NBCSN Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #69 Tuesday 10* Top Play Washington Capitals Money Line (+) @ Pittsburgh Penguins @ 7:05 ET - Sometimes you get extra value from unlikely sources and that is what happened here and I am stepping in. You see, this was the perfect spot to back Washington and yet the line moved toward Pittsburgh. Why did that happen? It is because Kasperi Kapanen is expected to make his season debut for the Penguins. However, did all those betting the Pens watch the game on Sunday? The thing is Pittsburgh was in a great spot there and gave a rather solid effort and managed to eke out a shootout win. But the fact is the Capitals spent much of that game looking like the better team and they are the more physical team and Alex Ovechkin had own that hit both sides of the cross bar before ringing out and that was late in regulation and likely would have given the Caps the win. Now after losing their first game of the season and getting another crack at a bitter rival, Washington will not be denied tonight in my opinion. The Capitals look hungry early this season. I like what I saw from them in Buffalo to open the season and I also feel the Penguins are still looking a little "off" early this season and they certainly weren't too impressive in dropping their first two games at Philly to open the season. So, all in all, this one is all about the situational value and we even get some extra money line return here due to Kapanen's expected return. I'll take the extra value as his presence isn't going to completely change everything else going on the ice right now for the Pens and I feel the Caps are looking like the better team at this early point in the season. 10* WASHINGTON

No Doubt Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #49 Monday 10* Top Play Carolina Hurricanes Money Line (-) @ Nashville Predators @ 8:05 ET - Both of these hockey clubs are off games that were tied 2-2 in the 3rd period on Saturday. However, the difference is that the Hurricanes ended up on the wrong end of a 4-2 final and the Predators ended up on the right end of a 5-2 final. The fact is Carolina outshot the Red Wings by a double digit margin and could just as easily be 2-0 on the season and it would be Nashville (outshot by double digits by Blue Jackets) that would be 1-1. The fact that is not the case is what is helping to give us excellent line value here with the short road favorite. If Carolina was at home we would have a big price to lay. Instead, with them on the road, we get a good low price on the Hurricanes and I love this spot. The Canes came into the season expected to challenge Tampa Bay for the top spot in the Central Division while the Preds could very easily end up near the bottom of the division. Yes Nashville is better than Detroit and Chicago but not the rest of the division and the fact they managed to steal the game on Saturday from Columbus is merely serving to give us line value. Facing an undefeated team and coming off a loss, the Hurricanes know how important this game is and they will make the most of the opportunity. 10* CAROLINA

NHL Network Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 6.5 goals in Florida Panthers vs Chicago Blackhawks @ 7:05 ET - the Blackhawks are 0-2 to start the season and they allowed 5 goals in each game, the Panthers first two games were cancelled due to covid issues impacting the Stars in Dallas, that means Florida is finally playing their season opener and we already saw early on that - for the most part - teams playing their first games saw plenty of goals scored and there were mistakes on the ice leading to more scoring opportunities than usual, the Panthers are known for solid offensive play but struggling in their own end, look for Chicago to fare much better in the goal-scoring department here as a result as they are no longer facing a tough TB defense nor a top goalie named Vasilevskiy, so the Hawks will see more scoring chances here and should cash them in but they are a young team with defensive and goaltending weaknesses and that should mean plenty of goals here, 10* OVER the total in Florida

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #25 Saturday 10* Top Play Columbus Blue Jackets Money Line (+) @ Nashville Predators @ 8:05 ET - The Blue Jackets lost their opening game at Nashville Thursday by a 3-1 count but that game was 1-1 heading to the 3rd period. Now Columbus gets another shot at the Predators. I know these teams are considering roughly equal but I also like the Blue Jackets strong blue line with Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. The Jackets had a solid start in the game Thursday but really looked a bit listless in the 3rd period. That said, you know fiery coach John Tortorella is going to have the Blue Jackets ready to go here. Columbus, prior to their season-ending loss in Game 5 of their series with Tampa Bay (whom went on to win the Stanley Cup), had been on a 3-0 run when off a loss in which they were held to 1 goal or less. After scoring just 1 goal against the Preds Thursday, the Blue Jackets respond big here and get into the win column. 10* COLUMBUS

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #12 Friday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line (-) vs St Louis Blues @ 9:05 ET - If you look at the final score of Wednesday's season opener (4-1) it looks like the Avalanche got blasted. Trust me, they did not. Did they get outplayed? Yes, they did. But this was still a 2-1 game in the 3rd period and I know the Avs will play much better tonight. They will respond on home ice coming off a loss in which too many players were guilty of expecting the win to come easily to them. That happens sometimes and teams need a wake up call and Colorado just got theirs. They are one of the top choices to win the Stanley Cup this season. Dating back to last season and including the playoffs, the Avalanche have won 6 of 7 (86%) when coming off a loss. The Blues are a high-quality team no doubt and they proved that again Wednesday. But the Avalanche got their wake up call and respond here and it won't be too many times this season that you can get the Avs in the -140 price range on home ice and coming off a loss. This is a value spot. Lay it. 10* COLORADO

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #53 Thursday 10* Top Play Washington Capitals Money Line (-) @ Buffalo Sabres @ 7:05 ET - This line has been steadily dropping this morning and I understand the move because Buffalo had a solid home record last season. However, all those home games were played in front of fans. Now the Sabres are playing for the first time since March as they did not play in the bubble games. For the Capitals, they played plenty of hockey right up until the latter half of August. That said, Washington is likely much more "game ready" and I also feel the Caps are very hungry entering this season. Alex Ovechkin certainly not getting any younger and they added Zdeno Chara from the Bruins who is turning 44 years old in March. These guys, among others, want to make one last push for a Stanley Cup. The Sabres, of course, don't have the normal fan support in the building so home ice will feel different plus lets not forget that the Capitals had one of the best road records in the NHL last season. Also, coming into this season the Caps (along with the Pens and Flyers) are expected to challenge the Bruins for the top spot in the East Division. As for the Sabres, they are projected to battle with the Devils to try and stay out of the basement. The point is that, particularly after the downward line move, we have excellent line value with the small road favorite in this one. 10* WASHINGTON

TV Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #42 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs Pittsburgh Penguins @ 5:35 ET - The home team won all 3 games last season by a combined score of 14 to 4. Pittsburgh continues to show signs of being on the fade while Philadelphia responded very well with a new head coach last season and is on their way up. The Penguins brought in some new blood to add to guys like Crosby and Malkin but an important addition, Kasperi Kapanen, is out for this game due to quarantine requirements. Kapanen was possibly going to be on the top line for the Pens and his absence is a key one for sure. Overall, I like the fact that the Penguins are getting a little long in the tooth while the Flyers are up and coming. The long-time gap in this rivalry is certainly closing and note that Philadelphia goalie Carter Hart is known for struggling on the road but has been fantastic on home ice. When the Flyers faced the Penguins early in the season they were still adjusting to the coaching change. As the season went on, Philly turned into a well-oiled machine and that continued into the post-season as well whereas the Penguins got bounced by, of all teams, the Canadiens! About how Philly turned things on as the season went on, they also outshot the Penguins by a 60-39 combined count over their final two meetings. Tristan Jarry is now the undisputed #1 goalie for Pittsburgh but he was better at home than on the road last season. In away games, Jarry went 7-7 with a 2.66 GAA. The Flyers Hart went 20-3-2 with a 1.63 GAA in games at Wells Fargo Center last season while compiling a .943 save percentage! The home team gets the season-opening win in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #1 Monday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (-) vs Dallas Stars @ 8:05 ET - This is RARE for me but I like this situation so much I am willing to go with a Top Play 10* rating even though the money line is in the -160 range for this one. The fact is that the Stars are VERY lucky there even is a Game 6 in this series. Tampa Bay is the superior team, the healthier team, and they have the better goaltender. Don't get me wrong, I do respect the Stars and goalie Anton Khudobin but the fact remains that the Lightning have skated circles around Dallas for much of the last 4 games. Now, after giving up a late goal in Game 5 that allowed the Stars to tie it and then losing in the 2nd OT (after being the MUCH better team in the 1st OT), the Lighting respond in a big way here! The Bolts are a perfect 6-0 in this post-season when off a loss. Yes they will be without Stamkos again but they have been without him for much of this post-season. Just his presence on the ice (he also scored a goal) in the Game 4 win was big for TB but they played just fine in Game 5 without him. Their fault was in letting up a little bit. This time they won't let up and they will push harder and I am look for them to have a multiple goal lead heading into the final minute of this one. Do they then push it to a 3-goal lead with an empty-netter or do the Stars make it interesting by scoring one late goal with their netminder pulled? That question I can not answer but that is also why I am more comfortable playing the money line here. I don't want to get burned on the puck line late in the game. I do look for a convincing win here as the Lightning are a very dangerous team when highly motivated and they also feel cheated on the OT goal because it came on a power play goal on a penalty call that was not a penalty as the review showed. That said, it is payback time here from a very determined Lighting team. Look for goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to have another big game for the Bolts here. He has been huge off a loss. 10* TAMPA BAY 

Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach NHL Rotation #28 Friday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ 8 ET – I certainly have all the respect in the world for this Tampa Bay team. However, I see Dallas stepping up big time in this key spot in this series. The Stars just got thrashed by the Lightning in Game 3 but they showed a lot of resilience in Game 2 after getting into a 3-0 hole. Then in Game 3 they outshot Dallas by a big margin in period one but ultimately made too many mistakes and took bad penalties. That allowed Tampa Bay to quickly garner momentum and then the Lightning came out and took it to the Stars in period two before they knew what hit them! Give the Lightning credit for sure but now look for Dallas to come out with a strong effort in this game just like they did in Game 1 of this series. The other two times the Stars lost back to back games in this post-season they have responded with a win each time. In fact, before getting hammered in Game 3 of this series after a Game 2 loss, the Stars had been 6-1 the last 7 times they entered a post-season game off a loss. In other words, don’t be surprised when they respond with a huge effort here. It won’t be easy, because Tampa Bay is a very strong team and playing very well, but I see the underdog getting it done in this one after being embarrassed in Game 3 Wednesday. 10* DALLAS

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #21 Saturday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ 7:35 ET - While I certainly respect the Lightning the value is with the Stars in Game 1 of this series. Dallas has the rest edge as they have been off since Monday while the Lightning just wrapped up their series with the Islanders on Thursday and it took overtime to do it. That was the 2nd straight OT game for Tampa Bay and the prior one was a double overtime loss on Tuesday. Both those games (each requiring extra time) took place AFTER the Stars had dispatched of the Golden Knights with a win on Monday. The rest edge is big and Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin has been playing extremely well. That is not to say that Andrei Vasilevskiy has not also been playing well because he has. But with underdog value, a rested team, and getting strong goalie play - the variables favor the money line dog in this one as they have won 5 of their last 6 games. The fact that the Bolts are just 2-2 their last 4 with one of the wins requiring OT as well is a little bit of a dent in Tampa Bay's confidence level and also Brayden Point did not look 100 percent to me in the most recent game for the Lightning and they really need him to be healthy to be as strong as they can be. Advantage: Stars. 10* DALLAS

NBCSN Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #5 Monday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 8:10 PM ET - Not only is Vegas now down 3-1 in this series, they have lost 5 of their last 7 games. Once touted as a powerhouse that was on its way to a Stanley Cup title, the Golden Knights are struggling with running into red hot goalies. First it was Thatcher Demko with the Canucks and now it is Anton Khudobin with the Stars. Vegas has been held to just 1.4 goals per game in their last 7 games and some of those were empty netters too! They are generating shots on goal but it doesn't matter if you're not getting truly quality scoring chances and Dallas has been limiting those for sure plus getting strong play from their defensemen around and in front of the net as well. The Stars have all the momentum, a very experienced coaching staff, and the Golden Knights continue to be over-priced. Yes they are in a must-win situation but that actually puts even more pressure on them. While Vegas is squeezing the sticks a little too tight, the Stars are playing confident and with no pressure on them. That combination makes for a very dangerous underdog and I'll again take the generous comeback price being offered here. 10* DALLAS

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #3 Sunday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (-) vs New York Islanders @ 3:10 ET - The Islanders got the upset win in Game 4 but the Lightning were without both Brayden Point and Alex Killorn. At least the latter (suspension) will be back this afternoon but the former (injury) might also return. Either way I look for Tampa Bay to respond off the loss. Andrei Vasilevskiy had won 6 in a row prior to that defeat and I fully expect he and the Bolts to bounce back after falling short. Note that the Lightning are 3-0 in this post-season when off a loss. New York is certainly a strong hockey club but this is a TB team on a mission ever since getting swept out of the first round of the playoffs last year. That followed a phenomenal regular season for the Bolts and they're really locked in since the post-season began. We get some line value here as the money line is in the -140 range and I won't hesitate in raising this one to my top play rating as a result. 10* TAMPA BAY

NBC Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #2 Saturday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 8:10 ET - The Golden Knights, make no mistake about it, are a very good hockey club. However, they continue to be over-priced throughout this series. Dallas is already up 2 games to 1 but you would think based on pricing that Vegas has dominated the Stars and it is just not the case. Be careful looking at shots on goal as some of that is in relation to Dallas playing with the lead and not playing as aggressively as a result. Speaking of that, and here is the most important reason as to why there is no justification for Vegas to continually be in the -170 range in this season, but lets talk about playing with the lead in this series. Dallas scored early in Game 1 and won in a shutout. Then in Game 2 the Golden Knights erupted in the 2nd period and won in a shutout. Then in Game 3 the Stars never trailed the entire game. That means out of 9 periods of hockey Vegas has led for less than 2 periods. Does that sound like a team that should be so heavily favored? Another key thing I keep coming back to as well is that Vegas beat a 12th seeded Blackhawks team and a young Canucks team to get here. The Stars beat a tough Flames team and a highly-regarded Avalanche team to get here. This line is simply not priced right and with all the pressure on the Golden Knights now, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Stars be an extra dangerous foe in this one as they are playing without pressure now. In other words, upset alert...again! 10* DALLAS

