After going 4-1 with two unders yesterday, today we go straight out. Thanks again to Kevin from NHL Predictions for his play today.
—————————————————————————–
Chicago Blackhawks @ Dallas Stars – OVER 5.5 GOALS (-105)
(Note: I’m risking 1.05 units to win 1 unit)
The Chicago Blackhawks squeaked into the postseason last year in the 8th spot, but lost to the eventual Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks in 7 games. The Blackhawks have tonight’s opponent to thank for their preseason berth, as the Dallas Stars only needed a win in their final game of the season to make the playoffs, but failed to do so in a 5-3 loss to Minnesota. The Blackhawks scored 258 goals last season, good for 3rd in the Western Conference and 4th in the entire NHL. I don’t expect Chicago’s scoring to slow down at all this season, with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane only getting older and more comfortable in the league. Also note that Patrick Sharp (71 points in 74 games last season) is expected to be in the lineup after an appendectomy this summer. The big off season news for the Dallas Stars was the loss of UFA Brad Richards, who signed a big contract with the Rangers. We can expect a lot of the offense to come from Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow, while the addition of Michael Ryder might help fill the gap of Richards. Tonight’s OVER play is based on how these two teams play each other. In 4 games played against each last season the OVER was 3-1, with totals of 7, 6, and 8, and the only game not going over the posted total was a 5-0 Dallas win. In the prior season the OVER was 4-0 when these two teams met, and overall the OVER is 7-2-1 in their last 10 meetings in Dallas. Also we have to take a look at both teams specialty teams. Both were in the top half of the NHL in powerplay % (Chicago 4th and Dallas 14th), while both teams were near the bottom in penalty killing % (Chicago 25th and Dallas 23rd). Also take note that the Blackhawks ranked 4th in the NHL in road goals scored last season. I think we can expect the OVER trend to continue between these two teams, in what should be a great game. Take the OVER 5.5 goals.
—————————————————————————–
Ah the rest of the games to go with (no early games here)
- Tampa Bay
- Detroit
- Nashville
- Chicago
Good luck everyone betting today!
