Hockey Handicapping Articles

NHL: Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

No team in the Western Conference packs more of an offensive punch than the Vancouver Canucks. The last three seasons the team with the most regular season goals in the Western Conference went on to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

NHL: San Jose Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

If this were the Eastern Conference the Avalanche would be right in the mix with a group of teams as threats to reach the semifinals. But in reality it’s the Western Conference and the Avalanche are the only playoff team that’s not a part of the century club. With 95 points they are the only team not to reach 100 in the West.

NHL: Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

Goals will be at a premium in this series. Boston has scored fewer goals than every team in the league with the exception of Calgary. The fact that they made the playoffs and earned a No. 6 seed tells you a lot about their defense and goalie Tuukka Rask.

NHL: New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

These two Atlantic Division rivals are reunited in the first round of the playoffs. The Devils fended off the Penguins for the division title and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference while the Flyers had to win a shootout against the Rangers just to secure a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season.

NHL: Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadians Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

In most sports No. 1 seeds have an easy path to the second round. That is not the case in the NHL where No. 1 seeds have gone down many times in the first bracket. However, none of those top seeds had the talent or firepower of the Washington Capitals, the President’s Trophy winner with 121 points.

NHL: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

The Blackhawks enter these Stanley Cup Playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference just like last season. However, the similarities stop there. This Chicago team finished just one point out of a tie for first place with top-seed San Jose.

NHL: Phoenix Coyotes vs. Detroit Red Wings Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

What is the bigger surprise here, that Phoenix has the fourth best record in the entire NHL and the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference or that the Detroit Red Wings limp into this series as the No. 5 seed? On top of that, Detroit, without home-ice advantage in the first round for the first time in more than 15 years, is actually favored to win this series.

NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators Series Odds and Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2010

Stop me if you have heard this one before but the Penguins and Senators will meet in the first round of the playoffs. It is the third time in four seasons this is happening. In 2007 the Senators took four of five games on their way to winning the Eastern Conference and the very next year the Penguins swept the Senators on the way to winning the Eastern Conference.

Betting During the NHL Stretch Run
by T.O. Whenham - 4/1/2010

Like most major sports, handicapping the NHL in the last few games of the season is a very different challenge than it is for the rest of the season. In my experience, the NHL changes even more than most other sports do. If you aren't aware of the factors that make it different and fail to incorporate them not your handicapping then you are going to struggle to come out ahead at the betting window. Here are six factors you need to keep in mind to make sure you are actually betting on the team you think they are, and not just a very different version in the same uniform.

Handicapping the NHL Playoff Race
by T.O. Whenham - 3/25/2010

We are right in the middle of the homestretch of the NHL season - no team has more than 10 games remaining from their 82-game season. There are some pretty decent playoff races remaining in both conferences. Neither involves as many teams as are a factor some years at this time, but in both conferences there is inevitably going to be a pretty good team or two left on the outside looking in. Here's a look both at how those playoff races shape up, and how to deal with handicapping playoff races in general:

NHL Trade Deadline
by T.O. Whenham - 3/3/2010

The NHL trade deadline came and went on Wednesday afternoon. The NHL is typically the most active league at the deadline, and this year was no exception - about 35 deals took place in the 24 hours before the deadline. Unlike past years, though, the deals were mostly just the shuffling around of spare parts instead of anything that is likely to make a major impact.

Betting on the Olympic Hockey Tournament
by T.O. Whenham - 2/10/2010

I would guess that if you were to track the amount of time the Canadian media has spent talking about the Olympic hockey tournament in the last year it would exceed the time they have spent talking about everything else combined. Canada is absolutely obsessed with the upcoming tournament. It takes place on home soil, so winning it is particularly important.

NHL Handicapping: Olympic Break Impact
by T.O. Whenham - 2/10/2010

The NHL is presenting us with a challenging hockey handicapping proposition that is entirely unique to the league. Because many of their players will be playing for their countries in the Olympics, the league will be shutting down for two weeks. There are six games scheduled on Valentine's Day, and that's the last that we'll see until one game is played on March 1.

NHL Handicapping: Calgary Flames Overhaul
by T.O. Whenham - 2/3/2010

In this cautious salary cap era of the NHL it's still common to see teams make changes at or near the trade deadline, but it's increasingly rare to see a team make a deal that really shakes up their roster - especially when a team is a legitimate playoff contender. It's truly surprising, then, that the Calgary Flames have not made one such deal in the last week, but two.

NHL Betting: Colorado Avalanche One Of Biggest Surprises in Years
by T.O. Whenham - 11/11/2009

In my profession I end up making a lot of predictions, pronouncements and guesses. Some of them I am particularly proud of down the road, and others seem perfectly reasonable. Every so often, though, I make one that misses the boat so badly that I wish that I wish I could pretend that it never happened.

NHL Handicapping: Injury Woes
by T.O. Whenham - 11/5/2009

A team made up of the currently injured players in the NHL could beat pretty much any team in the league. Handily. And I'm not even kidding. Just look at the starting lineup - Ovechkin, Malkin, and Kovalchuk up front, Gonchar and Souray on defense, and Roberto Luongo on defense. It's not just the starting lineup that's impressive, either - the depth of injured stars would make an Olympic team drool - Spezza, Sedin, Gagne, Briere, Savard, Lucic, Toews, Franzen, Markov, Lehtonen. It goes on and on and on.

NHL Teams Starting in Europe
by T.O. Whenham - 10/7/2009

For the third year in a row, some NHL teams have began their season by playing games in Europe. This year, the ambitiously named NHL Premiere series took place in Stockholm and Helsinki on Oct. 2 and 3. The series featured three teams expected to make the playoffs out of the Central Division - the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues, and one team out of the Southeast - the Florida Panthers - that doesn't really scare anyone.

2009-10 NHL Predictions
by T.O. Whenham - 9/30/2009

The time before a season starts is when we are all at our smartest. The predictions we make all make perfect sense, and until the games begin we are all completely right and totally insightful. With that in mind, here's a wide range of bold predictions for the NHL season that starts with four games on Thursday night:

NHL Betting: 2009-10 NHL Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 9/29/2009

The NHL season is just around the corner - it starts Thursday night with four games. As we get ready for the season, and hopefully the profits, to begin, here's a look at some of the more interesting Stanley Cup futures odds that are currently available: