Hockey Betting Pick - November 18, 2009

We crushed another 5-unit play as we hit with the UNDER on Toronto/Ottawa last night. We finished 2-0-1 on the ice last night for +9 units including a 4-unit dog winner on Nashville. Today we have a huge day with eight picks including a pair of 5-unit selections.

Since the start of the season, we are hitting 82% with our 5-unit NHL picks (14-3). Over the last three weeks, we are killing the books to the tune of 52-32 for 62% for +41 units.

WUNDERDOG 2009 RECENT RESULTS ($100/bet)
SPORT	WINS-LOSSES	%	NET
NFL	10-9 last 19 picks	53%	+$30
MLB	265-219 last 484 picks	55%	+$8370
NHL	52-32 last 84 picks	62%	+$4160
WNBA	121-90 last 211 picks	57%	+$5490
TOTAL			+$18050

Today's NHL Hockey Picks:

Game: Florida at Buffalo (7:05 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Buffalo -210 (moneyline) (risk 3 to win 1.4)

The Sabres are out of the gate fast and have caught fire as they have raced to three straight wins, and have won seven of their last nine at home. They have been playing great defense, and getting superb net play as the Sabres have allowed two goals or less in 12 of their 17 games thus far. The Panthers have played three straight shootouts, losing the most recent one, and already own a 5-2 setback at home to the Sabres this season, which runs the losing skid against Buffalo to four straight. Overall, they have just one win to show for their last seven trips to Buffalo. The Sabres have it going, and this foe has not proved to be on their level of late. Buffalo gets the call here.

The Red Wings are no easy out at home as they stand at 71-1 for the season, with the only loss a game that was deemed a home game in Sweden. The Stars however, seem to find a way of staying in the game against everyone, with five games already ending via the shootout and three others decided in OT. Lately that has been ringing even more true with each of the last five being decided by a single goal. The games have all been tight, not allowing more than three in any of them, or scoring more than three. What the Stars have going for them is that they have been a thorn in Detroit's side as Dallas has won five of the last seven meetings between these two, so they will come here with confidence. They have played good, crisp hockey of late with all five of their last five games going UNDER. Detroit is 19-9-4 to the UNDER off of three or more days rest in their last 32. I like Dallas and the UNDER here.

The Dallas Stars have been playing tight games all season long, and even more so lately with all five of their most recent games decided by a single goal. They have also done as well as anyone against Detroit as they have won five of the last seven meetings outright, and that includes all three played between these clubs last year. Getting the plus side of the puckline in this situation carries some value, so the Stars get the call on the puckline.

The Minnesota Wild certainly need to get themselves straightened out on the road where they are a disappointing 2-9-2. They take on a completely different look at home where they stand at 5-2. The scoring has been awful on the road where they have averaged just over two goals per game, but at home they have elevated that by just about a full goal scoring three per contest. The Coyotes started very fast, but their recent play has not been on the same level. This is a team that has gone from outscoring their first 13 opponents by 10 goals, to one that has been outscored by eight in their last seven. That is almost a two-goal change in team performance. The Wild has been a bear at home as their last 12 on home ice as a favorite has produced 10 wins, so I'll go with Minnesota here.

The Avalanche has been the early surprise in the NHL. After finishing dead last in the Western Conference with 69 points a year ago, they opened this season with a bang, but have decidedly slipped back to '08-09 form recently. The Avalanche has now dropped three of four for the first time all season, and has allowed 18 goals in the process. When they were playing with the hot-hand, they handed Edmonton a 3-0 loss on the road, but the start of the slide began with a loss at home to Edmonton 5-3. The Avalanche certainly hasn't taken advantage of playing a team with a losing record at just 9-22 in their last 31. The Oilers meanwhile, are taking the money as a favorite from -110 to -150 to a 27-10 mark in their last 37. Edmonton gets the call.

The Flyers went flat for awhile after opening the season with three wins, but are surging now having dropped just a 3-2 decision to Buffalo in their last seven games. The three goals allowed to Buffalo represent the only team able to wiggle more than two pucks through the net during the seven-game stretch. The Kings have had to fight for everything they have gotten lately with a pair of shootout wins in their last two outings, but this is a team that has lost by two goals or more in three of their last six. The offense has been flat producing just 13 in the six games, or just about two per night. This is the Kings fourth game in six days, and they have played UNDER in four of the last five in that situation, and four of the last five in this series have as well. One team is getting great net play, the other is struggling to score. I'll go with Philadelphia and the UNDER.

Results: 6-2

NHL Hockey Picks Resources:

• Check out free NHL picks here.
• Check out betting hockey here.
• View NHL hockey Game-of-Day Analysis here.
• Take a look at our hockey sports book reviews here.
• View hockey lines and odds here.
• Hop over to our NHL against-the-spread records here.
• View hockey blog here.
• Check out our updated 2009 NHL prior pick season results.

Check out the last five NHL Hockey Picks Newsletters:

NHL-Hockey-Picks-November-17-2009
The New York Rangers have played six of their last eight games to the UNDER and the leading reason has been a struggling offense. The Rangers’ offense which was clicking at just shy of four goal...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-November-16-2009
The New Jersey Devils are now 9-0-0 on the road this season while they have been just an average team at home, standing at 5-4. That certainly gets your attention and respect, but they will have diffi...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-November-15-2009
Carolina is 2-16 and yet I am backing them. It helps when you get to face a team that is 2-10 on the road and scoring 2.0 goals per game. Minnesota has been decent at home but horrible away and I...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-November-14-2009
Aside from a four game stretch where the Panthers generated 16 goals, this team has had a lot of trouble finding the net. Over their other 12 games, the Panthers have found the net just 25 times or a ...

NHL-Hockey-Picks-November-13-2009
The Columbus Blue Jackets must regroup from their most humiliating loss - a 9-1 setback at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. The bigger issue that was emphasized in that one was the shoddy goaltendi...