Hockey Handicapping Articles

NHL Stanley Cup Predictions: Bruins at Canucks Game 1 Odds and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 6/1/2011

One lengthy drought is going to end in the Stanley Cup Finals between Boston and Vancouver that begins on Wednesday night in British Columbia: Either the Bruins are going to hoist their first Cup since 1972 or the Canucks are going to win their first-ever and bring Lord Stanley’s chalice back to Canada for that country’s first title since the Montreal Canadiens won it in 1993. Either way, it has been quite a year-and-a-half or so for the hockey-mad folks in Vancouver, who got to watch Canada win Olympic gold there in hockey last year thanks in large part to Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.

NHL Picks: Lightning at Bruins Game 7 Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 5/26/2011

There’s nothing more exciting, I would argue, than a Game 7 in the NHL playoffs. It’s just that they don’t seem to happen very often in the conference finals. Friday night’s Tampa Bay at Boston Game 7 for the right to face Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Finals is just the fifth conference final Game 7 since 2000 and first since 2006. By the way, the previous four winners of conference final Game 7s went onto win the Cup, including the Bolts in 2004 for the franchise’s only title. The Bruins are seeking their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 21 years; they haven’t won one in 39 years.

NHL Handicapping: Hot and Cold Report
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 5/13/2011

Totals in these NHL playoffs have been extremely streaky. Every game in the first round seemed to stay ‘under,’ and then there was a stretch of 10 consecutive games going ‘over’ or pushing. That trend has given way to a run of ‘unders’ where three consecutive games have stayed below the posted total, including San Jose’s Game 7 clincher against Detroit. Expect the ‘under’ trend to continue in the NHL Conference Finals.

NHL Picks: Lightning vs. Bruins Series Odds and Predictions
by T.O. Whenham - 5/13/2011

By the time the Lightning and the Bruins start their series in Boston on Saturday night they may have forgotten how to skate. This has to be one of the longest breaks between series for two teams we have ever seen. Boston beat Philadelphia in four games last Friday, and it was Wednesday when Tampa Bay put the last nail in Washington’s coffin. That means that both teams have had more than a week to get ready for their next opponent — and to lose whatever edge made them so incredibly good in their last series.

NHL Picks: Canucks at Predators Game 4 Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 5/5/2011

For some ridiculous reason, there is only one NHL or NBA playoff game on Thursday night and I don’t think it has anything to do with Cinco de Mayo. The NBA, frankly, should be ashamed of itself for going dark for a night. With that said, we preview your lone playoff betting option on Thursday, Game 4 of the NHL Western Conference semifinals: Vancouver at Nashville.

NHL Picks: Bruins vs. Flyers Series Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 4/29/2011

Think the Boston Bruins want to dish out a little payback to the Philadelphia Flyers in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that begins Saturday? I’m sure you remember what happened when these two met in the same round of the playoffs last season. The Bruins built a 3-0 series lead before allowing the Flyers to tie the series at three. In Game 7, Boston went up 3-0 in the first period, but Philly still rallied back to win. The B's became just the third NHL team to blow a 3-0 series lead and lose that series.

NHL Picks: Flyers at Sabres Game 7 Odds and Predictions
by David Schwab - 4/26/2011

The back-and-forth first round Eastern Conference playoff best-of-seven series between the Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers will now be decided in a winner-take-all Game 7 on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Game time is set for 7 p.m. (EST) and it will be broadcast on VERSUS.

Hockey Picks: Flyers at Sabres Game 4 Odds and Predictions
by Davis Schwab - 4/20/2011

The Philadelphia Flyers were able to recapture home-ice advantage with their 4-2 victory over Buffalo on Monday night as a +107 road underdog. The win gave them a 2-1 edge in this first round best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night at the HSBC Center in Buffalo.

NHL Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Report
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 4/13/2011

All of the teams in this week’s NHL Hot and Cold Report are heading to the postseason, but in the NHL where more teams make the playoffs (16) than not (14), still playing hockey at this juncture of the season is by no means a sign that you are a hot team.

NHL Playoff Odds: Canucks Favored to Win Stanley Cup
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 4/13/2011

The Vancouver Canucks have had a torturous franchise history. Since coming into the NHL in 1970, they’ve been to the Stanley Cup finals twice, in 1982 and 1994, and those have been the two big highlights. Which is rather sad, since they lost on both occasions.

