Hockey Handicapping Articles

NHL Handicapping: Most Important Games Before the Playoffs
by Trevor Whenham - 4/6/2015

We are heading into the final week of the NHL season. By next Saturday it will all be over and the playoffs will be about to begin. Between now and then, though, there are a lot of games left to play — and many of them have the chance to be fantastic. Looking ahead, here are six of the biggest games of the next week — games that have the chance to rock the realities of the teams involved. These will be fun games to watch and potentially great games to bet on as well:

Handicapping the NHL Western Conference Playoff Race
by Trevor Whenham - 4/6/2015

Teams in the NHL’s Western Conference have between two and four games left. That’s it. It’s a real surprise, then, just how little we know. Nashville, Chicago, St. Louis and Anaheim will be in the playoffs for sure. Anaheim will win the Pacific Division. That’s all we know for sure. Everything else is uncertain. The Predators, Blues or Blackhawks could win the Central Division. Vancouver, Calgary and Los Angeles could all host a series in the opening round of the playoffs — or miss the postseason entirely.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 3/30/2015

We are in the penultimate week of the NHL's regular season, and I'm surprised it took so long, but finally Chicago has been dethroned as the Stanley Cup betting favorite at Bovada. The Hawks are 15/2, replaced at the top by the New York Rangers at 13/2.

NHL Handicapping: the Surging Ottawa Senators
by Trevor Whenham - 3/26/2015

The Ottawa Senators would be in the playoffs if they started today. That, by itself, isn’t that noteworthy — they have missed the postseason only three times in the last 17 seasons. What makes it amazing in this case, though, is that on Feb. 7 they were under .500 at 20-22-9 and the season seemed to be going nowhere fast. They were 14 points out of the playoffs at that point. Teams 14 points out of the playoffs in February never turn things around, yet here we are. Since then they have gone an incredible 17-2-2 and have, somehow, transformed into the hottest team in the NHL.

Tracking the Calgary Flames: Season-Long NHL Picks and Handicapping for Hockey
by Trevor Whenham - 3/24/2015

It has, for a number of reasons, been a long time since we have checked in on the Flames. Through the absence, though, they just keep chugging along. Their best player, Mark Giordano, is gone for the year with an injury that derailed a Norris Trophy campaign, but they just keep playing well. If the playoffs started today they would be in them, and they are in the midst of a fight to keep that spot that is sure to come right down to the wire.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 3/23/2015

I follow the NHL pretty closely as you might imagine, but I probably couldn't name you more than five Ottawa Senators off the top of my head. It's just such a non-descript franchise. However, the Sens have my attention right now as they are the biggest story in the NHL.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 3/16/2015

Back on Jan. 14, the Minnesota Wild made what looked like a rather inconsequential trade in acquiring goaltender Devan Dubnyk from Arizona for a third-round pick in the 2015 draft. You might not even have noticed that deal at the time. Dubnyk was flat-out lousy last year in Edmonton, going 11-17-2 with a 3.36 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. Dubnyk was just so-so early this season with the Coyotes, going 9-5-2 with a 2.72 GAA and .916 save percentage.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 3/9/2015

I suppose it's easy to say right now, but I always thought the Nashville Predators were a bit overrated. A terrific defensive team, for sure, led by perhaps the NHL's best goalie in Pekka Rinne. A team that could win a round or two in the playoffs, yep. But the league's best? I just didn't see enough offense.

NHL Betting: Handicapping Teams Better Off after Trade Deadline
by Trevor Whenham - 3/3/2015

The NBA trade deadline this year was one of the best in the history of that league — busy, impactful, and thrilling. The NHL usually leads the way with their trade deadline, but this year’s edition was the opposite of the NBA in too many ways. There were quite a few deals, but many teams focused more on filling smaller gaps and adding depth than on making a blockbuster deal. There wasn’t a superstar-caliber player moved. Heck, there wasn’t even a player that the most loyal of hometown fans could argue was close to a star. Sure, there were some nice players, and some guys with real potential, but the foundations of the league certainly weren’t shaken.

