Hockey Handicapping Articles

NHL Predictions for Season Point Totals Props Betting
by T.O. Whenham - 9/29/2010

Atlanta (83.5) - I like the ‘under’ here. They had 83 points last year, and this year they are without Ilya Kovalchuk from the outset. They rallied well and played hard once Kovalchuk was traded to New Jersey last year, but with a full year to face and a serious deficit in talent they are going to come to terms with the challenge facing them. They picked up four Stanley Cup winners form Chicago in the offseason. The important thing to remember, though, is that these were four players the Blackhawks were willing to part with, so they aren’t the cream of the crop.

NHL Season Betting Predictions and Odds
by Vegas Sports Informer - 9/29/2010

With NFL and NCAA football starting to go full speed and the MLB playoffs about to get under way, most people forget about the potential profits available from NHL betting. The season starts Oct. 7 and I am very excited about releasing NHL predictions to my clients.

2010-11 Colorado Avalanche Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by T.O. Whenham - 9/29/2010

With apologies to the Phoenix Coyotes, the Colorado Avalanche were the most impressive story in the NHL last year. They were picked by many people - myself included - to finish dead last in the league. They had little talent, and that which they did have was young and totally unproven. Behind the fantastic play of rookie centers Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly, the emergence of goalie Craig Anderson, and an amazing coach job by Joe Sacco, however, the team found its way into the playoffs.

2010-11 St. Louis Blues Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/29/2010

The St. Louis Blues were really two teams last season: The one that entered the season off a playoff berth from the year before but struggled under coach Andy Murray, and then the one that improved greatly when Davis Payne took over for the fired Murray. But even a late surge – St. Louis went 23-15-4 under Payne -- couldn’t get in the Blues in the playoffs as they finished with 90 points (just two fewer than the year before), fourth in the Central Division and ninth in the West, five points out of the playoffs.

2010-11 Minnesota Wild Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by T.O. Whenham - 9/29/2010

If the NHL were a color wheel, the Minnesota Wild would be grey. They aren’t offensive or brash. They aren’t anything really. You just hardly notice that they are around. They are kind of like the Minnesota Timberwolves - it must be something in the water in Minneapolis.

2010-11 Calgary Flames Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by T.O. Whenham - 9/29/2010

It’s a frustrating time to be a Flames fan - and I say that as a life long Calgarian. Last year the team came into the season with high hopes, but was horribly mismanaged from the start and went nowhere. Illogical trades, inconsistent coaching, and increasingly incoherent ramblings from GM Darryl Sutter made a mockery of the potential, and kept the team out of the playoffs for the first time since the lockout. Fans screamed for some big changes starting at the top, but nothing happened. Sutter is still in charge, his brother is still the coach, and the team is worse than they were last year - and they weren’t very good then.

2010-11 Washington Capitals Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/28/2010

Everyone in the NHL is expecting the Washington Capitals to repeat as regular-season champions. Everyone around Washington hopes the Capitals don’t repeat as first-round flops in the postseason. The Capitals have won three consecutive Southeast Division crowns. Anything shy of a divisional crown this year would be shocking considering the team’s ability and the rest of the division’s lack of ability.

2010-11 Vancouver Canucks Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by T.O. Whenham - 9/28/2010

I was just in Vancouver, so I can tell you that the fans there are definitely optimistic about this team. Sickeningly optimistic, really - like optimistic enough to be planning the Stanley Cup parade route already. As much as I hate to admit it because I hate everything about the Canucks and their fans, they have every reason to be excited. They are the only legitimate contender in this division, and are perhaps the best team in the entire conference.

2010-11 Atlanta Thrashers Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/28/2010

The Atlanta Thrashers finished second in the Northeast Division last year. Too bad for Atlanta, second place in the division was only good enough for 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Finishing second in the division seems to be the only possible expectation for the Thrashers considering the dominance of the Washington Capitals within the division.

2010-11 Edmonton Oilers Predictions with NHL Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by T.O. Whenham - 9/28/2010

For the Oilers, the future is bright. The question is when the future will arrive. No team in the league has anywhere close to as much exciting young talent joining them this year. The centerpiece is first overall draft choice Taylor Hall - a guy who has dazzled in pressure situations everywhere he has played. Jordan Eberle, a 20-year-old first rounder from two years ago, is another high pressure guy who has hit the ground running in the preseason and has massive upside. Magnus Paajarvi is the third youngster who has fans drooling.