NHL Playoff Predictions
by T.O. Whenham - 4/13/2011

Home ice advantage hasn’t offered much of an advantage lately -- last year the home team won just one more than half of the 15 series. In the East, in particular, I don’t think it’s going to be a big advantage this year, either. There isn’t a top four team that makes me think that they can’t possibly lose the first round, and there isn’t a bottom four seed in the conference that I don’t think could win a series or two.

NHL Picks: Canucks vs. Blackhawks Series Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 4/13/2011

The Canucks are the team to beat this year. Of course, the Blackhawks are the reigning Stanley Cup champions. And these teams generally don’t seem to like each other. It almost feels like Chicago gets into the head of the Vancouver players, especially stud goalie Roberto Luongo. He has been shaky in losing both six-game postseason series the past two years to the Blackhawks (combined .888 save percentage).

NHL Picks: Flyers vs. Sabres Odds and Series Predictions
by David Schwab - 4/12/2011

Last season the Philadelphia Flyers needed an overtime victory over the New York Rangers in the final regular season game just to make the playoffs. They then proceeded to go on an incredible run that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals where they eventually lost to Chicago in six games. This season the Flyers spent most of the season atop the Eastern Conference, but slipped to the No.2 seed in the playoffs after finishing with a 3-4-3 record down the stretch.

NHL Playoff Predictions: Dangerous Lower Seeds
by T.O. Whenham - 4/7/2011

The first round of the NHL Playoffs is typically top heavy -- the higher seeds win, though not nearly to the extent that that is the case in the NBA. There always seems to be an upset or two by a team without the home ice advantage, though. As we get ready for the start of another grueling playoff season in the NHL -- the hardest playoffs to win of any in any sport, by the way -- here’s a look at my NHL Playoff predictions for three lower seeds that have the potential to pull off a surprise and last for more than one series.

NHL Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Report
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 3/31/2011

The Flyers are close to sewing up home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, but they are still struggling in terms of winning in regulation and winning by more than a goal. In the Flyers last 17 games they have been favored 14 times, meaning on the puck line they were -1.5. In those games Philadelphia is a staggering 2-14 on the puckline.

NHL Predictions: Stanley Cup Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 3/24/2011

We’re into the stretch drive of the NHL regular season. Teams that have playoff positions secured are looking to get into postseason form, and those that want a spot but don’t have one secured yet are either desperately fighting for one, or wilting under the pressure. This time before the playoffs start, when casual hockey bettors start to pay more attention to the sport, is a good time to take another look at Stanley Cup futures to see if we can find any NHL predictions worth betting on (odds are from BetUS):

NHL Betting: Hockey Totals Trends
by David Schwab - 3/24/2011

The NHL regular season is winding down as teams continue to jockey for position for the upcoming playoffs. While the majority of people that regularly wager on hockey tend to focus their NHL handicapping efforts on the money line, there is plenty of value to be mined from the total line if you take the time to analyze the numbers.

NHL Handicapping: Tight Playoff Races
by T.O. Whenham - 3/11/2011

The NHL playoff races are very intense right now. The East is a typical race, but the West can really only be called insane. As I write this there are eight teams within four points of each other, and room for only five of them in the playoffs. There are going to be three very disappointed teams once the dust settles. That settling of the dust is as many as 15 games away for some of the teams in the battle, so there is a lot left to do.

Sports Interaction: NHL Hockey Picks For Thursday, Feb. 24
by Sports Interaction - 2/24/2011

Dallas has a strong recent record against Detroit, winning seven of the last eight. But the goals have dried up completely for one of the star – sorry – teams before the All-Star break. Dallas is being outscored by worse than two to one in recent games and the Stars’ inability score on power plays just how much they’re struggling to find the net.

NHL Hot And Cold Lists
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 2/23/2011

Plenty of teams are heating up and cooling down on the ice as we head toward the NHL Trade Deadline. That date – Feb. 28 this year – will really separate who’s who and what’s what in pro hockey but how teams are playing leading up to the deadline could have a big impact as far as which teams make moves and which teams stand pat.