Nhl Hockey Picks - February 05, 2008

Tonight we like the board a lot and have two 5-unit picks and a 4-unit pick...

Today's NHL Hockey Picks:

Game: Anaheim at New York Islanders (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 5 units on Anaheim -150 (moneyline) (risk 5 to win 3.3)

It's been 150 minutes of scoreless hockey for the Ducks as they have dropped six straight. But, we are all over them tonight! It should tell you something that a team in the middle of this kind of drought is favored at 1.5 to 1 on the road. Anaheim gets to face a team giving up 3.8 goals per game over their last five while also struggling to score at 2.2 per game. Anaheim has scored 2 or fewer goals in five straight games 41 times over the past decade and they have won their next game out 26 out of 41. New York hasn't won a home game in six tries. In their last 128 home games following a game in which they scored 1 or fewer goals, they are 39-69. Anaheim is so cold, yet they are a good favorite here - seems strange but there is a reason. This game is theirs.

LA has made us a boatload of money this season as we have backed them as big dogs many times and won more often than not. Here's another spot we like. Yes, the Kings are bad. But, they do win some games. And, when they do, they get prices that are more than deserved. In most bettors' minds, the Kings are "the worst team in the NHL." So they get no credit, even when deserved. The fact is, this team has won nine of their last sixteen! They have won as dogs of +190, +155, +125, +140, +195, +125 and +115. New York averages just 2.4 goals per game at home so anything can happen here, especially if they breathe a sigh of relief after four straight road games. Heck, they get the lowly Kings here so why not relax a bit. Relax too much, though and you could lose to those lowly Kings. Home favorites of -200 or higher are just 41-39 over the past five seasons when coming off 4+ straight road games! The Rangers are 0-7 this year in non-conference games. We like LA's chances here, especially at this line.

Ottawa is 16-10 on ther road, scoring 3.4 goals per game. Versus division foes they are 13-4, winning on average by a score of 3.1 to 2.5. They are facing a Montreal team with a losing (11-14) home record. Yet, we are getting the underdog role and odds here. We'll take it. The Senators beat the Canadiens 4-2 back in November and Montreal is just 2-8 this season at home revenging a loss. They are 0-6 this season revenging two straight losses to an opponent. They are also 3-10 this season at home vs. good offenses that average 30+ shots on goal per game.

Carolina is off a bad performance vs. Pittsburgh. They gave up four 4th quarter goals to lose 4-1. They will be ready here. The Hurricanes can keep up with Nashville offensively. Carolina is a perfect 5-0 this season on the road after a game in which they scored 1 goal or less. They are also 9-3 on the road off a loss this year. Cam Ward is saving 91.4% of shots on way to a 10-8 road record this season. We think Carolina comes back strong here to pull off the upset.

Detroit is as hot as it gets. Time to fade them. The Red Wings, with 84 poitns, are 16 points ahead of anyone else in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. But, let's not look past the Wild so quickly. They have won three in a row and have taken over the lead in their division. They are 16-9 at home and they have beaten their last five opponents by an average score of 3.4 to 1.6. They have the defense to slow down Detroit's great offense. In second-half play, Minnesota is a perfect 5-0 since last year vs. teams at 60%+ straight up. And, teams that have won two in a row facing a team that has won 6 in a row are 26-10 over the past five seasons. Wild for the upset here. The offenses for these two teams average a combined 6.2 goals per game. They have great defenses but we see this game getting to 6+ goals relatively easily. We'll take the OVER as well.

Vancouver is in need of a win to snap out of their recent skid. The only team they have been able to beat since the middle of the month was St. Louis. We think Dallas might take this team a bit lightly tonight. Dallas is off two straight road wins and they are just 5-12 the past two seasons in that situation. The Canucks haven't lost a road game the past three seasons when playing with 3+ days of rest. They are also 14-9 on the road revenging a home loss the past two seasons. We'll back Vancouver here.

Results: 2-4

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Check out the last five NHL Hockey Picks Newsletters:

NHL-Hockey-Picks-February-04-2008
Colorado is 13-3-1 SU in its last 17 games when playing at home against Phoenix. Colorado had a great game Saturday against St. Louis scoring six goals in that game. Colorado’s young players hav...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-February-02-2008
Calgary had a great game last time out beating the San Jose sharks 5-4. Nolan had his 11th career hat trick in that game. Calgary has won four straight games. Dallas in 2-8 in there last 10 games on S...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-February-01-2008
Atlanta wil be without Ilya Kovalchuck and his 38 goals tonight. The Sabres are 15-10 UNDER ont he season away from home, scoring 2.4 per game. Over their last five games they are averaging just 2.2 g...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-January-31-2008
The Rangers defense gives them a shot in any game. They are allowing just 2.5 per game on the season, 2.2 per game over their last five and 1.9 per game vs. division foe, whom they know well. Offense ...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-January-30-2008
Both of these teams win can put up ugly offensive performances. But, they can also score and both defenses are fairly average. In the month of January, both of these teams have scored 4+ goals in five...