Hockey Handicapping Articles
Expert NHL Handicapping: Early-Season Disappointments
by Trevor Whenham - 11/20/2018
Before we get into the real task at hand - looking at the teams that have been most disappointing in the first quarter of the season - we have to address something more important. At this time in every season I write articles talking about evaluating the season at the quarter pole. THIS IS FREAKING WRONG, PEOPLE. The quarter pole is not a quarter of the way into a horse race. It is a quarter mile from the finish line. At the quarter pole you are nearing the end. You are not near the beginning. Come on!
NHL Power Rankings: Expert Analysis and Futures Odds
by Doc's Sports - 11/8/2018
We are at a point in the NHL season where most teams have played between 15-17 games. This means that we are approaching the 20 percent mark of the regular season. So far, we've seen some crazy games, some absolute duds, some highly-skilled individual performances, breakout stars like Elias Pettersson of Vancouver, and two coaching casualties. We have had some great stories like the Ottawa players talking crap about one of their coaches, and Brian Boyle scoring a hat trick on Hockey Fights Cancer night in Pittsburgh. To say the NHL season to date has been anything short of entertaining would be a complete lie.
2018 NHL Draft Props: Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/21/2018
The NHL Draft starts on Friday, and this year it feels like a particularly important event. The certain top pick is a very special player. The talent behind him runs deep. A lot of teams have big needs, and there is a lot of desperation. The ingredients are there for a great couple of days. The draft has been more important than ever in recent years because players are readier to contribute at a high level early on, the league is getting younger and faster, and the salary cap has made young, talented and cheap stars very valuable.
Handicapping the NHL Western Conference Playoff Race
by Trevor Whenham - 3/19/2018
The race for the final few playoff spots in the NHL's Western Conference is intense. Every team in the mix right now has 10 or fewer games remaining, and there are seven teams fighting for five open spots. Vegas has, impossibly, sealed the division win in the Pacific, and in the Central Nashville has the best record in the league -- and while Winnipeg is well behind them they are still very secure and very dangerous. But the rest is wide open.
NHL Trade Deadline: Major Moves and Updated Futures Odds
by Chris Vasile - 3/5/2018
The NHL trade deadline was once the marquee event of the hockey season. Before the salary cap was instituted, teams were able to make blockbuster deals without a care in the world about going over the salary cap and running out of money/space to re-sign the core of the team. The salary cap was implemented in 2004, and that has turned the trade deadline into the trade "dudline", thus making July 1 - the start of free agency - the main time when it comes to blockbuster deals.
NHL Handicapping: Boston Bruins Once Again a Championship Contender
by Trevor Whenham - 2/14/2018
The Boston Bruins are having a remarkable season. They have just one fewer point than the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning, and they have played two fewer games. On the surface it's not that surprising - the Bruins have had a lot of good years lately. But this was not supposed to be one of those good years.
NHL All-Star Game: Expert Analysis and Free Betting Picks
by Chris Vasile - 1/26/2018
To be completely honest with you, I would have very much preferred if the main talking point of this article was team Canada's quest to defend its gold medal at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Instead, the NHL and IOC couldn't agree on several major issues, thus forcing the NHL to host an All-Star Game instead of shutting down for a two-week period and letting hockey fans marvel at a legitimate "best-on-best" tournament.
Vegas Golden Knights - Then and Now: NHL Expert Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 1/23/2018
What an absolute treat it's been as a fan of the National Hockey League to witness an expansion team not only come into the league and hold their own but consistently set new records almost every time they touch the ice. Below is the list of records tied or broken by the Golden Knights so far this season.
NHL Expert Handicapping: Calgary Flames Surging Towards Playoff Spot
by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2018
The Calgary Flames are the latest example of how quickly things can change in the NHL when things are as tight and competitive as they are right now. In two weeks the Calgary Flames went from 11 points behind the L.A. Kings, which sat second in the Pacific Division, and out of the playoffs, to a point ahead of the Kings and in second place themselves. The recipe was pretty simple. The Flames won seven straight - including one over L.A. - while the Kings lost four in a row and took their bye week as well.
NHL Betting Advice: Colorado Avalanche Better than Advertised
by Trevor Whenham - 1/12/2018
The Colorado Avalanche are way, way ahead of expectations. Sure, they are still sitting last in the Central Division. But with 47 points they sit only three points out of the final wild-card spot, and they have played three fewer games than Minnesota, which holds down that last spot. Far more impressively, they had only 48 points in their incredibly dismal season last year, so they are just one win away from an improvement, and they still have half a season to play.
Expert NHL Handicapping: the Surprising Winnipeg Jets
by Trevor Whenham - 1/12/2018
Heading into the season it seemed as if the Jets were fringe playoff contenders. They had the potential to get in, but they seemed to be locked in a deep group of teams that could as easily have missed out of the playoffs as gotten in. Well, things haven't turned out that way at all. Dallas, Minnesota and Chicago are all underachieving in the Central Division, while the Jets have been rolling. Winnipeg leads the division by three points and is only one point behind the conference leaders - the shocking Vegas Golden Knights.