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #4 Friday 10* Top Play New York Islanders Money Line (+) vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ 8:10 ET - The Islanders, in a very tough travel (and lack of rest) situation, got blown out in Game 1. New York was a much better team in Game 2 and should have won the game. Unfortunately for the Islanders, and us, they allowed a goal with under 10 seconds to go in the game and fell 2-1 to fall into a 2-0 series hole. Despite that loss, the Isles had a lot to like about their game in Game 2 and I expect them to play a similar style in Game 3 and this time they will be rewarded for their efforts! A real key here is that the Lightning were already without Stamkos and now will be without Killorn (suspended) for this game. Additionally, Point might be out as well as he got hurt in Game 2 and never returned to the ice. His loss would be a big one for the Bolts and, even if he plays tonight, I doubt Point would be 100%. That said, all signs point to the Islanders getting the win here and getting back into this series and I am happy to take the healthy underdog price again here just like we successfully did last night with the Stars over the Knights, a game in which Dallas never trailed. Look for this one to play out in similar fashion (never trailing) but with hopefully a win in regulation this time around. Give me the big dog in this one. 10* NEW YORK ISLANDERS

NBC Sports Network Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #40 Thursday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 8:10 ET - After getting shutout in Game 2 the Stars will respond in Game 3. You saw last night how teams at this level of the post-season respond off a loss with how well the Islanders played against the Lightning though they ultimately lost on a goal with less than 10 seconds to go in the game. The point is that there was zero value on Tampa Bay as a huge favorite last night even though some folks got fortunate with the late goal. Same case here. The Stars are a huge underdog even though they just beat a fantastic Avs team in the prior series and the Golden Knights played two much weaker teams, Blackhawks and Canucks, to make it this far. Don't get me wrong, Vegas is a good team. But they are also a public team and for them to be priced this high in this situation is just not right at all. The Stars as a sizable underdog and off a shutout loss are the play here all day every day. 10* DALLAS

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #37 Wednesday 10* New York Islanders Money Line (+) vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ 8:10 ET - The Islanders got destroyed 8-2 in Game 1. I had the Lightning in that game as it was a very tough spot for the Isles and it paid off easily. Now, the markets are heavily favoring the Bolts in Game 2 but this situation actually favors New York. The Islanders are 4-1 in this post-season when off a loss. Not only that, those 4 wins came by a combined score of 16 to 2. Now I am not saying this will be a dominating win for the Islanders as I have a ton of respect for Tampa Bay and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. But, the fact is the Isles should respond off a very embarrassing loss in Game 1 and they are so well-coached. Yes, TB is well-coached too but after all the bounces went the way of the Lightning in Game 1, I expect a turn of events here in Game 2 and, without a shadow of a doubt, the money line value is clearly with the Islanders in this bounce back spot and being given a +150 payback opportunity. I'll take it! 10* NEW YORK ISLANDERS

NBCSN Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #35 Tuesday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 8:10 ET - Everyone will be lining up on Vegas here off a loss. I am quite sure of that. Yet, like I mentioned in my Game 1 write-up on Dallas, the Stars faced tougher competition to get here. I am not trying to totally knock Vancouver but the Canucks were a young team and not as well coached as the teams that the Stars faced to get here. The Golden Knights also were fortunate in their first round match-up as they faced a Blackhawks team that was the #12 seed and barely even made it into the qualifying round of this unique 2020 playoff set-up. The point is that the Knights have really had to take a step up in level of competition for this series. The Stars beat a solid Flames team and an Avalanche team that I had predicted would win it all this season. In other words, Dallas has earned my respect. I am not saying Vegas is not a good team. Of course they are a very good team or they would not be here but what I am saying is that the Stars are not getting nearly enough respect from the betting markets here. I'll take the big dog that knows they played a sloppy 3rd period and were lucky to hang on for the 1-0 win. Of course Vegas is likely to respond here but Dallas had a lot of scoring opportunities in Game 1 that they did not cash and that was even with playing a bit of a "protective game" after getting the early 1-0 lead. The Stars score plenty more here and keep the Golden Knights on their heels in this one. 10* DALLAS

NBCSN Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #34 Monday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (-) vs New York Islanders @ 8 ET - Huge edges for the Bolts here. They are much more rested as they had 6 days off while the Islanders just finished up an epic battle in a 7-game series with the Flyers that saw 3 games go to overtime. With the conference finals being played in Edmonton, the Isles had to immediately get in a plane and fly west as they had hardly any time to enjoy their big win over Philadelphia in Toronto on Saturday night. Not only is Tampa Bay more rested and holding the travel edge (they arrived to Alberta well before the Islanders did), I also like other edges here for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been fantastic between the pipes whereas New York's #1 netminder Semyon Varlamov has been shaky at times. I know Thomas Greiss got the shutout win over the Flyers in Game 7 for the Isles but he is the normal #2 guy for a reason. The point is that the Lightning have a significant goalie edge here and with the rest edge and the fact that the Bolts have won 4 straight games and beat a tough Boston team convincingly, I am willing to lay the price here. Rare for me to lay much of a price, especially for a top play, but just too many edges in this situation for Game One! 10* TAMPA BAY 

NBC Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #35 Sunday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 8 ET - Vegas faced two teams to reach this point - the Canucks and the Blackhawks. Dallas faced two teams to reach this point - the Avalanche and the Flames. What is noteworthy about this is that both teams that the Golden Knights faced finished with less points in the regular season than the two teams that the Stars faced. Not only that but the Blackhawks were a 12th seed so they were the lowest seed that ended up making the post-season out west. As for the Avalanche that was a team that many (including me) predicted would be playing for the Stanley Cup. So the point is that I feel the Stars have faced a tougher road here and the Golden Knights have been fortunate with their match-ups. Vegas faced a Chicago team coached by a 35-year old and a Canucks team coached by a 49-year old. Now they face a Stars staff with plenty of coaching experience including interim head coach Rick Bowness whom is 65 years old and has been coaching since 1989 which means, yes, the year 2020 marks the 5th decade in which he has coached. Dallas has shown a lot of firepower in the offensive zone in this post-season and will test the Knights in a way that Chicago and Vancouver simply weren't capable of. This is the best team by far that the Golden Knights have faced in the post-season while I am not sure the reverse is true at all. The Avalanche team, even with injuries, was a very high-powered team that the Stars just got past. I think all that experience serves them well immediately in Game 1 before Vegas can make some adjustments as this series on. I am happy to grab the big dog value here with the Stars. 10* DALLAS

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #6 Saturday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) vs New York Islanders @ 7:30 ET - Seeing guys like Kevin Hayes, Claude Giroux, and Travis Konecny getting on the scoresheet in recent games is big news for the Flyers. Throughout this post-season Philadelphia has been winning on the strength of team depth and the goaltending of Carter Hart. However, along the way, much has been made of the lack of production for some of the big name guys for Philadelphia and that includes James van Riemsdyk whom also has gotten in on the scoring in recent games too. All of this has helped lead the way to a Flyers comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to tie the series at 3. With yesterday's losses for the Avalanche and the Canucks, neither of the other teams that did the same thing the Flyers have done were able to complete the comeback and advance to the conference finals. However, Philadelphia's head coach Alain Vigneault has already done this multiple times in his career and I look for him again help lead the way to a series comeback from a 3-1 deficit to advance to the next round. Yes the Flyers were heavily outshot in Game 6 but they played much better than what that lone stat (shots on goal) would lead you to believe. The Islanders haven't made it to the conference finals in 27 years. The Flyers rallied all the way back from a 3-0 series deficit to oust the Bruins in 2010. That was the same year Philly lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Blackhawks. History is on the side of the Flyers here but I also like the boost they have received from the return of Oskar Lindblom to the ice. He has a rare form of bone cancer (Ewing's sarcoma) and he and the Flyers go all out again here in Game 7. They could have Sean Couturier back from injury as well. I am actually expecting that but even if he does not return I still see all the value with the confident Flyers here who have proven throughout this series that they can win the tightest of games. Give me the underdog here! 10* PHILADELPHIA

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #4 Friday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line (-) vs Dallas Stars @ 4 ET - When you let a team hang around in a playoff series, no matter the sport, it can sometimes come back to bite you! This is particularly true in the NHL. A hot goalie and momentum go a long way toward deciding hockey games and we have now seen that hold true in no less than 3 of the 4 series going on right now in the NHL. We're going to see three NHL Game 7's which is a beautiful thing to see. The Golden Knights have played well but ran into a red hot goalie (Thatcher Demko) and that series has gone from 3-1 to 3-3. The Islanders have played well but ran into a very resilient Flyers team playing with a ton of emotion and that series has gone from 3-1 to 3-3. Then you have this one where all you hear people talk about is the fact that the Avalanche were a cup favorite but now they have too many injuries. Looks like the Colorado players are having nothing to do with talk like that! They have rallied the troops and this is yet another series that has gone from 3-1 to 3-3. Michael Hutchinson has been a key between the pipes because of the injuries to the top two Avs goalies. I am aware of the Gabriel Landeskog injury for the Avs but his linemates on the top line including Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen and there has simply been no quit in this team no matter whom is on the ice. MacKinnon is having a post-season for the ages but is 0-2 in Game 7's and can't wait to change that here. Look for that to happen. The Avs advance as the Stars, still shaken from blowing a 3-1 series lead, fall short again this year just like they did last year in a similar situation against the Blues. The Avalanche simply look like the better team, even with injuries, as this series has gone on. The Avs are relentlless and have too much firepower for Dallas to put away. 10* COLORADO

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #25 Thursday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) vs New York Islanders @ 7:00 ET - While there are question marks about whether or not Barzal will play for Islanders in this one and whether or not Couturier will play for the Flyers in this one, I want to get this play out early for everyone. The fact is I expect Barzal to play and Couturier not to play but I still like the Flyers in this one. If Barzal was announced as being out and Couturier being in than so much the better. But the fact is momentum and having your big guys going strong is a key in the hockey post-season and the Flyers check the boxes on both of those things heading into this game. In Game 5 they finally saw Giroux score a goal (he also picked up his 6th assist on the GW OT goal no less!) plus van Riemsdyk also scored a goal. Coach Vigneault is pushing all the right buttons with these Flyers and though Konecny has not scored a goal he picked up a pair of assists in the win. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7 is not easy but coach Vigneault has let teams to series wins multiple times after a 3-1 series hole. Also, if you don't believe momentum and getting the big guys going is key in a series you're not paying attention to the series out in Edmonton where Colorado got a 4-1 win last night to force a Game 7 after being down 3-1 in that series with Dallas. Look for the Flyers to also force a Game 7 by getting the big win tonight. The Islanders are a great team for sure and very well coached but Philly has the momentum here and unlike the Avalanche (down to a 3rd string goalie no less!) the Flyers have a true #1 netminder (Hart) healthy and ready to go here tonight. I love Game 7's in NHL and this series absolutely appears destined for a Game 7 after the way the Flyers responded twice in Game 5 to show how resilient they are. They gave up the first goal of the game just one minute into to the game to fall into a hole. They then allowed the final two goals of regulation to blow a 3-1 lead. They still win in OT. That is resilience with a capital R and this Flyers team is firing on all cylinders right now with or without Couturier. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #19 Wednesday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line (-) vs Dallas Stars @ 8 ET - What happens when a team has a chance to put a team away and then doesn't? We're about to find out. The Avalanche were down 3-1 in this series against the Stars but then absolutely blitzed Dallas and scored the first 5 goals of Game 5 and rolled to a 6-3 win. It will again be Michael Hutchinson between the pipes for Colorado tonight. Yes he is the #3 goalie but he is behind two solid netminders in Grubauer and Francouz - each of which are dealing with injuries. 2 of the 3 goals Hutchinson allowed were on power plays for Dallas and the reality is he played quite well. Also, dating back to the regular season, he has allowed just 4 goals on the last 55 shots he has faced. Keep in mind, Hutchinson is again likely to get plenty of goal support here too as the Avalanche have averaged 5 goals per game over the last 3 games. Also, the Avs finished off the Coyotes with identical 7-1 wins in each of the last two games of the series. I am not saying the same thing happens in this series but I am saying that the Avalanche are a very strong team and will force a Game 7 in my opinion. Give the Stars credit for getting the 3-1 series lead but now all the momentum is with Colorado and Dallas coach likely regrets making a goalie change at a crucial juncture in the series. He went to Ben Bishop in Game 5 as he was healthy enough to play again but he got absolutely blitzed and the Avs now have plenty of confidence against both of the Stars netminders. This Avalanche team is so dangerous in the offensive zone and I again don't see them being denied in this one. Just too much firepower and the confidence of Dallas is absolutely shaken now. I don't care what they say. They know they let a great chance slip away and have given the Avs plenty of hope! 10* COLORADO

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #17 Tuesday 10* Top Play Vancouver Canucks Puck Line +1.5 goals -130 vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 9:45 ET - I am well aware of the fact that there has not yet been a game decided by a 1-goal margin in this series. But I feel strongly we see a tight one in the Edmonton bubble tonight. The Canucks aren't going away without a fight and they are fired up after taking a 3-2 lead to the 3rd period against the Golden Knights on Sunday only to ultimately lose. Vancouver gave up 3 goals in a span of about 6 minutes of the first half of the final period in Game 4 and it is payback time here. I have tremendous respect for the Knights however and that is why I wouldn't be surprised to see an overtime game like we saw last night when the Bruins were facing elimination against the Lightning. Boston forced OT before finally losing to Tampa Bay in the 2nd overtime. In this case, of course would be nice to have a big money line payback on the Canucks should they win outright but I would not be surprised if they play a fantastic game and yet ultimately fall just short in a one-goal loss as Vegas looks to close them out and move on. Vancouver had won 5 of 6 when coming off a loss but that was entering Game 4. After that defeat, the Canucks are now 5-2 the last 7 times when entering a game off a loss. Look for Vancouver to bounce back here and note that the Golden Knights entered Sunday's game having gone just 4-3 the last 7 times they were off a win by a multiple goal margin and 3 of those 4 wins came by just a single goal including 2 in overtime. In other words, if you just played the puck line +1.5 goals against Vegas in those 7 games you went 6-1 with your bets! Of course that angle is now 6-2 after the Golden Knights 2-goal win in Game 4 but I'll gladly take that 75% angle with the Canucks here as I don't see them exiting this series quietly. 10* VANCOUVER Puck Line +1.5 goals -130

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #12 Monday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (-) vs Boston Bruins @ 7 ET - Many will be looking the way of the Bruins here. After all, they have lost 3 straight games and are trying to avoid elimination and this is practically the same Boston roster that was one win away from winning it all last season! In typical contrarian fashion I am on the other side here. I look for Tampa Bay to make it 4 in a row and not even let the Bruins sniff the potential of getting back in this series. By the way, the Bolts are 7-0 in terms of winning a series when they hold a 3-1 lead. In this case, I look for them to get the close out victory tonight. The Lightning have won the last two games by a combined 10-2 score and a key has been Jaroslav Halak, rather than Tuukka Rask, being between the pipes for Boston. This is not a knock on Halak as normally he is a solid goalie but, the fact is, he is not playing that well right now and neither are his Bruins teammates in front of him! Conversely, Andrei Vasilevskiy has been playing exceptionally well between the pipes for TB at the other end and I fully expect that to continue tonight. This Tampa Bay team is so hungry this season after what happened last year when they had an absolutely stellar regular season but then got swept out of the post-season in the first round! This Lightning team absolutely looks like a team on a mission in these playoffs and we see that continued inspired effort again Monday! 10* TAMPA BAY

