NHL JAN 10

[xbaggypants]

St. Louis +2.94 over NEW JERSEY PINNACLE
Price tag here definitely has influence on this choice, as there are not many match-ups in the NHL that warrant a price like this one. The Blue Notes continue to play much better and in fact, after beating Columbus last night, they’ve now lost just three times in their past 11 games. The Devils are on a serious roll of their own, however, we’re hoping to catch them taking a bit of a breather here. St. Louis is a squad they seldom see, as they’ve faced the Blues just five times in the last five years and just twice in the last three years. In addition, the Devils could have as many as four regular defenseman out, as Colin White, Johnny Oduya, Jim Fahey and Richard Matvichuk are still on the rack. Colin White may play tonight but that’s a game time decision. The Devils could very well take the Blues lightly after games against Ottawa and Montreal and with Atlanta, the Islanders and the Rangers on deck. Risk is worth the reward in this one. Play: St. Louis +2.94 (Risking 2 units).

Pittsburgh +1.42 over FLORIDA PINNACLE
Not our favorite game of the year, as the Penguins will play their third game in four nights and the tail end of back-to-backs after another loss to the Lightning last night. That’s 11 in a row and counting that the Penguins have lost to Tampa Bay. So, why play this you ask? Well, one of our favorite angles is playing against teams returning home from a trip and you can double that when said trip took place in Western Canada. Players for years have called those three road games in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver the toughest trip of the season. Besides, it’s not like the Panthers are running over anyone. They lost all three games on the trip and they continue to get shaky goaltending from Ed Belfour and Alex Auld. Florida is a beatable team on any night and under these conditions they’re even more vulnerable. Nice price, nice situation equals a play worth making. Play: Pittsburgh +1.42 (Risking two units).

Edmonton +2.28 over SAN JOSE PINNACLE
The only way our wager doesn’t get graded in this one is if the game is cancelled, as there’s no chance of us not pulling the trigger on the Oilers at this price. We don’t care what Edmonton’s record is or about anything else, the bottom line is that this is tremendous value on a good hickey club. The Oilers have picked up points in four straight and they always give the Sharks fits. They play their best hockey against San Jose and that’s because they match up very well against them. In fact, the Oilers have scored six goals in three of the last four times they played the Sharkies. San Jose has played just two games in the past 10 days and they’ve been sitting at home the whole time too. That’s not a benefit as the players get a little complacent and a little too comfortable and we’ve seen teams come out very flat when they’ve been at home for too long. This is a great spot for Edmonton, not to mention a big overlay. Of course the Oilers can win here. Play: Edmonton +2.28 (Risking 2 units).