2018 Stanley Cup Finals Expert Betting Predictions with Odds and Analysis
by Trevor Whenham - 1/5/2018
We are at the halfway point of the NHL season, give or take. And, like every year, there have been some shocking surprises - both positive and negative. The Edmonton Oilers were favored heading into the season, and they are a long shot to even make the playoffs now. Meanwhile, expansion Vegas is leading the entire Western Conference. It will never not be weird thinking about that last sentence.
Expert NHL Handicapping: Analysis of Chicago Blackhawks Recent Surge
by Trevor Whenham - 12/15/2017
We are used to the Chicago Blackhawks being a truly elite team in the NHL - a perennial threat to finish first overall in the NHL and challenge for the Stanley Cup. After two straight disappointing first-round playoff exits, though, the team entered this season with something to prove - and some lingering doubts. And when they stumbled out of the gate those doubts certainly didn't diminish.
Expert NHL Handicapping: Why the Vegas Golden Knights are So Good So Soon
by Trevor Whenham - 12/15/2017
This is truly crazy. Depth is so important in the NHL, so expansion teams usually need a long time to become competitive. Yet the Vegas Golden Knights are sitting in second place in the deep Pacific Division and have a five-point cushion after 30 games played. It is truly remarkable in every way.
Expert NHL Handicapping: Six Reasons for Winnipeg Jets Success
by Trevor Whenham - 11/22/2017
Heading into the season the Winnipeg Jets felt like a team that was in the battle for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference. They had upside but even more uncertainty. Well, we are now a quarter of the way through the NHL season, and there is good reason to be more optimistic than we were starting the season. They are sitting second in the Western Conference with 27 points through 20 games, and though they are six points behind the Blues they also have two games in hand.
NHL Expert Handicapping: Edmonton Oilers Struggles
by Trevor Whenham - 11/21/2017
How bad are things for the Edmonton Oilers? Well, they came into the season as the second-favorite to win the Stanley Cup behind only Pittsburgh, yet through 20 games they have just 16 points. How bad is that? In the last 11 years there have been 36 teams that have had 16 or fewer points after 20 games. Only one of those teams went on to make the playoffs. This team would have to win seven games in a row just to get to a 90-point pace for the season - and 90 points is very likely not enough to make the postseason.
NHL Expert Handicapping: Why Montreal Canadiens are this Bad So Far
by Trevor Whenham - 10/24/2017
This is definitely not how things were supposed to turn out in Montreal. After an offseason that featured a big trade and a key contract signing, the expectations were high for the Canadiens. They always are. But a couple of weeks into the season the team sits 30th overall with just three points in eight games. Only Arizona is worse, and the Coyotes are truly terrible. Montreal won their opener and then has dropped seven straight. The city is not happy, but then they are only happy when they win a Cup - which they have done more than any other franchise, though not in a long time.
Vegas Golden Knights NHL Betting: Expansion Team a Pleasant Surprise for Bettors
by Trevor Whenham - 10/24/2017
The Vegas Golden Knights were lucky to enjoy the most generous expansion draft rules the NHL has seen, and they were bold and creative in maximizing their opportunities. Still, even the most enthusiastic new fan couldn't possibly have imagined that the team would fly out to a 6-1 start. And they have been fun to watch as well -- which was far from guaranteed. It has been the best story of this young NHL season. But what does the future hold? Can this team keep chugging along, exceeding expectations and thrilling bettors? Or are they going to crash back to earth? Here are five factors to consider when pondering those questions:
NHL Betting and Handicapping: Early-Season Surprises
by Trevor Whenham - 10/20/2017
The NHL season is only a couple of weeks old, but already it has been interesting and exciting. As usual, some teams have been real disappointments - Minnesota, Edmonton, the Rangers and Montreal would all fit in that category. A lot of teams have been more or less as you would guess. And then there are a few - about five by my count - that have done more out of the gate than it would have been reasonable to expect. In some cases much more. At least two of these five hot starts probably aren't sustainable, but at this point they are playing great in a way that is working for them, and they are worth a whole lot of attention from bettors:
NHL Season Points Totals Predictions: Over and Under Picks for all Teams
by Ricky Dimon - 10/4/2017
The 2017-18 NHL campaign is here. For the first time since the Islanders won four Stanley Cups in a row from 1980 through 1983, a team-Pittsburgh-is going for a three-peat. For now, though, the focus is on the marathon that is the regular season. Normally that is great news for Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, who have won the Presidents' Trophy on two consecutive occasions. But is Washington on the way down? Is Toronto, which almost beat the Caps in the playoffs, the team of the future-and the present? Those questions, and more, will be discussed in the form of over/under point totals.
<< Prev | 1 ...2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... 30 | Next >>
Daily Free Picks Menu
Videos
Free NFL Picks
Free College Football Picks
Free NBA Picks
Free College Basketball Picks
Free MLB Picks
Free NHL Picks
Free KBO Picks
Free UFC Picks
Free Golf Picks
Free NASCAR Picks
Free WNBA Picks
Free Soccer Picks
Free CFL Picks
Free Tennis Picks
Free Email Picks
All Free Sports Picks