NHL Handicapping: Teams Worse Off after Trade Deadline
by Trevor Whenham - 3/3/2015

This was not the most exciting or impactful NHL trade deadline we have ever seen. Far from it. It especially paled in comparison next to the crazy mess that was the NBA deadline a couple of weeks ago. It doesn’t have to be thrilling in order to be useful for bettors, though. Each year there are a few teams that are clearly worse after the deadline than they were heading into it. By being aware of which teams those are you can set yourself up for some nice value now and in the coming weeks. Here are three of those teams:

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 3/2/2015

The biggest injury by far this NHL season occurred last Tuesday night in Chicago when Blackhawks star Patrick Kane was checked into the boards by Florida's Alex Petrovic. It clearly was a bad injury with the way Kane skated off the ice, and the Hawks got the bad news on Wednesday as Kane underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his left clavicle. He is expected to miss 12 weeks, which obviously means the rest of the regular season and at least the first two rounds of the playoffs should Chicago advance.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 2/23/2015

Here come the champs! For a while there, it looked like the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings might miss the playoffs. On Feb. 5, the Kings lost 3-2 at Florida, their third straight defeat and 10th in 12 games. They were just 21-18-12 and outside the playoff field.

NHL Handicapping: Inclusion of New Advanced Statistics
by Trevor Whenham - 2/22/2015

Analytics have unquestionably become a bigger and bigger part of sports — and our understanding of them — with each passing year. There is an endless debate over what role they play and what they can actually tell us, but there is no denying their significance in the debate. The NHL, to their credit, has taken some pretty aggressive steps starting this week to lead the debate instead of, like most leagues, pretending it doesn’t exist.

Tracking the Calgary Flames: Season-Long NHL Picks and Handicapping for Hockey
by Trevor Whenham - 2/18/2015

It’s still only February, so we don’t want to get too ridiculous about things, but this is an absolutely crucial game for both teams. Calgary is tied with Vancouver for second in the Pacific Division with 67 points. San Jose holds the final wild-card spot and is just a point behind Calgary. Then the Kings have 64 points and Minnesota has 63 — and a game in hand on the Flames.

NHL Handicapping: Can LA Kings Contend for Stanley Cup?
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

When a team wins two Stanley Cups in three years as the Los Angeles Kings have there is nothing fluky about them. Winning a single Stanley Cup is as hard as any feat in sports, so to win two you have to be very good — and more than a little lucky, too. If the playoffs were to start today, though, the team, would not win a third Stanley Cup for a simple reason — they would not even be in the postseason tournament. So, can the Kings turn things around? Or are they doomed for this year? And what does it all means for bettors? Let’s take a look:

NHL Handicapping: Banking on the Surprise New York Islanders
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

The New York Islanders have been a very pleasant surprise this year. Last season was a total disaster for the team, and you really had to wonder if they were ever going to figure things out. Right now, though, they sit atop the tough Metropolitan Division, have all but locked up a playoff position already, and have the potential to not only secure a top playoff position but to do some damage once they get there.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 2/16/2015

Two big trades in the NHL last week to analyze. I wrote in this column a week ago that Evander Kane had likely played his final game as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, and indeed Kane, who is out for the season, has. The former 30-goal scorer was dealt to Buffalo along with defenseman Zach Bogosian and a college goaltender with the Jets getting defenseman Tyler Myers, forwards Drew Stafford and Joel Armia, the rights to 2014 second-round pick Brendan Lemieux and Buffalo's latest first-round pick in 2015.

NHL Handicapping: Keys to Detroit Red Wings Success
by Trevor Whenham - 2/12/2015

What the Detroit Red Wings are doing now is really quite remarkable. It should be no surprise, though, given that this is a team that is about to make the playoffs for the 24th consecutive year. That should be all but impossible in the free agency era. Still, the fact that the Wings are not only in the playoff picture but matching the Lightning and Canadiens pretty much punch-for-punch in the fight to win the division is amazing.

Hockey Betting: NHL Grand Salami Wagering Expert Tips and Advice
by George Monroy - 2/10/2015

Wagering on NHL matchups can be quite different than betting on your standard football or basketball games. For one, NHL games don’t use a standard spread, and their lines are composed of either moneylines or pucklines. However, the most interesting way that hockey betting differs from NFL or NBA betting is through the grand salami—a wager that allows gamblers to bet on the combined totals for every single matchup of the day.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 2/9/2015

A few weeks ago when I looked at updated NHL futures odds, I thought the New York Rangers were great betting value to win the Eastern Conference for a second straight season. I no longer think that following the serious injury suffered by Blueshirts star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.