Game of the Week (Eastern Conference) - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #7 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) vs New York Islanders @ 8 ET - The Flyers performance in Game 3 wasn't nearly as bad as the final score would lead one to believe. Philadelphia gave up a very late goal - 5 seconds left in second period - and that really hurt them as that is a killer for a team. The fact is the Islanders are a very tough team and this is likely to be a tight back and forth series. On that note, I really like the Flyers to respond off the loss with a huge effort here to get the win. They have not had a losing streak since early January! Dating back to the regular season and including this post-season, Philadelphia is 11-0 when coming off a loss. Look for the Flyers to improve on that mark here after being shut down in Game 3 where the second period did them in after they looked so sharp in the first period. This is a very good Philly team and they also hold the "back to back" edge in my opinion. In terms of the goalie match-up, if it is again Varlamov and Hart in this back to back note that Hart is 10 years younger than Varlamov and may respond better physically. If the teams go to the back-ups I like Elliott (12-5-2 away from Philly this season) over Greiss (7-6-2 away from home this season). Just a much better overall team effort expected in this one for the top-seeded team as they continue to show great resilience improving to 12-0 last dozen times they have been off a loss! 10* PHILADELPHIA

PA Insider - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #25 Saturday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs New York Islanders @ 7 ET - NOTE: This original write-up was based on the game being played Thursday evening. The game is now being played Saturday at 7 ET. I still am going with the same selection as a Top Play. Here is the original write-up: The Flyers built a 3-0 lead in yesterday's game and were still up 3-1 halfway through the final period and up 3-2 with about 2 minutes left. They then let the game slip away as Islanders tied it at 3 plus got a 2 minute power play to close out regulation. If the Isles had scored on that power play or been the club to score in overtime, the Flyers season would have likely been over. Coming back from a 2-0 deficit after a completely demoralizing loss is a lot to ask. Instead, the mood on this Philadelphia hockey club is very upbeat as they got the 4-3 OT win with a Myers goal just a couple minutes into OT. The Flyers, dating back to the regular season, have now won 17 of their past 21 games. They also hold a goalie edge for this back to back situation. It should be Varlamov and Hart in this one but lets talk about all 4 goalies because of the back to back. Greiss came in yesterday for the Islanders after Varlamov allowed 3 goals in 15 minutes. Greiss, 34 years old and having not played much at all since the spring, did play well but now this would be a back to back for a guy just coming back to live big game action. Varlamov, after his long playoff shutout streak, allowed 3 goals in 15 minutes and the Flyers are now "in his head" a little. As for Hart, he is only 22 years old and playing in a back to back wouldn't bother him in the least. If the Flyers call on their back-up, Elliott, he is a veteran player like Greiss. However, unlike Greiss, he is fresh because he did not play yesterday. Two evenly matched teams but the Flyers have momentum and goaltending on their side in this crucial swing game in this 1-1 series. Also, Philly coach Vigneault tweaked some of the lines yesterday and it paid immediate dividends. More of the same here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #13 Wednesday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line (-) vs Dallas Stars @ 10:30 ET - After receiving a wake-up call in Game 1 and losing badly to the Stars, the Avalanche needed to respond and they did. The problem however is the response only lasted half the game. The Avs were up 2-0 about midway through the game and then all of the sudden found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-man advantage. The last thing you want to do when you have a 2-goal lead and are looking to even a series up is to end up with two of your men in the penalty box! The rest is, as they say, history now. But the fact that the team I feel has a great shot at winning the cup this season is now in a 2-0 hole in this series makes this a fantastic spot for backing them. Yes the Stars have momentum as the puck continues to bounce their way. Give them credit but, again, Colorado let that game slip away and sometimes learning experiences come at a high price. In this case, the Avalanche let that game get away from them and it has put them in a 2-0 hole. That said, it is not too late to respond and I know the kind of effort we're going to get from this highly talented, exceptionally skilled Avalanche team in this one. Also, look for the Avs to be more grittier in this game. Even though this is not an elimination game, teams very rarely come back from a 3-0 deficit so this is about as close to a win or go home game as there is. Colorado needs more hitting and more blocked shots and, at the same time, I expect them to again heavily outshoot the Stars like they did in Game 2 (40-27 edge). Adding up all the factors and knowing that Pavel Francouz played a much better game in net than the final score would lead you to believe, I am willing to lay the moderate price (-140 range) on the Avalanche in this one and expect them to play their best game of the post-season. 10* COLORADO

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #6 Tuesday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (-) vs Boston Bruins @ 7 ET - The Lightning got down early against Boston in Game 1 but they fought their way through that and looked strong the rest of the way nearly rallying all the way back from a 3-0 deficit. After falling short 3-2, but infused with confidence, the Bolts will be ready to take it to the Bruins in Game 2. The Lightning are built more for the post-season than they were last year. They match up much better with Boston now and that was part of the reason that Tampa Bay took 3 of 4 regular season meetings. Game One of this series swung on a couple of big plays. One was the Bruins getting on the board with only a minute left to go in the first period. Then a power play early in the 2nd period led to their 2nd goal. This is not to take anything away from Boston but those key momentum swings were game changers. The Lightning looked much stronger and confident as the game went on and they'll carry that momentum into Game 2. I also still like Bolts goalie Vasilevskiy over Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak. Though Halak is solid there is a reason he is the #2 behind Tuukka Rask whom now has departed the bubble. The Lightning come out flying and even this one up. 10* TAMPA BAY

PA Insider - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #2 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs New York Islanders @ 7 ET - This should be a fantastic series. It is always tough to gauge teams coming into a new series because the match-ups are different and you have to factor in the prior series. In this case, I feel that edge goes to the Flyers. The Islanders are a great team and I am expecting this to be a fierce battle in this series but Game 1 sets up well for the Isles to fall short. They are coached by Barry Trotz and he is the former Capitals coach that took Washington to the Stanley Cup title win over Vegas in 2018. Now just two years later he got a chance to meet his team in the post-season and his Islanders dominated them in the 4-1 series win and it ended up getting Caps coach (and his former assistant coach) Todd Reirden fired. That was an emotional series win not only for Trotz but also his players because the players know how bad Trotz wanted that. Can they immediately handle now facing a tough Flyers team in Game 1 of this series? I think this is the one game in this series that the Flyers should dominate. They get Niskanen back, they are confident after knocking off a scrappy Canadiens team that had upset the Penguins. Yes those Penguins that include star players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The point is that the Flyers got tested by the Habs and it was good for them to build up some playoff mettle as young goalie Carter Hart continues to play as a much more experienced player than you would expect with his young age. Philly got their power play going late in the series with Montreal and that also is a confidence boost heading into this tough post-season match-up. Yes, the Islanders won all 3 regular season meetings but those were a long long time ago when the Flyers were still adjusting to new coach Alain Vigneault way back in November! Keep in mind, dating back to regular season and including the round robin action under this bubble too, the Flyers have won 16 of their last 19 games! 10* PHILADELPHIA

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #84 Sunday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (-) vs Boston Bruins @ 8 ET - I'll take Lightning #1 goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy over Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak. Yes, I know Halak is more of a #1b option rather than a true #2 but Tuukka Rask is the normal starter in Boston for a reason. Halak let in a few soft goals against the Hurricanes and he is going to be tested even more here by Tampa Bay. The Bolts are a team on a mission after getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round last year. That followed a record-setting regular season for them and the Lightning enter this series a very focused team after knocking off a tough Columbus team. Yes the Bruins ultimately looked good in getting past Carolina but the monumental collapse of the Hurricanes in a game they led 3-0 was something they never bounced back from. The Canes were a disappointment in blowing that game which would have tied the series at 2 games apiece. Keep in mind, Carolina never should have lost Game 1 either as the Bruins had a goal count that never should have counted and that is why the game eventually went to OT instead of being a 3-2 Canes win. The point is that the Bruins won a double-OT game plus came back from a 3-0 third period deficit. Give them credit for that but they were facing a Carolina team that has some issues. Now they face a Lightning team with no real issues other than still waiting on Stamkos to come back but they have been (and are use to) playing without him. I also like the fact that the Bolts have experienced goaltending behind Vasilevskiy. Conversely, the Bruins back-up (because of Rask leaving the bubble) is a #3 goalie with zero NHL experience. If Halak gets hurt or struggles Boston has a significant issue. The Lightning now have the physicality to match up with the Bruins and they take Game 1 here to set the tone for this series. 10* TAMPA BAY

Situational Shocker - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #81 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars @ 8 ET - I am calling this one a shocker because when you think of playoff hockey you think of tight, low-scoring games as a general rule. However, in this case you have a Dallas team that does its best when skating fast and allowing guys like Tyler Seguin to open things up and create in the offensive zone. As for the Avalanche, they are a very fast and skilled team and showed that in knocking off the Coyotes by identical 7-1 scores in each of the final two games of their first round series. As for the Stars, how about scoring 7 straight times to win 7-3 after allowing the first three goals against the Flames in that game? The fact is both these hockey clubs are very confident in the offensive zone right now and we're getting line value because all 4 regular season meetings between these teams (as well as the round robin game too) totaled 5 or less goals. That said, how can this total be posted at 5.5 goals by the odds makers? Exactly! It is going over folks. The Stars have won 4 of their last 5 games and scored an average of 4.8 goals per game in those 4 wins. The Avalanche are averaging 4.1 goals per game their last 7 games. Look for a wild one here. I know that is not the norm in playoff hockey but this is a situational play. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #15 Friday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs Montreal Canadiens @ 7 ET - It has been feast or famine for the Canadiens so far in this series and I expect the latter to be the result in Friday's Game 6. Yes the Habs exploded for 5 goals in a wild one in Game 5 (and also in Game 2 when the Flyers didn't show up and Montreal was playing for their coach - heart surgery) but in the other 3 games the Canadiens not only lost but they scored a TOTAL of 1 goal in those 3 games! Flyers netminder Carter Hart has a knack for bouncing back off poor outings and he did not look good on Wednesday. That said, the young goalie is cool under pressure and had come up with back to back shutouts in Games 3 and 4 after that ugly Game 2 where his teammates hung him out to dry. Speaking of teammates and how they react around Hart, the fact that Montreal's Suzuki tapped Hart on the helmet after the Habs scored their 2nd goal to tie the game on Wednesday will be accounted for. I don't wish ill will upon anyone but Suzuki has a bullseye on his back for this game. Already the Flyers Niskanen (suspended for this game) broke the jaw of Gallagher (one of Montreal's best players) after the Suzuki incident. Gallagher is now out for the rest of the post-season (which I suspected the end would have been coming tonight anyway) and they will struggle to overcome his absence. He is a speedy player and an agitator on the ice. The Canadiens will miss him more than the Flyers will miss Niskanen although certainly the D-man is an important player for Philly. In terms of coaching the Flyers bench guys have the most combined experience of any coaching staff in the NHL. They hold a huge edge over Montreal with Claude Julien still recovering from heart surgery and with an assistant coach now handling coaching duties for the Canadiens. Philly also got their power play going in Wednesday's Game 5 and that is a key confidence boost for this team. They earned their #1 seed and, dating back to the regular season, had won 15 of their last 17 games prior to the Game 5 loss. Payback time here and don't be surprised if someone taps Suzuki on the head in the handshake line after this game is over as the Flyers send the Canadiens packing. Big mistake on Suzuki's part and he and his teammates will pay the price after lighting a fire under the Flyers for this game 6. Philly will be buzzing all over the ice for this one and will have their skating legs going at 110%! 10* PHILADELPHIA

Total of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #5 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Washington Capitals vs New York Islanders @ 8 ET – The Capitals Alex Ovechkin got going in their Game 4 win Tuesday and that is a good sign for Washington. It is always toughest to get that 4th win in a series and the Islanders know it. That said, expect a much better game from the Isles here but the Capitals now have confidence again and this is particularly true in the offensive zone. That should lead to plenty of goals in this one. We have seen a lot of high-scoring games in potential elimination games in recent days. When teams are putting it all on the line to save their season the scoring has gone up in most of those contests. 3 of the 4 games in this series have totaled 5 or more goals and, especially given the dynamics of this situation, I expect that this one will too. Starting with Blackhawks/Golden Knights Tuesday night, 4 of the 5 games in which a team was facing elimination totaled 7 or more goals. I expect a 4-3 type game here and will grab the value with this total at 5 goals. 10* OVER the total in Washington

Total Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #73 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Avalanche vs Arizona Coyotes @ 5:30 ET - I absolutely expect a better "compete level" from the Coyotes here in Game 5 after they got thoroughly embarrassed in the 7-1 loss in Game 4 on Monday. However, the only way Arizona is going to compete is to take some chances to open things up offensively because you know the Avalanche are going to get theirs! Colorado is a high-octane very dangerous team and they were already clicking even in the Game 3 loss. That was a 4-2 loss for the Avs but they fired 51 shots on goal. Now that they have finally broken through big-time against Coyotes goalie Darcy Keumper, the floodgates are truly wide open. Look for the Avalanche to keep coming in waves in this one just like they did in the blowout win in Game 4. The Avs are averaging nearly 4 goals per game in this series and the Coyotes are averaging 2.3 goals per game the last 3 games. We can expect at least a 4-2 type game here in my opinion and the odds maker have moved the total from a 5 (prior games) to a 5.5 (this game) with good reason. Like I said, the floodgates are now open for this ultra dangerous Avalanche team and, at the other end, the Coyotes will have to take chances and try to create some good scoring chances. It is their only chance to possibly keep up in this game and have a chance to spring the upset. The over 5.5 is available at a solid plus money price so this is another added benefit here and I am going with a top play here. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #67 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Dallas Stars vs Calgary Flames @ 5:30 ET - Contrasting styles in this match-up and it is leading to more offense as the series has gone on. Two of the last three games have totaled 9 goals. The Stars got a wake-up call with the 2-0 shutout loss in Game 3 and they won't look back now. I am not saying they win this game but I am just saying that the 5-4 OT win in Game 4 showed them how they need to play. They can't match the physical play and size of the Flames but they can try and play faster and out-skate them. We saw flashes of that in Game 4 and it helped lead to a game with plenty of goals. The problem for the Stars is that they have had to use big players like Oleksiak for extended minutes to try and match the size of the Flames but he committed multiple penalties that hurt the Stars in Game 4 and led to power play goals for Calgary. Also, he made questionable decisions with the puck in my opinion. This is leading to turnovers and we're seeing a lot of great scoring chances for each club in this one because of the way they are playing. It is certainly not tight, defensive-minded hockey. It is more like first one to score 5 goals wins. In all seriousness, the Flames have averaged 4 goals per game their past 6 games and the Stars have their offense back (and confidence back) thanks to winning 2 of the last 3 games by a score of 5-4. With this total at 5 goals for this one I feel we have solid value on the over. I feel there is plenty of justification for this total to have moved to a 5.5 and it hasn't. Great line value as a result and I am expecting a 4-3 type game. 10* OVER the total in Dallas

