Follow my NHL picks all year round. If you have any questions or comments please email me at rsteel@pshltd.com.
Submitted by rsteel on
Pittsburgh Penguins over Montreal Canadiens 1st 60 minutes ONLY: Not much during the regular season will get Pitts motivated for a full effort but tonight I think will be the case. Saturday night hockey in Mtl is special to start. Second last Saturday Mtl went into Pitts and embarrassed them 5-1. Niemi will get the start in net for Mtl Price is down with the flu. I have this game at 1.60 giving us excellent value.
Submitted by rsteel on
New York Rangers over Buffalo Sabres 1st 60 Minutes ONLY: I am not big on Nyr and expect they will struggle to make the playoffs. In their 1st game at home they lost to a very good Nash team although that game was fairly even. Buff will be improved this year how could they not but will also be a long shot to make the playoffs. They were already booed at home in their first game losing to Bost 4-0. Lundqvist is past his prime but he is still better than Hutton. The formula is simple when Buff id favored which will not be often whenever possible fade them.
Submitted by rsteel on
San Jose Sharks over Los Angeles Kings 1st 60 Minutes ONLY: Sj will look to bounce back after a home loss to Ana 5-2. Jones had an off night Sj still outshot Ana 33-15. La will play their 1st game of the year. Sj will already have the rust and kinks out giving them an advantage tonight including the fact they are simply the better team.
Submitted by rsteel on
Washington Capitals over Vegas Golden Knights Best of 7 Finals: This bet has nothing to do with fading Veg. They are a very fast very good team with Conn Smyth goaltending with Fleury. I am not betting against them because their bubble is about to burst or the fact they are an expansion team. None of this is relevant I will leave that garbage to the touts. However Veg has literally not faced any adversity in this playoff run. They will in this series. As good as Fleury is playing so is Holtby.
Submitted by rsteel on
Winnipeg Jets over Vegas Golden Knights Best of 7 Conf Series: This is not an anti Veg bet. This is not a bet anticipating their bubble will burst. This is a very good team backed by an excellent goalie. However having said that if Fleury outplays Hellebuyck by a wide margin Veg will win but at this price I am willing to take the risk. Winn is big they are tough they have balanced scoring and I believe as this series goes longer Winn can wear down Veg. Winn played the 5th toughest strength of schedule while Veg played the 16th.
Submitted by rsteel on
Winnipeg Jets over Nashville Predators game 6 Incl OT: Nash is actually fortunate this series is not already over. When you go under the hood you will see Winn has won all the key areas including the all important goaltending. The last thing Winn will want is to go back to Nash for a game 7. I have this game at 1.54 giving us excellent value.
Submitted by rsteel on
Winnipeg Jets over Nashville Predators Game 3 Incl OT: It took double OT in order for Nash to tie this series 1-1 after the first 2 games at home. Rinne has been shaky in net. The eye test shows Winn getting stronger and winning the territorial battle. The markets have a bias towards Nash who is expected if nothing else to make it all the way to the finals. Nash was a large favorite the first 2 at home while Winn is now a small favorite at home which gives us the value. Not sure who is going to win this series as these teams are much more evenly matched than the markets think.
Submitted by rsteel on
Pittsburgh Penguins over Philadelphia Flyers Game 5 Incl O.T.: If this were a regular season game we would never lay this juice. However tonight we are still able to get value. We won with PItts in game 4 about as easy as we can. Pitts has outscored Phil 18-6 in the first 4 games and 17-1 in the last 18 goals scored. Couturier is questionable for tonight. Pitts knows the importance of ending this early in the hopes ahead of a long playoff run. Going into this series I had a question if Murray could rebound from injuries and a down regular season and he has.
Submitted by rsteel on
Pittsburgh Penguins over Philadelphia Flyers Game 4 Incl O.T: Phil will be without Couturier while Pitts will be without Hornqvist. Phil was embarrassed in game 1 and responded in game 2 or was it just an off night for Pitts. Coming home with some momentum they went down 5-1 in game 3. Pitts have outshot Phil in 8 of the 9 periods played. I was concerned about backing Murray heading into this series but he has been solid. On the other hand Elliot is inconsistent at best. Pits has the #1 ranked road PP while Phil at home is 29th on the PK.
Submitted by rsteel on
Winnipeg Jets over Minnesota Wild Game 1 Including OT: Minn has one of the bigger home/away dichotomies of all the playoff teams. Minn on defense will be without Suter and Spurgeon will be returning after a 1 month absence. Winn has the #1 home offense and will be going up a Minn defense ranked 27t on the road. Minn better stay out of the box as well with Winn having the 4th ranked home PP Minn on the road 22nd in PK. I have this game at 2.05 giving us excellent value.