Nhl Picks Handicapping - November 01, 2008

Today we are back on the NHL ice with five premium selections including two 4-unit picks. Over the last week we are up +10.6 units while hitting 78% (7-2).

Today's NHL Hockey Picks:

Game: Chicago at Columbus (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Columbus -1.5 goals +252 (puckline) (risk 3 to win 7.6)

While the Blackhawks have been enjoying success at home at 4-2, they have been dreadful on the road this season. They have yet to find the win column on the road at 0-4, and have been out-scored at just about a two to one ratio. The Blue Jackets will be without F Jared Boll tonight serving a suspension, but that may be good news as Boll has not scored a point so far this season. The Blue Jackets bring the momentum of a road win at Colorado. In their last three wins all of them have been by at least two goals, so I'll back them on the puckline here against the road-struggling Blackhawks.

The Stars got out of the gate slowly, but have become more consistent of late. After a 1-4 start, the Stars have come out to 3-3, and have won two of their last four on the road. The Bruins have spent a lot of time on the road early on, as they have played eight of their last 11 games away from Boston, and may be a bit down making the trip back from Calgary. Marty Turco has struggled in the net, but may find something tonight as he is 4-1 against the Bruins with an 0.79 goals against average. I'll go with the Stars here who could catch the Bruins with tired legs after a grueling early-season travel schedule.

Both Ottawa and Tampa will be out for their third consecutive wins as they face-off in Tampa tonight. For the first time the Lightning have won back-to-back games under coach Barry Melrose. They have, however, really struggled on home ice this season with just a 1-2-3 mark as Ottawa is now picking up steam by winning each of their last two on the road. This has been a series completely dominated by Ottawa who has won 12 of the last 16 played between these teams. More importantly is that they have taken the last two of three played in Tampa, and in a longer run they have won six of the last eight in Tampa. Ottawa has it going on the road (3-1) and playing well against a team they have dominated. Ottawa gets the call here.

Not very often are you going to get the NHL runner-up from a year ago at plus money, but that's what we have here. The Blues aren't exactly playing well as they have been home for six straight games and suddenly find themselves amid a streak that shows them dropping three of the last four on home ice during this stand. The offense is really struggling as they were shutout by Carolina, but more disturbing was the fact they had only 19 shots on goal. That may be a problem tonight against a Pittsburgh defense and goal-tending that has allowed just two goals a game in their last six. I'll back the Penguins here against the sputtering offense of the Blues.

The Flames are certainly a hot team right now having won their last five games. That doesn't tell the whole story, however. The Flames have out-scored their opponents by 20-16 at home, but are being out-scored on the road by a count of 13-11. The same story can be painted in the history of these teams as Calgary has dominated the Kings at home where they are 5-0, but when they come to Calgary they are just 2-3 in the last five. I like the value in this one of getting a home team that has shown success against the visitor, so will ride the Kings here.

Results: 1-4

NHL Hockey Picks Resources:

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• Here we show our NHL Game-of-Day-Preview.
• View NHL picks blog here.
• Don't forget to read our 2008 NHL picks results here.

Check out the last five NHL Hockey Picks Newsletters:

NHL-Hockey-Picks-October-30-2008
The Penguins will head to the desert to and face-off with the Phoenix Coyotes in NHL Thursday night action. Pittsburgh is making a bid to return to the NHL Finals, where they lost to Detroit last year...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-October-29-2008
The Minnesota Wild head south to take on the Dallas Stars in NHL action. The Wild are off to an impressive 6-0-1 start and remain flawless on the road. A lot of the success can be attributed to an off...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-October-27-2008
The Blue Jackets won their opener on the road, but have dropped their last four traveling, but will be glad to return to home ice tonight where they carry a 2-1 mark on the early season. Since that op...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-October-25-2008
The starting time for this game has been moved up three hours, because of the World Series taking place in Philly tonight. The Flyers have to be feeling good about themselves as they got their first w...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-October-24-2008
The Rangers head west to take on the Blue Jackets tonight in NHL action. The Rangers jumped out to a quick 5-0 start, but have been faltering of late. The Rangers have found success because they have ...