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #58 Monday 10* Top Play Carolina Hurricanes Money Line (+) vs Boston Bruins @ 8 ET - Look for a rally the troops game for Carolina as everyone will step up their game here after the Andrei Svechnikov injury in Game 3. He had a goal and assist in the Hurricanes Game 2 win. Now, after losing Game 3, it will be payback time for the Hurricanes. Keep in mind, Carolina should have won Game 1. The Bruins had a goal count in regulation that never should have counted. Had it not counted, the game would have never ended up in OT. Instead it would have been a 3-2 Canes win in regulation. The fact is these are 2 very evenly matched teams and I like getting the underdog value with a Hurricanes club looking to respond big off a loss and show a response after the Svechnikov injury. Additionally, I know that Jaroslav Halak is a solid netminder for the Bruins but he didn't have time to think too much when #1 goalie Tuukka Rask made his announcement that he was leaving the bubble just prior to Game 3. Now, with plenty of time for Halak to ponder everything and realize he is the #1 and Rask is gone, he might be more easily "rattled" by Hurricanes shots in this one and I am sure the Canes will be coming in waves in this must win game. They can't afford to go down 3-1 in this series. 10* CAROLINA

PA Insider - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #49 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs Montreal Canadiens @ 8 ET - The Canadiens gave a huge effort in Game 2 to even this series up as they played inspired hockey right from the first drop of the puck. Their head coach Claude Julien was in the hospital and is now recovering from heart surgery and you have to give Montreal credit for a great effort in Game 2. However, not only did the Habs win that game they "showed up" the Flyers a little bit as assistant coach Kirk Muller (filling in for Julien) put his top power play unit on the ice late in the game and with the Canadiens already up 5-0. This did not go unnoticed by the Flyers and I already would have expected a huge response from Philly in Game 3 but that fact only strengthens their resolve. Keep in mind Philly was one of the hottest teams down the stretch in the regular season and the Canadiens were quite cold late in the season. Yes the Habs have a great goalie in Carey Price but the Flyers goalie Carter Hart plays like he is much older than his young age and is certainly showing signs, Game 2 notwithstanding, that he is going to be a great goalie in this league. Look for Hart and the Flyers to bounce back strong in Game 2. We're getting great line value here as a line that was closer to the -160 range in prior games is now down in the -130 range. The Flyers didn't show up in Game 2. They will be there in Game 3 and anybody that looks up and down the roster of skaters on these teams knows that the Flyers are the better team in this series. Yes, Montreal having Price in goal is big but the Flyers Hart has been fantastic in key games this season and this is another key game. Philly beat Price in Game 1 and I don't see them going down 2-1 in this series against a 12 seed! Yes the Habs got past the Penguins but Malkin looked out of sorts in that series and the Pens just aren't what they use to be. Philly earned the #1 seed with a strong regular season and then fantastic play in the round robin. One game doesn't change all that. It is payback time here. Head coach Alain Vigneault and the Flyers can't wait for their chance at redemption and they'll make it count here. Look for some of Philly's top guys to get going in this series. It shows how deep that Philly is that they have played well (up until Friday) in this post-season and yet many of their big guns have been held off the scoresheet. I look for that to change here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #37 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Arizona Coyotes vs Colorado Avalanche @ 3 ET - No excuse for yesterday's game not to go over the total. The game was tied 2-2 after two periods. The Coyotes played much better in the offensive zone after being shutout in Game One. The Avalanche continued to show how dangerous they are with high skill and speed at the forward position. Yet missing a couple shots at the empty net ultimately resulted in a game that ended 3-2. I especially like this situation because it is a back to back and is a day game too. This puts extra stress because the Coyotes back-up goalie Raanta just now returned from injury and Kuemper is likely to get the start in this back to back spot. As strong as he has been this is still a tough situation for a netminder. The Avalanche have mostly used Grubauer throughout this post-season so now he goes in the 2nd game of a back to back or its Francouz that gets the start (likely) and he could show some rust. When you consider these factors and yesterday's tough result for over players plus the fact that the over 5.5 is available at +120 here, you have great value on the over in this spot. Arizona is down 2-0 in the series and will continue to push for more offensive zone time here even if it means more risk of trouble in their own defensive zone. Coyotes desperate for a win and the Avalanche want to play a more aggressive game after they were held in check for stretches in Game 2. Remember that in Game 1 the Avs had plenty of shots before finally breaking through. I expect this game to be their true breakout game as they score 4 or 5 goals and the Coyotes net at least a couple again. 10* OVER the total in Arizona

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #31 Friday 10* Top Play Washington Capitals Money Line (-) vs New York Islanders @ 8 ET - Washington let game one slip away as they blew a 2-0 lead. It was good that the Capitals had John Carson back on the ice but now they've lost Nicklas Backstrom for game two courtesy of a big hit from the Islanders Anders Lee that certainly did not go unnoticed by Tom Wilson and the Caps. The point is that this is a highly emotional series right off the bat as former Washington head coach Barry Trotz is now the head coach of the Islanders. These teams don't like each other at all and what I like about the Capitals in this spot is that they have been there done that! This is a team that won the Stanley Cup two years ago and knows how to handle adversity. That said, though the Islanders are a very strong team in their own right and may end up winning this series, I see the Capitals responding in a big way here in Game 2 and getting the win. Yes the series is early but to go into an 0-2 hole would be tough to climb out of and the Caps respond in a big way here in Game 2 after what happened in Game 1. I am speaking about the 2-0 lead being blown in the 4-2 loss and I am talking about Backstrom getting knocked out of the game. You are going to see a very focused effort from Alex Ovechkin and company in this one and they will not be denied. Take advantage of the low price being offered on this one. 10* WASHINGTON

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #21 Thursday 10* Top Play Carolina Hurricanes Money Line (+) vs Boston Bruins @ 8 ET - After Carolina (and yours truly) got ripped off by the Bruins in Game 1 yesterday, we'll look for payback here in Game 2. Yesterday's game should have ended 3-2 in regulation time as a Hurricanes win. The Bruins were given a goal they never deserved on a play where the officials said there was no hand pass because the goalie then froze the puck after the hand pass. But if he froze the puck after the hand pass how is that the Bruins were allowed to play a frozen puck and score a key goal? This is not just a disgruntled Hurricanes bettor telling you this. I am telling you that all analysts who watched that play and spoke about it agreed. It was an egregious error by the officiating crew. Basically an impossible goal to allow to be counted in a situation like that. You can only imagine how fired up Carolina is here and they can't wait for this shot at quick redemption here in Game 2 and are happy this is a back to back spot so they can get right back on the ice. The Hurricanes welcomed back Dougie Hamilton in Game 1 and could get Justin Williams and Sami Vatanen both back for Game 2 on Thursday night. After the tough loss in the 2nd overtime yesterday, the Hurricanes will respond in a big way in Game 2. Yes, Boston is a strong team but they only won 4 of their last 8 regular season games in regulation time and still have not won a game in regulation in the bubble in Toronto. Look for that streak to continue here (4 straight games without a regulation win) and this time the Bruins are on the losing end. The Hurricanes are ultra hungry after getting swept out of the post-season by the Bruins last year and then after a frustrating result in game one. 10* CAROLINA

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #21 Sunday 10* Top Play Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs @ 8 ET - The winner of this game takes on the Lightning. Wouldn't it be perfect if that team ended up being the Blue Jackets? The same Columbus team that swept Tampa Bay out of the first round of the playoffs last year after the Bolts had a regular season performance for the ages. I believe this is precisely what we'll see here. Yes I am aware of the injury situation with Zach Werenski and Ryan Murray of the Jackets but I am pulling the trigger on a huge bounce back performance from Columbus here. After the unreal loss to Maple Leafs Friday (Blue Jackets were up 3-0 with 6 minutes to go), Columbus will be right back to work here. Coach Tortorella would have it no other way and you're going to see one of the most physical and gritty performances from a wounded dog then you'll ever see in an NHL post-season. I just don't see the Blue Jackets being denied in this bounce back spot after the Maple Leafs miracle win on Friday night. To me the Jackets are the better playoff-built hockey team in this series. I know Toronto is very talented but I like the grit of this Blue Jackets team and feel we've got tremendous line value here with them as a sizable dog in a series where no team has managed to win back to back games. Look for that trend to continue here. 10* COLUMBUS

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #2 Saturday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line (-) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 3 ET - The Avalanche are the best team in the NHL right now. They are healthier than they have been in a long, long time and it is amazing that MacKinnon, Landeskog, and Rantanen haven't scored yet in the first two round robin games and yet the Avs still have looked so good in winning the two games by a combined score of 6 to 1. In the regular season Colorado beat the Golden Knights by a combined score of 13 to 4 in their two meetings and those two games were at Vegas no less! Now these teams meet on neutral ice and the #1 seed for the upcoming NHL playoffs is on the line. I don't see the Avalanche being denied. They are the much better team. Yes, Vegas has also gone 2-0 in this round robin but they had a miracle rally against Dallas and then played a St Louis team that seemed surprisingly uninspired hockey. The Golden Knights, even with Blues seeming a bit sluggish, still had to rally from an early 2-0 hole and later still trailed 4-3 going to the 3rd period. Keep in mind they trailed the Stars by a count of 3-1 with about 10 minutes to go in that game before their miracle rally. The Vegas goaltending is suspect with Fleury struggling and Lehner now playing with his 4th club in 3 seasons! Lehner will get the start here and seems to have supplanted Fleury. The Avs have allowed just 1 goal so far in 2 games while the Golden Knights have allowed 7. Also, as shown in the regular season, the Avalanche have shown they pose some match-up problems for Vegas! 10* COLORADO

Rickenbach NHL Rotation #59 Friday 10* Top Play Edmonton Oilers Money Line (-) vs Chicago Blackhawks @ 6:45 ET - The Oilers lost on a very late goal in Game 3. It was no fault of the goalie on that play but one thing for certain is that neither team has been particularly sharp between the pipes as goals continue piling up through this series. I know that the Blackhawks have played very well in this series and have Edmonton on the edge of elimination. However, I just don't see it happening. After the Oilers got off the initial shock of an ugly 1st period stretch in Game 1 of this series, they have played well for long stretches and I like the coaching edge here in a crucial game as well. Edmonton is coached by Dave Tippett and Chicago is coached by Jeremy Colliton. Note that Tippett was playing in the NHL before Colliton was even born. Yes he is 24 years his senior and I look for Tippett to rally the troops here for the Oilers. Teams off a loss in this post-season have responded well for the most part with the lone exception being a flat Rangers team that was ousted by a Hurricanes team that was firing on all cylinders. So not including the Canes series or the round robin games, we're talking about only the 5-game series here, teams off a loss are 12-3 so far. That is an 80% cash in rate and I am more than willing to lay the fair price (-130 range) here with a desperate, more talented, and better coached Oilers team. 10* EDMONTON

NHL 10* Columbus Blue Jackets Money Line +135 - The Maple Leafs loss of defenseman Jake Muzzin for the remainder of this series is a big loss. He is arguably their best blue liner and is a playoff-tested veteran. His absence will be felt and, though I have been impressed with Leafs goalie Anderson and how well he has played I am wondering when the cracks will start to show and losing Muzzin could be the beginning of it. The Blue Jackets aren't happy with the Game 2 result but have to be happy being tied 1-1 heading into this Game 3 and the fact that the games have been tight and low-scoring. That plays right into the hands of Columbus. Also, they have a big experience factor edge in coaching with Tortorella over Keefe. Keep in mind the Leafs were red hot when Keefe first took over for the fired Babcock early this season but they then faded the rest of the season. I am still not sold on this Toronto team. They are very talented and played a great game two but they are known for playoff failures and I expect a strong bounce back from a gritty Blue Jackets team that swept the league-best Lightning out of the post-season last year. Coach Torts and this Jackets team know a thing or two about playoff hockey and that experience edge as well as the Muzzin factor for this one means that this is way too much underdog value to pass up on. Great situation here with the Blue Jackets also picking up a little edge with being the designated home team for this one. Keep in mind that means they can match personnel the way they want because they get the "last change edge" on line changes. 10* COLUMBUS

NHL 10* Colorado -125 - The Stars are off the type of loss that is very tough to bounce back from. Dallas just allowed a very late lead against Vegas to slip away and a 3-1 edge turned into a 5-3 defeat in an inexcusable turn of events. The Stars have had the Avs number and that showed in the regular season meetings between these teams. But Colorado is healthy and hungry and has their eye on earning the #1 seed through this round-robin event after knocking off the defending Stanley Cup Champion Blues in the opener. Colorado didn't even get much production on offense from their top guys and yet still beat St Louis and that says a lot about just how good this Avalanche team is. I look for much more from them in this game Wednesday as they are so hungry for the #1 seed and they want to prove to Dallas that they can top them in case these teams do meet up again in the post-season. I respect the Stars but the situational edges go to the Avs here and that is why this game is priced the way it is. Lay it! 10* COLORADO

Rickenbach NHL Rotation #36 Tuesday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Jets Money Line (+) vs Calgary Flames @ 6:45 ET - I successfully used the Jets in Game 2 under the theory of "wounded dog bites the hardest" and that paid off then and I feel it will again in Game 3. Yes the Jets are hurting with the injury issues for Laine and Scheifele but they are a determined bunch and using the Tkachuck / Scheifele incident as a motivating factor for the rest of this series is going to carry them. Though it took a late goal to put away the Flames in Game 2 it never should have come to that. Both the Calgary goals were a bit fluky. First off a horrific turnover where the Jets suddenly (and mistakenly) let up and you could just see it that something stupid/bad was about to happen. Then the other Flames goal went in off a redirect off a Jets players skate! As for the Jets goals the 1st and 3rd were beauties and the 2nd one was a gritty goal in front where hard work right in front of the goalie and being willing to take a shot off yourself and then score off it was key. I have really liked the way the Jets Hellebuyck has been playing and neither goal was his fault in game two. That said, the Jets are offering superb underdog value and this highly motivated bunch gets it done in game 3 as a sizable dog again. 10* WINNIPEG

