Binnington, but Allen has been really good (.921 SV%) in 19 road games.