2010-11 Chicago Blackhawks NHL Predictions with Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/27/2010

The NHL’s short offseason was one big party in the Windy City as fans of the Chicago Blackhawks finally were able to celebrate a Stanley Cup, with last year’s squad ending a 49-year championship drought thanks to six-game Cup finals win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Really, the Hawks weren’t seriously threatened in last year’s playoffs, never getting extended to seven games and sweeping the West No. 1 seed Sharks in the conference finals.

2010-11 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Predictions with Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/24/2010

The enigma that is the Toronto Maple Leafs is set to begin its sixth season since its last playoff appearance and 44th season since its last Stanley Cup. Yet the Maple Leafs remain the most valuable team in the NHL, with an estimated value of $470 million and a ticket to see the perennial losers play remains one of the hottest ticket in any sport. They drawn an immense amount of interest north of the border and, once again, there is reason to believe that Toronto could make a postseason push for the first time since 2004.

2010-11 NHL Season: Montreal Canadiens Predictions with Futures Odds and Betting Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/24/2010

The Montreal Canadiens unexpected and improbable playoff run last season raises a few questions. How did Montreal manage to win two Game 7s on the road, one against top-seed Washington and another against defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh? Where had that Montreal team been all regular season when it struggled just to get into the postseason? And then how did that same Montreal team get blown away by No. 7 seed Philadelphia in five games?

2010-11 NHL Predictions: Boston Bruins Futures Odds and Hockey Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/23/2010

Fairly or unfairly, the 2009-10 Boston Bruins season will forever be defined by a 3-0 playoff series collapse. How this season is defined has a lot to do with how the Bruins rebound from blowing a 3-0 playoff series lead to the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and how they bolster an offense that rated worst in the NHL last season.

2010-11 NHL Predictions and Picks: Buffalo Sabres Odds for Futures Betting
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/23/2010

Last season Buffalo got away from its all-offense, all-the-time mentality and coincidentally got back into the playoffs. Scoring the fewest goals since the 2004 NHL lockout, the Sabres leaned on their defense and returned to the playoffs after a two-year absence.

2010-11 NHL Predictions: Ottawa Senators Odds and Betting Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/23/2010

If you can’t beat them, sign away their top defensemen. That must have been Ottawa’s thinking this offseason after watching their second consecutive playoff run end in the first round to Pittsburgh. The Senators went ahead and signed veteran and former Penguin Sergei Gonchar to a three-year deal.

2010-11 NHL Predictions: Columbus Blue Jackets Odds and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/23/2010

We start our NHL Central Division previews at the bottom, as the Columbus Blue Jackets finished the 2009-10 season with 35 wins and just 79 points, 11 behind fourth-place St. Louis. It was the first time the team had finished in the Central cellar since 2003 and the campaign was considered a huge disappointment after Columbus reached the playoffs the season before. That cost Coach Ken Hitchcock his job last winter; Scott Arniel is the new coach.

2010-11 New York Islanders NHL Odds and Predictions with Betting Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/22/2010

There are two ways to look at the New York Islanders current situation. There is the positive of an 18-point increase from the 2008-09 season to last year, but a third consecutive Atlantic Division last-place finish also lets you know just how far of a hole the Islanders were in.

2010-11 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Odds and Predictions with Betting Picks
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/21/2010

The Flyers 2009-10 regular season came down to a shootout in the 82nd and final game of the season. The Flyers won that shootout, earned a No. 7 seed and proceeded to shock everyone and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

2010-11 NHL Predictions: Pittsburgh Penguins Odds and Futures Picks for Betting
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 9/21/2010

Last time we saw the 2009 Stanley Cup champions they were skating off the Mellon Arena ice for the last time in disbelief after a 5-2 loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Montreal. It was a long offseason for hockey fans in Pittsburgh as the loss lingered. However, as October approaches anticipation is at a fever pitch for the Penguins, who will play in two new home venues this season: their new arena and Heinz Field for the Winter Classic.