No Doubt Blowout Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #29 Monday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 6:30 ET - Who is the Golden Knights goalie here? I don't know...your guess good as mine! All kidding aside folks, though Fleury played in the exhibition game it is expected to be Lehner that gets the nod here. However, I really believe that the goalie situation in Vegas is going to end up being an issue. I have seen this before with Fleury in the post-season when he is looking over his shoulder. Vegas, after the coaching change, certainly has improved and this has been particularly true on defense. However, Dallas is certainly no slouch either when it comes to defensive-minded hockey. That being said, I love the underdog value with the under-rated Stars in this one. Keep in mind, yesterday I had the Flyers in a #4 vs #1 match-up in the round-robin in the East and Philly got a solid 4-1 upset win over the Bruins. I strongly feel that the new playoff format for this strange season really favors the lower seeds. Philly gets a chance to move all the way up to the #1 seed in a span of just 3 games and the same holds true for the Stars as well. I see them being very hungry as a result and taking step one toward that goal with a win here. I am expecting a better effort from Vegas than we saw with Boston yesterday but I also expect the unsettled goalie situation for the Golden Knights to lead to an early goal for Dallas as that is a key to their success. The Stars get that early goal and then suffocate and frustrate teams. That is their game plan here and I like them to get the job done. It is with good reason that the Golden Knights were priced as such as a short favorite here and yet they are still attracting the bets in this one and the line has moved their way. i love spots like this and feel the markets are fooled on this one. Give me the very hungry dog! 10* DALLAS

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #20 Sunday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line (-) vs St Louis Blues @ 6:30 ET - The Blues did not look good in their 4-0 loss to the Blackhawks. Granted it was only an exhibition game but was not a good sign for a St Louis team that is certainly a very strong team (they are the defending champs after all) but that struggles against teams with good speed. That said, this is a really tough match-up for the Blues as the Avalanche are so dangerous with their top line of MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Landeskog. Colorado would have had an even better record to this point were it not for injuries but now, fully healthy, and with two very capable goalies too, the Avs are a real threat to win it all this season. They are fully focused on the top prize and know that earning a top seed for the post-season could go a long way toward securing that goal. The Avalanche are hungry and, for the Blues, lets just remind everyone how hard it is to repeat as Stanley Cup champs and to have a target on your back. Yes this is just one game as part of the round robin (the teams involved in the West are Vegas and Dallas) but this is a chance for the hungrier team to prove they are going to be a force to be reckoned with and, again, their team speed is going to be a problem for the Blues. This is the type of match-up that gives St Louis fits when they're firing on all cylinders and, of course, the Blues are not yet in that "mode" just yet after the long layoff. Speed kills. 10* COLORADO

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #6 Saturday 10* Top Play New York Islanders Money Line (-) vs Florida Panthers @ 4 ET - Why did this line open in the pick'em range? Well the Islanders were the coldest team in the NHL prior to the unexpected shutdown of sports back in mid-March. That said, the ugly 7-game losing streak is keeping this line lower than it should be. The Islanders, as much as any team in the NHL, really benefited from the break. Now they, of course, have had plenty of time to regroup and also they are much healthier and got some key players back they otherwise would not have had. I know the games weren't the ones that count but in action leading up to this game in the short summer camp that each team was afforded, the Panthers got blasted 5-0 by Tampa Bay while the Islanders are off a tight, morale-boosting win. Sergei Bobrovsky is the Panthers goalie and is a combined 1-5 the past 2 seasons in starts against the Islanders. His first season in Florida has been rough as he has posted the highest GAA of his 10-year career. I feel strongly that the Islanders have the edge in goal in this match-up and in a 5-game series, winning game one is so critical. I don't see the Isles being denied in this one and, just like the series 4 years ago when these teams met in the post-season, the Panthers will fall short in Game One. 10* NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #64 Wednesday 10* Top Play Edmonton Oilers Money Line (-) vs Winnipeg Jets @ 9:05 ET - The Jets have been hot on home ice but cold on enemy ice and I look for that trend to continue here. If you had just played the home team in each of Winnipeg's last 8 games you would be a perfect 8-0. I like backing Edmonton here as they should get Connor McDavid back. He missed Monday's game against Vegas with an illness. I am expecting him back tonight but, either way, I look for the Oilers to respond big off that tough OT loss Monday. Edmonton had won 8 of 12 on home ice prior to that tough loss to the Golden Knights in which they gave up the tying goal late in the 3rd period. The Oilers had won 4 of 5 prior to the loss to Vegas. Also, the Jets have had their number in recent meetings. Edmonton got a much needed win this series on the final day of February but there is still much payback to be delivered as Winnipeg has been a nemesis in recent seasons. Coming off a loss, the Oilers come in hungry and take advantage of a Jets team that has lost 4 straight road games. 10* EDMONTON

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #61 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks @ 8:05 ET - The Blackhawks Corey Crawford has been playing well between the pipes but he certainly doesn't have good recent history against the Sharks. In fact, Crawford's struggles against San Jose are part of the reason 7 straight meetings between these teams have all totaled 6 or more goals. I look for Chicago to bounce back here off a shutout home loss to the Blues Sunday. That was preceded by a 2-1 shocking loss at Detroit but the Blackhawks entered that game having scored an average of 4.4 goals in 5 prior games. They'll get back on track here against a Sharks team that is off a 4-3 loss to Colorado and that has allowed 3.7 goals per game in its last 3 road games. San Jose has been scrappy and playing competitive hockey but they won't be able to slow down the Blackhawks in this one and that is why I like the over. Should be another back and forth high-scoring game between these two teams. The end result will be an 8th straight game totaling 6 or more goals between these clubs. The Sharks have scored an average of 3.2 goals per game their last 5 games. 10* OVER the total in Chicago

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #51 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Red Wings vs Carolina Hurricanes @ 7:35 ET - The Red Wings off huge upset win over Tampa Bay and scored 4 goals in regulation. On Tuesday they are expected to be facing former Detroit netminder Peter Mrazek as he returns from injury. The Hurricanes goalie is likely going to have to shake off some rust in his first start in awhile and he also has struggled on the road this season. Away from home on the season Mrazek is 5-8-2 with a 3.05 GAA. The Red Wings have been a scrappy team of late and have hung tough with teams in 4 straight games! Hanging tough again here means another high-scoring game is likely. That's because the Red Wings options in goal are Jimmy Howard (having an awful season) or Jonathan Bernier. Note that Bernier has allowed 3 or more goals in 9 of his last 11 full-game efforts. You can see why, given the goalie situation, I am expecting each team to get to 3 goals in those game and yet we're dealing with a total of only 5.5 goals on this one. The Canes are off back to back wins and starting to "feel it again" in the offensive zone. On the other end of the ice Carolina had allowed 3 or more goals in 6 straight games before coming up with back to back wins. I like the way both the Hurricanes and Red Wings are trending heading into this one and expect plenty of goals. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #50 Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs Boston Bruins @ 7:05 ET - The Flyers have defeated the Bruins 4 straight times. Philadelphia enters this game on a 9-game winning streak and has won 7 straight home games. The Flyers, on home ice this season, are a fantastic 25-5-4 this season. Boston has the best record in the NHL so of course Philly is available in a pick'em price range here even with consideration to their home ice dominance this season. The Flyers haven't missed a step even since James van Riemsdyk went down with injury. Also, the Bruins do have a few injury issues heading into this game. I expect Carter Hart to get the start for the Flyers here. The young phenom netminder is 20-2-2 with a 1.61 GAA on home ice this season! Tuukka Rask is expected to get the start for the Bruins here and he has been "hit or miss" in recent starts. Rask has allowed 4 or more goals in 3 of his last 5 starts. Boston has lost 3 of its past 7 games 3 of the 4 wins came by a single goal. 8 of the Flyers 9 wins during their current winning streak have come by a multiple goal margin. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Pacific Division Game of the Year - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #40 Monday 10* Top Play Edmonton Oilers Money Line (-) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 9:05 ET - Golden Knights blew a 3-0 lead at Calgary yesterday but managed to score late for a key divisional win over the Flames. Keep in mind this was with their hot goalie Robin Lehner between the pipes. Now Vegas is at Edmonton and the choices in the goal or Lehner in a back to back or, more likely, Marc-Andre Fleury getting the start. As I have written about in recent games involving the Knights, Fleury is struggling because of the Lehner addition. It is in his head and he has allowed 4 goals in each of his past two starts and this was even with facing a limited number of shots (an average of about 20 per game). Now Fleury faces an angry Oilers team as the Golden Knights are two points ahead of them for 1st in the division, plus shut them out at Vegas late last month, and it is payback time for Edmonton on home ice here. The only very impressive start Fleury has had in his last five starts was against the Oilers. Now Edmonton, in the rematch, has the home ice edge and the situational edge. The Oilers are at home and playing just their 2nd game in 4 days while the Golden Knights are playing their 2nd game in back to back nights and are on the road again. Vegas has done well in back to backs this season but Fleury has a capable back-up now in Lehner and this is effecting his psyche. I do expect Fleury to start (and struggle again) tonight but if Lehner does go I still like this play as he allowed 4 goals the last time he faced the Oilers and back to backs are not easy (nor typical) for goalies. 10* EDMONTON

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #35 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Buffalo Sabres vs Washington Capitals @ 7:05 ET - The Sabres will have Linus Ullmark back between the pipes tonight. Though that is a good thing long-term for Buffalo, don't be surprised if he has plenty of rest in his first game back. That said, facing a highly potent Capitals team is not a good match-up for him and Ullmark allowed 6 goals when he most recently faced Washington in November. The Capitals choices between the pipes are Ilya Samsonov and Braden Holtby. Note that Samsonov has a poor .866 save percentage in his last 4 starts. As for Holtby, he allowed 4 goals in his most recent start at Buffalo. Also, Holtby and the Capitals are coming off a key 5-2 win in a big divisional showdown with the Penguins on Saturday. Don't be surprised if we see a bit of a letdown in the defensive zone tonight after tremendous effort in the win at Pittsburgh. The Sabres are desperate and should score well here but the expected rust for Ullmark increases the likelihood the Capitals score plenty as well. The over is 4-0 in Washington's games this month and 6-1 their last 7 overall. The Sabres have had just 1 under in their last 4 games and their most recent home game (a push against the Pens) absolutely should have gone over the total. This one won't stall out late like that one did! 10* OVER the total in Buffalo

Money Line Insider - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #26 Sunday 10* Top Play Calgary Flames Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 7:05 ET - Great spot for the Flames here. They are at home and on a 3-game winning streak and they don't play again until Thursday! Conversely, the Golden Knights are off an ugly road loss and have another road game on deck tomorrow night at Edmonton. While Calgary can lay it all on the line here knowing rest is forthcoming, Vegas has a goalie decision to make tonight. Will it be Marc-Andre Fleury or Robin Lehner. Have the Golden Knights impacted Fleury's mindset by bringing in Lehner. Note that Lehner would be making his first road start as a Knight and he has allowed 4 goals per game in his 4 road starts since the calendar hit 2020. That included allowing 4 goals here in Calgary last month. As for Fleury, he has not looked the same since Vegas acquired Lehner. The Golden Knights have lost 2 of 3 and scored a total of just 4 goals in those 3 games. I really like the firepower we have seen with the Flames in recent weeks as Calgary has averaged 4 goals per game the past 4 weeks! They stay hot here and win a key divisional battle. 10* CALGARY

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #23 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Red Wings vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ 5:05 ET - I understand the line move here. The total went from a 6 to a 5.5 and it is likely that Jonathan Bernier will get the start in goal for Detroit. The Red Wings netminder has indeed being playing well. However, the way I see this game playing out is that Tampa Bay comes out a little flat after their huge win at Boston yesterday. That was a very important game for the Lightning and also was an extremely physical penalty-filled contest. Tampa is not going to be on top of its game in its defensive zone in this game as a result. They used up a lot of mental and physical energy in hanging on for the win against the Bruins yesterday. Also, the Bolts used their #1 netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy yesterday. That is why I would not be surprised to see the Red Wings have some scoring success on home ice in this one. Detroit has been playing better of late and is playing with more effort and energy and winning more puck battles. So look for the Red Wings to pot a few goals here and take advantage of the situation. However, at the end of the day, the Lightning are just so much better in terms of the talent level of their top lines and they're going to eventually respond and put a ton of pressure on Bernier and the Red Wings. That is why I am expecting this game to see a lot more scoring than you would normally expect in this match-up. Look for a 5-3 type game here when all is said and done. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Total Smash - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #11 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Florida Panthers vs Montreal Canadiens @ 7:05 ET - With the Panthers off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Bruins and the Canadiens off a 4-0 shutout loss at Tampa Bay, I look for a rebound here and plenty of goals from each team. Yes, Chris Driedger is back in goal for Florida but he is still a bit unproven at this young stage in his career. This will be just his 10th NHL start and, prior to the solid effort against Boston, he had allowed 4 goals in each of his two preceding starts. Montreal has allowed an average of 3.4 goals per game in its last 5 games and will struggle with the potent Panthers attack. The Habs had scored an average of 3.3 goals per game in their 8 games preceding the shutout loss to the Lightning. Both these clubs very capable of a strong bounce back in the offensive zone in this one and I am not as sold on the goaltending situation here as the markets are (total dropped from a 6.5 to a 6 in overnight trading). 10* OVER the total in Florida

Atlantic Div Game of the Year - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #9 Saturday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (+) @ Boston Bruins @ 7:05 ET - The Lightning are one of the best teams in the league and, after hitting a recent rough patch (which followed a torrid winning streak) they are rounding back into form even without Steven Stamkos. That said, this is a rare (and fantastic) opportunity to back them as an underdog! Because this game is at Boston (#1 record in the NHL) we're able to get the Bolts at a dog price. The Lightning are playing with revenge after losing to the Bruins at home on Tuesday in a tight 2-1 loss. Prior to that defeat, Tampa Bay had won 4 straight meetings and remember they also knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs two years ago by winning 4 straight games after dropping the season opener. The point is that the Bolts have had Boston's number but now are off a rare loss in this series. That said, remember who was the #1 regular season team by a landslide last season? Yes, it was Tampa. Now Boston has that honor with about month of regular season hockey to go. Look for the Lightning to come out playing like a team that wants to show who is still the league's best team. They are gearing up for a much better post-season performance in this post-season and the Bolts will play with a tremendous amount of effort and energy in this game. The Bruins were fortunate to beat the Panthers Thursday and Boston's two recent losses came by a combined score of 14 to 5. One of those ugly losses was on home ice too and this is great spot for Lightning to hand them another one. 10* TAMPA BAY

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #70 Friday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Jets Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 8:05 ET - Marc-Andre Fleury was having a great season for the Golden Knights and had been on a strong run and the Vegas management had to go and screw it all up. At least that is my opinion with the Knights acquisition of Robin Lehner. We've seen this story before with Fleury in Pittsburgh. He did great there until they brought in a quality back and then it as if he cracked under the pressure. So now, instead of a back-up like Malcolm Subban behind him, Fleury has Lehner in the rear-view mirror. Lehner already off back to back great starts with Vegas. As for Fleury he is off an ugly effort against the division rival Kings that saw him allow 4 goals on just 17 shots! Now Fleury and the Golden Knights have to go on the road and face a hungry Jets team that has a high-quality netminder in Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes. Winnipeg is battling for their playoff lives and to get them as a home dog in a spot like this is truly a high value spot. The Jets have held the upper hand in recent meetings with Vegas and I fully expect that to continue here. The last two times Fleury was in the net against them, they won those games by a combined score of 10 to 4. Look for more dominance here as the situation is deal for a home rout. 10* WINNIPEG

Rickenbach NHL Rotation #55 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Ottawa Senators vs New York Islanders @ 7:35 ET - Marcus Hogberg has been better in goal of late in comparison with Craig Anderson. However, Hogberg has been dealing with a family matter and the Senators even recently called up goalie Filip Gustavsson from the minors. No matter how you look at it, Ottawa's goalie situation is tenuous right now and the fired up Islanders will take advantage. However, the issue for New York is they can't stop anyone! The Isles have allowed 15 goals in their last 4 games as they are suddenly struggling with some goaltending issues of their own. The Islanders offensive production should come back to life against the lowly Senators but I do look for Ottawa to pot a few goals as well and that is why I am grabbing the over in this match-up. The Sens have allowed 3.64 goals per game their last 14 games. The Senators have scored 3.2 goals per game their last 5 games. Neither of those stats includes OT or SO goals of course. That said, the Sens have been scrappy of late on home ice and we'll get their fair share here but look for the desperate Islanders to answer them goal for goal. The Isles still trying to secure a playoff spot and this game will feature plenty of scoring given all of the above. 10* OVER the total in Ottawa

Rickenbach NHL Rotation #48 Thursday 10* Top Play Florida Panthers Money Line (+) vs Boston Bruins @ 7:05 ET - Great home dog value here. The Bruins are off a huge win over rival Tampa Bay Tuesday. The Lightning have been a thorn in the side of Boston for a long time and, after that hard-fought 2-1 win and now playing on the road yet again, the Bruins fall flat here. Another divisional foe, Florida, has been lying in wait and goalie Chris Driedger is expected back for this one. Driedger has been great and the Panthers have revenge here after losing at home to the Bruins in their most recent meeting. That was preceded by Florida winning 6 of the last 9 meetings and I like this home underdog situation for the hungry Panthers. They enter this game off a home shutout versus Calgary Sunday. In other words, Florida has a rest edge and a motivational edge and a situational edge in comparison with Bruins here. Upset alert with the Panthers! 10* FLORIDA

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #39 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Calgary Flames vs Columbus Blue Jackets @ 8:35 ET - The Blue Jackets will build off their 5-3 win versus Vancouver Sunday as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit late in the 3rd period and scored 4 unanswered goals. That gives Columbus some momentum heading into this game but they still have a tough goaltending situation. Joonas Korpisalo is back but is still showing signs of rust from the time away when he was injured. Also, Elvis Merzlikins is now out with an injury and this is a Jackets team that has allowed 3.7 goals per game in regulation time of their last 10 games. Columbus allowed 3 goals in ALL TEN of those games. The total on this game is only a 5.5 and I feel we have great value with the over in this one. Calgary shutout the Blue Jackets at Columbus earlier this season so payback is on order here. The two meetings last season between these teams saw the clubs combine to average 10.5 goals per game! The Flames enter this game off a rare shutout as they won 3-0 at Florida Sunday. Prior to that low-scoring win, Calgary had allowed 3.7 goals per game in their 7 most recent games. While Columbus got back on track and will have extra confidence in the offensive zone in this one as a result, look for the home team to do plenty of damage in the offensive zone too! The Flames have scored an average of 4.3 goals per game their last 12 games! 10* OVER the total in Calgary

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #37 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) @ Washington Capitals @ 7:05 ET - The Capitals have revenge from an ugly home loss the last time they faced the Flyers. However, one has to be careful just blindly playing revenge situations. Take a closer look at this game and realize that Philadelphia is on fire right now and has a chance to further close the gap on Washington for the top spot in the division by coming up with a win here. If the Flyers get a regulation win in this match-up they will be just a single point out of first place in the Metropolitan! The Capitals are off a road win at Minnesota but that was preceded by a 10-game stretch that saw Washington lose 7 games! As for the Flyers, they enter this game on a 6-game winning streak and have just 5 losses in their last 20 games! Great value with the solid road dog price and I'll back the team that has been the much better team of late as the Flyers continue to play with a ton of confidence. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Non-Conference Game of the Year - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #18 Tuesday 10* Top Play New York Rangers Money Line (+) vs St Louis Blues @ 7:05 ET - Perfect set-up here. The Rangers had been surging but then ran into a red hot Flyers team and lost both games in a home and home set to wrap up last week. New York played better than the final score would indicate in Sunday's home loss to Philadelphia. Also, the Rangers will have Alexanadar Georgiev between the pipes for this one. He struggled against the Flyers Friday but had been red hot prior to that. Look for Georgiev to get right back on track and the Rangers are catching the Blues at the perfect time for a home dog upset. St Louis is off a key divisional win over Dallas on Saturday which saw the Blues win 4-3 in the shootout. The Rangers have revenge her as they lost at St Louis 5-2 in January. The Rangers had swept the Blues last season and won those games by a combined score of 6-3. Look for the home team to get payback here at an underdog price as St Louis is over-valued now because of their recent winning streak. The Blues had been ice cold prior to this 7-game run. The Rangers had won 9 of 10 prior the back to back losses to a red-hot Philly team. The value is clearly with the home dog here in a big way. 10* NEW YORK RANGERS

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #21 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Islanders vs Montreal Canadiens @ 7:05 ET - The under is attracting some attention here but in typical contrarian fashion I am on the over. The Islanders are though of as an "under" team but take a closer look at what they've done on home ice and you'll see why I like the over so much in this spot especially as we get value with the over 5.5 and not even having to lay any juice! The Isles are off a 4-0 home loss but that came against a tough Bruins team that was angry. Note that prior to that defeat, the Islanders had scored an average of 4.1 goals per game over their 10 prior home games! You can see that the Isles generally score well at home. The issue for New York of late has been between the pipes. The Islanders have started giving up more goals in recent games and now they face a Canadiens team that has been scoring quite well. That is why 6 of Montreal's last 7 games have totaled 7 or more goals. In 5 of those 7 games BOTH the Habs and their opponent EACH scored 3 goals. You can see why I am liking the over in this match-up as the Isles bounce back at home off a rare home ice shutout but will also struggle to stop the Canadiens here. 10* OVER the total in New York Islanders

Puck Line Punisher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #13 Monday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Puck Line -1.5 goals -115 @ Detroit Red Wings @ 7:35 ET - I am well aware of the fact that many of the Avs recent wins have come by a margin of just a single goal. However, Pavel Francouz is expected to get the start between the pipes here and the Avalanche netminder has allowed 2 or less goals in 6 straight starts. In fact, Francouz has allowed an average of 1.3 goals during this 6-game stretch. The Red Wings have seen Jimmy Howard have a horrific season so, once again, Jonathan Bernier is likely to be between the pipes here for Detroit. However, he has also cooled off after some very strong work in late January and early February. Note that Bernier has consistently allowed 3 or 4 goals in his recent starts the past few weeks. That said, I look for the Red Wings to allow 4 goals here as they continue to allow far too many shots on goal while the Avalanche continue their very strong defensive-minded play and are likely to allow just 1 goal here. That said, I see great value with Colorado (a 3 to 1 money line favorite) available at very nearly a "pick'em" price on the puck line at -1.5 goals in this one. The Red Wings are off a shootout loss at Ottawa but that was just the 6th loss by a 1-goal margin out of their last 35 losses. In other words, Detroit usually gets beat by 2 or more goals and I expect that to be the case again here as the Avalanche continue to be road warriors. 10* COLORADO Puck Line -1.5 goals -115

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #5 Sunday 10* Top Play Vancouver Canucks Money Line (+) @ Columbus Blue Jackets @ 7:05 ET - Count me in! I can get +130 and fade a team that has a muddled goal-tending situation and has lost 10 of its past 11 games. Not only is Columbus a mess right now with all their goalies suddenly struggling including normal #1 Joonas Korpisalo whom just got back, the Blue Jackets can't score. Perhaps the playoff pressure got to them and certainly they also got hurt by the recent losses of both Seth Jones and Cam Atkinsson to injury. Whatever the reason(s), the Jackets have scored an average of only 1.5 goals per game in their last 8 games. Also, the Canucks have revenge from a 5-0 home loss to Columbus late last season. The road team has dominated recent meetings between these teams and I look for to continue here. Not only have the Blue Jackets lost 10 of 11 games, the Canucks had won 18 of 27 games prior to suffering back to back road losses. That included a road loss yesterday at Toronto and Vancouver will be in full-on bounce back mode here. The Canucks are a solid 4-2-1 when playing on the road in the 2nd game of a back to back. With Demko getting the start yesterday we are likely to see Domingue between the pipes for Vancouver. A change of scenery can do a struggling goalie a lot of good and the Canucks picked him up specifically for the playoff push. That push resumes here while the Blue Jackets playoff fade continues. Upset time! 10* VANCOUVER

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #3 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Florida Panthers vs Calgary Flames @ 4:05 ET - The Panthers are off a 3-2 loss in the shootout versus the Blackhawks yesterday. Florida used #1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky which means he either has to go in a back to back here or they hand the starting nod to Sam Montembeault. Neiither option is particularly appealing. Montembeault has allowed 12 goals in his last 4 games. The Flames also are in a tough spot here after David Rittich got the start yesterday. That means Cam Talbot is likely to get the nod today. He has allowed 4 goals in each of his last 3 starts. Calgary has seen 9 of their last 11 games total 7 or more goals! The Flames have allowed an average of 4 goals per game their last 7 games and the Panthers are one of the highest scoring teams in the league. Calgary has scored an average of 4.5 goals per game their last 11 games! You can see why I am expecting plenty of goals in this situation which is further strengthened by the fact that is a back to back situation which further taxes the goaltending. 10* OVER the total in Florida 

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #79 Saturday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) @ St Louis Blues @ 8:05 ET - The road trip between St Louis and Dallas is not too tough. That said, maybe it should not come as a surprise that the road team is 10-5 in the last 15 games between these division rivals. The Blues just hammered the Stars 5-1 in Dallas last week and this is also a revenge game for the Stars because St Louis eliminated them from the post-season last year. The road team is 3-0 in the last 3 meetings between these teams and I look for Dallas to make it 4 in a row here. The Stars are off a loss at Boston but had won 7 of 9 prior to a tight loss to a tough Bruins team. St Louis is suddenly hot and has won 6 straight games but this was preceded by a stretch in which the Blue lost 10 of 12 and I feel they are over-priced in this key divisional rivalry. I am grabbing the revenge-minded road dog that is sure to bring their A game in this one and won't be denied. 10* DALLAS

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #67 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Tampa Bay Lightning vs Calgary Flames @ 4:05 ET - I am well aware of Steven Stamkos being out for this game but the Lightning are still loaded with firepower. Also, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has suddenly fallen on hard times. As a result, the last 6 Tampa Bay games have all totaled at least 7 goals and I see every reason to believe this one will make it 7 straight! The Lightning have lost 4 straight games and that is why, no matter the score today, the Bolts won't take their foot off the gas here. In other words, look for them to score plenty but the problem is that Tampa Bay is struggling in their own zone and Calgary can certainly take advantage. The Flames have seen 12 of their last 16 games total at least 7 goals. Calgary has scored an average of 4.6 goals per game their last 10 games. The Lightning have scored an average of 4 goals per game their last 10 games. Look for a wild one Saturday afternoon. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay

Total of the Month - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #53 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Columbus Blue Jackets vs Minnesota Wild @ 7:05 ET - The Blue Jackets could have Joonas Korpisalo back between the pipes tonight but how effective will he be after all the time away due to injury? Generally netminders are not at their sharpest in their first start back after a long layoff. The other two Columbus goalies, Elvis Merzlikins and Matiss Kivlenieks have both been struggling. Plus Merzlikins left the most recent game with an injury. No matter whom the Jackets have in goal I like my chances here in terms of the Wild scoring plenty of goals. The issue for Minnesota however is their own netminding. Yes, Alex Stalock had a strong effort against a bad Red Wings team last night, but now Devan Dubnyk is likely to start the second game of this back to back and he has allowed 3 or more goals in 3 straight starts. The total on this game is posted at just 5.5 goals and that is noteworthy given the goaltending situation and the fact that this is a revenge game for the Blue Jackets and they are on home ice. I do expect Columbus to respond and score well here but the Jackets have allowed at least 3 goals in 8 straight games. The Wild had allowed 3 or more goals in 4 straight games prior to their 7-1 win at Detroit last night. Minnesota has scored an average of 4.2 goals per game in their last 5 games. Take advantage of the low total posted here. 10* OVER the total in Columbus

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #57 Friday 10* Top Play Colorado Avalanche Money Line (-) @ Carolina Hurricanes @ 7:05 ET - Huge goalie edge expected for the Avalanche here. Yes, Philipp Grubauer is still out with injury but Pavel Francouz has been fantastic between the pipes for Colorado. Francouz is 4-0 his last 4 starts and 8-3 in non-conference starts and 9-2 in road starts this season. He has a superb .927 save percentage on the season and has been particularly sharp in recent weeks. As for the Hurricanes, they recently lost both Petr Mrazek and James Reimer to injury. This has left their goaltending situation in shambles and, unsurprisingly, Carolina is off an ugly 4-1 home loss to the Stars. It won't get any easier here as the Canes now face an Avalanche team that, like Dallas, is one of the best teams in the league. Colorado has won 4 straight games and 12 of its last 16. The Avs have also won 6 straight road games! The Avalanche have allowed a TOTAL of 6 goals in those 6 road contests. Yes, an average of just ONE goal per game and now the Avs face a Canes team dealing with a disastrous goalie situation. The result is a road rout. 10* COLORADO 

Game of the Month - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #48 Thursday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Jets Money Line (+) vs Washington Capitals @ 8:05 ET - The Capitals opened up as a -135 favorite here and the line is all the way up to as high as a -160. While Washington certainly is a high-quality team, the Jets aren't exactly doormats and they are offering great value here as a sizable underdog on home ice. Winnipeg rallied from a 3-0 deficit to force OT in DC on Tuesday. They did end up on the wrong end of a 4-3 overtime result but the comeback gives the Jets a ton of confidence heading into this rematch. Keep in mind, Winnipeg is still very much alive in the post-season race and is fighting hard for a playoff spot. The Jets are now back on home ice where they have won two straight and 4 of their last 6. Overall, Winnipeg has had just 2 losses in regulation in its last 8 home games. While the Jets are starting #1 goalie Connor Hellebuyck here, the Capitals are expected to go with back-up Ilya Samsonov. The Caps back-up netminder is 0-3 in his last 3 starts and having a very rough February with an ugly .855 save percentage. Washington is a great team but very over-priced here and the situation is ideal for a home dog upset in this one. 10* WINNIPEG

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #35 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Florida Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs @ 7:05 ET - I know this total is unusual considering it is a 7 which is very rare. However, it is justified for many reasons. The Panthers are off an unusual low-scoring win at Arizona Tuesday. Yes, Sergei Bobrovsky had a great game between the pipes but he is very inconsistent and is likely to now get pummeled by the high-scoring Maple Leafs tonight. Bobrovsky has allowed an average of nearly 5 goals per game the last 4 times he entered a start off a game in which he allowed 1 goal or less. Indeed he often gets hammered in the very next start and he did allow at least 4 goals in all 4 of those starts! As for the Maple Leafs, Frederik Andersen had a fantastic shutout win recently against the Penguins. However, other than that, Toronto has given up 19 goals in the other 4 games which Andersen has started the past two weeks. Given the above situational factors for the goaltending as well as the fact that these are two of the highest scoring teams in the league, I am rolling with the over in this one. The total is big but you can see that, per the above, it would not be a surprise to see each team give 4 goals here and that means we're talking about at least a 5-4 final. Look for a wild one in this divisional match-up. 10* OVER the total in Florida

Puck Line Punisher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #27 Wednesday 10* Top Play Buffalo Sabres Puck Line +1.5 goals (-) @ Colorado Avalanche @ 8:05 ET - There is a build up toward the playoffs at this time of year and games are tightening up as a result. 10 of 14 games so far this week have been decided by a single goal. When looking specifically at the Sabres and Avalanche you'll also see why I like having the +1.5 goals here and we're also getting value since this is priced in the -130 range as of very early game day morning. Buffalo has won 6 of its last 8 games and, in the Sabres last 9 games they have just 1 loss that came by a multiple-goal margin. Colorado has been playing well again and certainly is getting fantastic goaltending from Pavel Francouz. However, the Avalanche have not been scoring like they were earlier this season. The Avs have scored an average of only 2 goals per game their last 9 games. Colorado enters this game on a 3-game winning streak but that was preceded by 3 straight losses. Also, 4 of the last 6 Avalanche wins have come by just a single goal. Both teams made some moves at the trade deadline and I like what the Sabres did there and also they come into this game as the healthier hockey club. 10* BUFFALO Puck Line +1.5 goals

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #3 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Montreal Canadiens vs Vancouver Canucks @ 7:05 ET - Vancouver just lost #1 goalie Markstrom to injury. The Canucks picked up Domingue in a trade but he has struggled this season. The regular back-up for Vancouver is Demko and the over is 12-5 in his starts this season. The Canucks enter this game off a huge 9-3 win over the Bruins. Vancouver has scored an average of 4.4 goals per game their last 5 games. The Canucks have allowed 3 or more goals in 8 of their past 10 games. The Canadiens Price is off a shutout win but that was preceded by a stretch in which he allowed 3 or more goals in 6 straight starts. In other words, with this total posted at 6 goals and the odds favoring each netminder allowing 3 goals, we've got a great shot at a 4-3 final at the very least in this one. The Habs have scored at least 3 goals in 4 straight games. 10* OVER the total in Montreal

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #7 Tuesday 10* Top Play Dallas Stars Money Line (+) @ Carolina Hurricanes @ 7:05 ET - In a very unlikely event, the Hurricanes lost both their goalies to injury and then used an emergency goalie in a 6-3 win at Toronto Saturday. Now a team without either of their two goalies is facing a team with two fantastic goalies. Dallas has Bishop as their #1 and also has a back-up delivering a great season as Khudobin has been fantastic. Additionally we're also getting great line value here since Dallas is on the road. Note that Carolina had lost 8 of 15 games prior to the win over the Maple Leafs which became the David Ayres story. Great story by the way with the emergency goaltender but now reality sets in and the Canes are truly hurting at the goalie position after losing both Mrazek and Reimer to injury. Dallas absolutely will take advantage. The Stars have won 9 of their last 13 road games and also are on overall 6-1-1 run their last 8 games! Grab the road dog in this one. 10* DALLAS

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #69 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Columbus Blue Jackets vs Ottawa Senators @ 7:05 ET - I am aware that Joonas Korpisalo is back from his injury but the Blue Jackets netminder is highly unlikely to come in and be 100% on top of his game in his first game back if he even plays tonight. That said, note that the Blue Jackets goaltending has cooled off tremendously as they have endured an 8-game losing streak. Columbus has allowed 3 or more goals in 6 straight games. The Jackets are hosting a Senators team which has allowed 3.7 goals per game in its last 9 games. Ottawa has allowed 3 or more goals in 8 of its last 9 games. The Sens are off a shutout loss which followed an ugly 5-1 loss to Winnipeg. The Senators will look to play the role of spoiler here and I expect a bounce back after those poor efforts. Couple that with the fact that the Blue Jackets are desperate to get in the win column and I feel we have great value with this total at 5.5 goals. Note that it opened up at 6 goals and has moved down from that. We'll take advantage as both of these teams continue to endure a stretch of questionable work from their respective goalies. 10* OVER the total in Columbus

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #59 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Islanders vs San Jose Sharks @ 5:05 ET - Most will be thinking under here because of the recent trending of these teams. However, there is more than meets the eye here at first glance. In typical contrarian fashion, I am on the over. The Islanders didn't score well at all on their recently completed road trip. However, they are a different team when on home ice. The Islanders are 5-2-1 in their last 8 home games and have averaged 4.3 goals per game in those 8 games on home ice. The over is 5-1 in the Islanders last 6 games. Sharks goalie Martin Jones has played well in his two February starts but remember he allowed at least 4 goals in each of his January starts. He will likely be between the pipes here because Aaron Dell got the start yesterday in the 3-2 loss to the Rangers. Sharks had a 2-1 lead there and let it get away. They have been consistently outshooting opponents by a wide margin on this road trip and that continued yesterday. Look for that to result in more goals here too as the Islanders over trend on home ice continues. 10* OVER the total in New York Islanders

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #55 Sunday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Jets Money Line (-) @ Buffalo Sabres @ 3:05 ET - Perfect set up here. The Jets ran into a red hot Flyers team yesterday and lost 4-2 at Philly. The Sabres were also in Pennsylvania yesterday as they faced Pittsburgh. Buffalo caught the Penguins looking ahead to their big divisional match-up with the Capitals taking place today. The Sabres took full advantage and beat the Pens 5-2. Now, off an upset win and hosting an angry Winnipeg team, the Sabres are likely to get beat by the Jets. The road team should have the edge in goal. Since Buffalo used Carter Hutton yesterday and Winnipeg used Connor Hellebuyck yesterday, the likely goalie match-up here would be Jonas Johansson against Laurent Brossoit. The Sabres Johansson has very little NHL experience. The Jets Brossoit enters this start off 3 straight strong starts in which he has allowed 2 or less goals in each start. Winnipeg has the situational edge (off a loss while Buffalo off upset win) here and also has the edge between the pipes in my opinion. The Jets have gone 3-0-1 in their last 4 games against the Sabres including winning each of their last two visits to Buffalo. Look for another road team victory in this one! 10* WINNIPEG

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #37 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Maple Leafs vs Carolina Hurricanes @ 7:05 ET - Since the Hurricanes started Petr Mrazek last night they are likely to go with James Reimer between the pipes tonight. He is a former Maple Leaf and has struggled in his meetings with the Leafs since leaving Toronto. Overall he enters this start struggling as he has a 3.55 GAA in the month of February and is coming off back to back particularly poor outings. The Hurricanes lost 5-2 last night and that was the 8th time in their last 10 games that their game has totaled 7 or more goals. Now they face one of the highest scoring teams in the league coming off an unusual shutout win. The Maple Leafs just beat Pittsburgh 4-0 and could struggle in the D-zone here after that atypical result. Toronto entered that game against the Penguins having allowed 5 goals in each of their 2 prior games. Only 8 of 23 games that have followed a win by a margin of 2 or more goals this season have stayed under the total. The over is also 8-1 the last 9 times that the Maple Leafs have allowed 1 or less goal. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #40 Saturday 10* Top Play Ottawa Senators Money Line (+) vs Montreal Canadiens @ 7:05 ET - This is simply too much line value to pass up. The Canadiens still have playoff hopes but the division rival Senators would love to play the role of spoiler. The set-up here is ideal as the Sens are off a loss but this followed a stretch in which they won 3 of 4 games. Ottawa has NOT thrown in the towel on the season as evidenced by that stretch. As for the Habs they still have plenty to play for but a recent 5-game losing streak really hurt them. All the pressure is on Montreal in this game and they are off an OT win at Washington. That big road win was preceded by the 5-game winless streak and now the Canadiens face a division rival that would love to hurt their playoff hopes. The Senators have added motivation too because they have lost each of their last two games against the Habs and each defeat came in OT. Great home dog value here and I sense an upset as the Canadiens continue to squeeze the sticks too tight and the Sens are going to respond off a 5-1 home loss that was preceded by a solid stretch of play. 10* OTTAWA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #23 Friday 10* Top Play St Louis Blues Money Line (+) @ Dallas Stars @ 8:35 ET - The Blues are in a back to back here but this is still a great value spot to grab the defending Stanley Cup champs. St Louis has revenge from a 3-2 loss in OT versus Dallas less than 2 weeks ago. Keep in mind, the Blues never trailed in that game. Also, St Louis has won 4 of its last 6 visits to Dallas including eliminating the Stars from the playoffs last year. The fact is that St Louis has had the Stars number and Dallas is expected to start Ben Bishop here. He was originally drafted by the Blues and not only got eliminated by the post-season by St Louis last season, he is also 0-2 against them this season. Overall, the Blues have gotten back on track after some recent struggles. They have won back to back games via shutout fashion and have allowed a total of only 2 goals in their last 3 games. Even though Dallas is off a win, they allowed a ton of shots on goal against Arizona. This line opened up with the Stars as low as a -125 and that was with good reason. The markets are giving Dallas far too much respect here as this line has been driven up to the 145 range. The Blues are 4-1 this season when playing on the road in the 2nd game of a back to back. Payback time for what happened two weeks ago. 10* ST LOUIS

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #20 Friday 10* Top Play UNDER the total in Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers @ 7:05 ET - The Hurricanes are expected to start Petr Mrazek here between the pipes. He has a .911 save percentage at home this season and, should James Reimer get the start he has a .914 save percentage on home ice this season. This is a key battle in divisional action as these Metropolitan foes are both battling for their playoff lives. The Canes current positioning is certainly much better than that of the Rangers but New York is playing some of their best hockey of the season. This game should play out with playoff-like intensity and the Rangers have been getting solid goaltending. The most recent meeting between these teams went over the total but that was preceded by a streak of 4 straight unders. The Rangers have allowed 3 or less goals in 8 straight games including an average of just 2 goals per game their last 6 games. Only 5 of the Rangers 16 divisional games this season have resulted in an over. Only 26 of the Hurricanes last 67 home games with a posted total of 6 or more goals have gone over the total. Look for a playoff-level defensive-minded battle in this one. 10* UNDER the total in Carolina

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #9 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Ottawa Senators vs Winnipeg Jets @ 7:35 ET - The Jets beat the Senators 5-2 in Winnipeg about two weeks ago. Look for another big game from the Jets here but also look for the Sens to score a little better on home ice. Winnipeg has won 6 of 9 games and the Jets have scored an average of 4.7 goals per game in those 6 victories. The Jets will take advantage of a Senators team that has allowed 3.6 goals per game its last 7 games. While Ottawa has struggled at times in their own zone and is also not the same team without goalie Anders Nilsson, the Sens do have some momentum here as they have won 3 of their last 4 games thanks in part to strong production in the offensive zone. Ottawa has scored an average of 4 goals per game its last 4 games. The over is 7-2 this season when the Senators enter a game having played each of their 3 prior games on home ice. The home cooking has, indeed, been serving the Sens well. The over is 16-9-1 in Winnipeg's non-conference games this season and they continue their offensive surge here. 10* OVER the total in Ottawa

Early Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #8 Thursday 10* Top Play Toronto Maple Leafs Money Line (-) vs Pittsburgh Penguins @ 7:05 ET - The Maple Leafs are looking for immediate payback after getting thoroughly embarrassed at Pittsburgh on Tuesday. In that 5-2 loss Toronto actually was down 5-0 before making the final score slightly more respectable. The Leafs are now 0-2 against the Penguins this season but this is the first time they'll be meeting north of the border. Look for Toronto to take advantage of home ice here. The home team has won 9 of the Penguins last 13 games and Pittsburgh has only split their last 6 home games. They certainly are a different team when away from home. The Maple Leafs have won 5 of 6 games this season when they enter a game off 3 or more consecutive road games. The Penguins enter this game on a 3-game winning streak but, when entering a game on a winning streak of 3 or more games, that has been a situation that has seen them lose 5 of their last 7. The Maple Leafs are off back to back ugly 5-2 losses and they have won 5 of 6 games the last 6 times they have entered a game on a losing streak of 2 or more games. Bounce back time at a great price on home ice. 10* TORONTO

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #65 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Chicago Blackhawks vs New York Rangers @ 8:05 ET - This is an important game for each team as they're trying to remain relevant in the playoff races in their respective conferences. However, I still like the over in this match-up. With a total of 6.5 on this game, we just need each goalie to allow 3 goals and then we know the game has to end at 4-3 at worst. I am confident about the "3 goal factor" in this one because the Rangers Alexander Georgiev allowed just 1 goal in his most recent road start but that was against a slumping Blue Jackets club. In his 6 preceding road starts he allowed 3.3 goals per game. In terms of production in the offensive zone, the Rangers are off a tough loss against a streak Bruins club. However, prior to that, New York had won 4 straight games and averaged 3.5 goals in regulation time of those games. The Rangers should have no trouble resuming the surge on offense here against a Blackhawks club that has allowed an average of 4 goals per game in its last 5 games. As for Chicago's work in the offensive zone, they have had some ups and downs of late but that has had a lot to do with an extended stretch of schedule that has been very road-heavy. The Blackhawks now are back home and rested as they've had two days to prepare for this game. Chicago's most recent home game was a low-scoring game but that was against a stingy Bruins defense. In their 3 preceding home games the Blackhawks averaged 4 goals per game. More of the same expected here and each team gets to 3 goals in this one and that puts us in the winners circle. 10* OVER the total in Chicago

Atlantic Division Total of the Year - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #55 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Canadiens @ 7:35 ET - This is a contrarian play all the way but I feel we have great line value here. Not only is this total only a 5.5 but the over is available at plus money. Yes, the Red Wings are the worst team in the NHL and they have been struggling to score goals but lets look closer at some key variables here. For one thing, if Detroit was going to have a breakout game on offense it would likely come on home ice and when facing a team that is allowing too many goals of late. You can check the box on both of those factors here. So now lets get into some numbers here. The Red Wings have lost 14 of their past 16 games and have allowed an average of 4 goals per game in those 14 losses. The Canadiens are on a 4-game losing streak that has seen them allow nearly 4 goals per game as well (including 1 OT marker). So the value in this game is that both teams should be able to take advantage of some shoddy defense and leaky goaltending and both clubs also are willing to take risks to score more goals. The Habs know they let one get away in their 4-3 OT loss versus Dallas Saturday as they should have kept their foot on the gas. Both the Canadiens and the Red Wings, when it comes to pressure in the offensive zone, will keep their foot on the gas in this one. 10* OVER the total in Detroit 

PA Insider - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #53 Tuesday 10* Top Play Toronto Maple Leafs Money Line (+) @ Pittsburgh Penguins @ 7:05 ET - This is a contrarian play. Line looks funny doesn't it? Pittsburgh is 21-5-4 at home this season and the Maple Leafs have lost about half their road games and yet the Penguins are favored in the -135 range here. Don't be fooled folks. The set up here is perfect. The Pens are feeling a little too good about themselves because they are off back to back wins by a combined score of 9-2. However, they faced the slumping Canadiens and the league-worst Red Wings. Now Pittsburgh is in for a rude awakening here as the Maple Leafs come to town. Toronto is angry for multiple reasons. One is that they are off a 5-2 loss at Buffalo. Another reason is that they lost 6-1 at Pittsburgh earlier this season. Suffice to say the Leafs will be ready to go here and now Jack Campbell will be back between the pipes. He has played well as a change of scenery (recently acquired from Los Angeles) has done him well. Toronto is 3-0-1 in his 4 starts and he has allowed only 5 goals in regulation time of his last 3 starts. Look for another strong game from here and look for the high-powered Leafs to have the over-confident Penguins on their heels early and often in this game. The situational set-up here is perfect for an upset. Grab the plus money. 10* TORONTO

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #43 Monday 10* Top Play New York Islanders Money Line (+) @ Arizona Coyotes @ 4:05 ET - You can't get a much better set up than this one. The Islanders are off back to back shutout losses. The Coyotes are off a big home win over the Capitals (2018 Stanley Cup Winners) on Saturday. Arizona feels good about themselves after returning from a road trip back east on Friday and then beating Washington on Saturday. The Isles certainly don't feel good, they feel angry. They lost 1-0 at Vegas Saturday after a 5-0 thrashing at Nashville Thursday. This followed a stretch where New York had picked up at least a point in the standings in 7 of 8 games. I expect them to get right back on track here. Look for the acquisition of veteran defenseman Andy Greene to pay immediate dividends and give the Isles a jolt of energy here. The Coyotes have scored a total of just 3 goals in the last 3 meetings between these teams. The Islanders swept Arizona last season and can do it again this season with another win Monday completing the sweep. I look for them to do just that as the Coyotes win Saturday was just their 4th in the past 16 games. The road team comes into this one very hungry and won't be denied. 10* NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Matinee Mauling - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #45 Monday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Calgary Flames vs Anaheim Ducks @ 4:05 ET - The Ducks are off a 5-1 win at Vancouver yesterday and continue play better on the road than at home in recent weeks. That held true last week at Anaheim when the Flames annihilated the Ducks by a count of 6-0. That game went over the total and the last time these teams met at Calgary, it was a 6-1 Flames win that also went over the total. Speaking of high-scoring games, Calgary games have totaled 6 or more goals in 9 of their last 11 contests! The Flames have a tendency to give up a lot of goals on home ice and that continued in their 8-4 home loss to the Blackhawks Saturday. The good news for Calgary fans is that the Flames have scored an average of 5 goals per game their last 5 games. The Ducks have averaged 4 goals per game their last 3 games. We get a low total (5.5) here because of the long-term reputation of Anaheim and I am going to take advantage here. The Ducks are currently playing with a lot more confidence in the offensive zone but in the D-zone they have struggled to stop the Flames in many of their recent meeting. Also, John Gibson was between the pipes for Anaheim yesterday and that means veteran Ryan Miller is likely to get the start here. Miller had good road starts against the Kings, Hurricanes, and Sabres recently but all those teams were in scoring funks. The Flames certainly are not and in Miller's 4 other road starts since late November he has allowed 19 goals! Yes, that's an average of nearly 5 goals per road start! 10* OVER the total in Calgary

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #35 Sunday 10* Top Play St Louis Blues Money Line (+) @ Nashville Predators @ 6:05 ET - Blues seek payback for a 4-3 home loss to the Predators yesterday. In fact, St Louis has now lost all 3 meetings with Nashville this season. The Blue also enter this game on an overall losing streak and they are hungry to get a win and get back on track. The goalie match-up is the key to this game. With this being a back to back situation, we know the goalies are 99% likely to be Jordan Binnington for the Blues and Pekka Rinne for the Predators. The key to the value in that regard is that St Louis hung Binnington out to dry in his most recent start as he faced 52 shots on goal in a frustrating OT loss at Vegas. The Blues will play much better in front of this one for him. Note that Binnington entered the start against the Golden Knights having allowed just 3 goals in each of his 4 prior starts. It was an aberration for sure. As for Rinne, he allowed 4 goals in only about 20 minutes in his most recent appearance. That was the 5th time in his last 10 games that he has allowed 4 or more goals. In the first month of the season, the Predators had a 4-game winning streak. However, the Preds have NEVER won 3 straight games since then. Nov, Dec, Jan, half of Feb, NEVER won 3 straight games. They enter this game on a 2-game winning streak. This is a situation that has seen Nashville go 0-7 the last 7 times. As for the Blues, they enter this game on a 4-game losing streak and have NEVER lost 5 straight games this entire season. In fact, when on a losing streak of 3 or more games, the Blues were 5-0 the last 5 times before yesterday's loss dropped them to 5-1 the last 6 times in that situation. Payback time here. 10* ST LOUIS

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #25 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Rangers vs Boston Bruins @ 3:35 ET - The Bruins are in a back to back. Since Tuukka Rask was between the pipes Saturday, it is expected that Jaroslav Halak will get the start here. The Bruins netminder has great recent numbers but he hasn't played in a week and a half as he re-aggravated an upper body injury. He may not be 100% here and certainly Halak could have some rust too. The surging Rangers will take advantage but, at the same time, I don't foresee New York shutting down the potent attack of Boston. That said, plenty of goals expected here. The Bruins have won 8 of their last 9 games. Boston has scored an average of 4 goals per game in their past 6 games. New York has won 4 straight games and averaged 3.5 goals per game in regulation time of those 4 victories. Overall, the Rangers have averaged 3.4 goals per game their last 7 games. I simply see no reason that each team won't get to at least 3 goals here based on the way these clubs have been playing. Of course a 3-3 game has to end at least 4-3. Hence, the value here and this is particularly true with the posted total at 6 goals. 10* OVER the total in New York Rangers

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #11 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Montreal Canadiens vs Dallas Stars @ 7:05 ET - We're getting line value here (total of 5.5 posted on this one) because both teams have reputations for playing lower-scoring games. However, the situation here dictates more scoring than you would typically see. First off, Montreal is in a back to back spot and that means the back-up goalie for the Canadiens unless Carey Price plays the 2nd game of a back to back. I really do not expect Price to play because he has been playing a lot already with the Habs recent schedule. However, if Price does play, note that he is winless in his 3 starts with zero rest this season and he has a 3.74 GAA in those appearances. Whether Price or a back-up (Canadiens back-ups have struggled all season) the surging Stars will take advantage. Dallas has won 3 straight games and scored 7 goals their last 2 games. The thing is, Montreal is fighting to stay alive in the playoff race as they have lost 3 straight games. So, even though the Canadiens have a goaltending situation, I still expect them to play a very inspired game in the offensive zone tonight on home ice. As a result, more goals here at both ends than many are expecting. By the way, the over is 3-1 the last 4 times the Canadiens have played the 2nd game of a back to back and those games averaged 7.5 goals. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Montreal

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #5 Saturday 10* Top Play Edmonton Oilers Money Line (+) @ Florida Panthers @ 4:05 ET - The Panthers are slumping badly. They have lost 6 of 8 games since the All Star break and got destroyed by the Flyers Thursday. Florida then held a players only meeting and they hope to turn things around. However, here's the problem. The issue for the Panthers is not as much the skaters as it is the goalies! Sergei Bobrovsky is slumping badly and he is known for being a very streaky goalie. In other words, until he snaps out of this he must be faded. Bobrovsky is 0-4 with a horrific .839 save percentage in his last 4 starts. With goalie Chris Driedger still on the shelf, the Panthers only other option is Samuel Montembeault. He has only made 6 starts this season and, overall, has been unimpressive. While the Panthers have been struggling between the pipes, the Oilers have been getting solid work from both Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen. Edmonton has allowed 3 or less goals in 9 of its last 10 games. Comparatively, the Panthers have allowed an average of 4.6 goals per game in their last 5 games. Florida's penalty kill is one of the worst in the league while the Oilers have the top power play in the league this season. Yes I am of course aware of Connor McDavid being out but the other Oilers will step up after they fell short at Tampa Bay Thursday. It was 2-1 before an empty netter and there is no shame in losing to the Lightning in Tampa. Now watch Edmonton respond big here. Only once since the calendar turned to 2020 have the Oilers lost back to back games. Also, the Panthers have some injury issues with Brian Boyle out and Noel Acciari questionable for Saturday's afternoon match-up. 10* EDMONTON

Metropolitan Division Total of the Year - Rickenbach NHL Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Carolina Hurricanes vs New Jersey Devils @ 7:05 ET - Nice set up here. The Hurricanes are at home catching the Devils in the 2nd game of a back to back. New Jersey used their hot goalie, Mackenzie Blackwood, last night and he has been a difference maker for the Devils. When is he is not in the crease - which is likely to be the case tonight - New Jersey has been giving up plenty of goals. Plus the Devils will be facing a Hurricanes team hell-bent on getting back on track after a 4-1 loss at Dallas Wednesday. As a result, I do expect Carolina to score very well here. But the problem for the Canes is that they have been consistently allowing too many goals. The Hurricanes have allowed an average of 4.2 goals per game their last 6 games. On the other end of the ice, prior to being shutdown by the Stars, the Canes had scored an average of 3.8 goals per game in their 6 prior games. In fact the over was on a perfect 5-0 run in Carolina games prior to their loss at Dallas staying just under the total. The first meeting between these teams this season totaled 8 goals and I am expecting a similar result here. The Devils have been playing with more confidence of late as they have earned at least a point in the standings in 7 of their past 8 games. During this stretch New Jersey has scored an average of 3.6 goals per game. However, when Blackwood is not the starter, they have also been surrendering goals in bunches. The last 6 games that he did not start have seen the Devils allow an average of 4.7 goals per game! The over is 7-3 this season when New Jersey is playing the 2nd game of a back to back. 10* OVER the total in Carolina

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #80 Friday 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Penguins Puck Line -1.5 goals +140 vs Montreal Canadiens @ 7:05 ET - The Canadiens are off back to back losses and have lost 13 of their past 22 games. 4 of the Habs past 6 losses have come by 2 or more goals. The Penguins are angry off an OT loss at home versus the Lightning on Tuesday. The Pens have the rest edge here as this will be just their 2nd game in a span of 7 days! Pittsburgh is 8-0 the last 8 times they have entered a game off a loss. Now of course I am not laying the big money line price on the Penguins here. However, where I feel we have line value is with the +140 available on playing Pittsburgh to win this game by 2 or more goals. On deck for the Pens is a match-up with the Red Wings on Sunday. As for the Habs they have another game tomorrow in Montreal versus Dallas. Once the Canadiens get down early in this one I could see them packing it in. The Penguins will prove to be the much hungrier team after they feel they let one slip away versus Tampa Bay Tuesday - a game in which the Pens never trailed. 10* PITTSBURGH Puck Line -1.5 goals +140

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #51 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Maple Leafs vs Dallas Stars @ 7:05 ET - The Stars seek revenge for a 5-3 home loss to the Maple Leafs two weeks ago. That was the 3rd over in the last 4 meetings between these teams. Those 3 overs have averaged 10 goals per game with 8 goals in the last meeting and 11 goals in each of those two prior overs. Dallas has trended toward the under this season but their last 5 road games have averaged 6.4 goals per game. Also, long-term there have been just 10 unders the last 28 times that the Stars have played a road game with a posted total of 6 goals. The Maple Leafs are off B2B unders but that was preceded by a 13-5 run to the over! In the past two months Toronto had never had B2B unders. I don't see the streak reaching 3 straight unders. The Stars are out for blood here but the Maple Leafs are one of the highest scoring teams in the league. That means another very entertaining, high-scoring game between these two clubs is likely here. 10* OVER the total in Toronto