Date | Match Up | Rating | Score | Result | Profit | Lead Time | Analysis |
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08-26-20 | Lightning -105 v. Bruins | Top | 7-1 | Win | 100 | 8 h 20 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. After being upset in Game 1, the Lightning bounced back nicely last night to take Game 2 in OT over a very determined Bruins team. Now, with no off-day, the Bolts have to avoid another letdown. They know now that the Bruins are not going to go away without a fight and there's plenty of size on that Boston roster to go toe-to-toe with the talented and speedy Bolts. The key to this series will almost certainly be between the pipes. While the Bruins feature a goalie who was part of a Jennings Trophy-winning tandem in Jaroslav Halak, Tampa has on its side the best young net-minder in the game (and the defending Vezina Trophy winner), Andrei Vasilevskiy. Ironically by the numbers, Vasileveskiy was actually slightly worse in Game 2 than Game 1, but he was huge for his team when it needed him most. With its Game 2 victory, Tampa is now 20-7 in its last 27 vs. division opponents. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-25-20 | Bruins v. Lightning -106 | Top | 3-4 | Win | 100 | 16 h 44 m | Show |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. When a team goes from playing a huge revenge match-up in the first round to a very good team in the second round, they often find themselves flat. Such was the case for the Lightning in Game 1 of this series having come off of a big payback series with the Blue Jackets. By the time Tampa figured out it was playing the Bruins this time around, it had fallen behind 3-0. The Bolts were out-shot 15-10 in the first period. But after they woke up in the second period, the Lightning dominated the rest of the way, out-shooting the Bruins 27-16 in the final 40 minutes (but only managing to get two of the goals back). The 3-2 defeat was stinging for sure, but it should've taught Tampa Bay a lesson in the process. Expect 60 minutes of Lightning hockey tonight as the Bolts try to even this series. Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy had a rare off-night in goal but I expect him to bounce back big in Game 2. Tampa is 15-7 in its last 22 immediately following a loss to a Division rival. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie |
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08-24-20 | Stars v. Avalanche -156 | Top | 5-2 | Loss | -156 | 16 h 7 m | Show |
At 9:45 pm, our selection is on the Colorado Avalanche over the Dallas Stars. It's no small feat what the Stars pulled off in Game 1 of this series. The high-octane Avs finished off the Coyotes in the first round by scoring seven goals in back to back contests in Games 4 and 5 and out-scored them by a total of 22-8 in the series. Yet somehow the Stars managed to hold Colorado to just three goals in Game 1 and come away with a 5-3 victory. But don't think the offensive juggernaut of the Avs is done. They were the highest scoring offense in the regular season and they rarely throw back-to-back duds. The biggest problem for Colorado in Game 1 may have been that goalie Philipp Grubauer was playing hurt in the first period when the Stars netted three of their goals and he eventually came out of the game and was replaced by Pavel Francouz. Francouz is a solid back-up and will be ready for 60 minutes tonight. The Avs are 5-1 (+5 games on the money line) in their last six coming off a loss by at least two goals to a division rival. Take Colorado. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-23-20 | Bruins v. Lightning -105 | Top | 3-2 | Loss | -105 | 13 h 0 m | Show |
At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins. We're down to four teams in each Conference and perhaps no series is as compelling as this one. These two are everyone's favorite playoff underachievers (now that the Caps have won it all) since 2011, the last time one of them took home the Stanley Cup (Boston). Between them, the Bruins and Bolts have lost three Stanley Cup Finals in the last seven years and of course only one of these teams can get there this year. It's the Lightning who come into this quarterfinal series off of a major high, having beaten the team that knocked them out in four straight in the first round in 2019 (Columbus). Their mantra in this playoff run should be "No Stamkos, No problem" as the Bolts have been playing some of their best hockey of the season despite the continued loss of their Captain. This could be the best match-up for them right now as the Bolts are 19-6 (+9 games on the moneyline) in their last 25 games vs. Division foes. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-19-20 | Blue Jackets v. Lightning -171 | Top | 4-5 | Win | 100 | 4 h 28 m | Show |
At 12 noon, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets. There are two takeaways from this -- so far -- lopsided playoff series that could be wrapped up by Tampa this afternoon. The first is that revenge can be sweet as it was the Jackets who eliminated the heavily favored Bolts with a first round playoff sweep in 2019. The second is that a team with depth, a strong defense, and a Vezina-caliber goalie can overcome the loss of its best player as Tampa has done in the post-season so far without C Steven Stamkos. Since that first round shellacking, the Bolts have taken four of five meetings with the Jackets and look to make it five of six today while moving on to the next round. It's not like the Jackets have been a push-over as these battles are close, but it seems that the more tight, low-scoring games the Bolts play, the more they benefit. They are an super 44-15 in their last 59 after allowing one goal or less, while the Jackets are a horrid 24-35 (minus 13 games on the moneyline) when playing with double-revenge. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-17-20 | Lightning -151 v. Blue Jackets | Top | 2-1 | Win | 100 | 10 h 54 m | Show |
At 3:00 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Jackets. After a somewhat surprising comeback by the Blue Jackets in Game 2 of this series, the Lightning's stifling defense took over in Game 3. Tampa smothered Columbus pretty much the entire game on Saturday, allowing just 17 shots to get through to their outstanding net-minder (only seven in the last 45 minutes) and the Bolts won the game 3-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. Tampa has now out-shot Columbus by a whopping 159-102 over the course of the three games and if this continues then it will likely be lights out for the Jackets. In addition to the suffocating defense of their opponent, the Jackets are continuing to be hampered by the loss of several key offensive players. On the other side, with the depth the Lightning have, they haven't seemed to have missed star Steven Stamkos who has been out with a lower body injury. A lot of teams will suffer letdowns off wins, or bounce back after losses, but not these two teams. Tampa is 112-62 (+9 games on the moneyline) off a win, while the Jackets are a poor 18-23 this season off a loss, and just just 14-21 (-5 games on the money line) in its last 35 revenging a loss against an opponent. Take Tampa. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-16-20 | Flyers -130 v. Canadiens | Top | 1-0 | Win | 100 | 13 h 39 m | Show |
At 8:00 pm, our selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers over the Montreal Canadiens. Those who thought that the Canadiens' improbable run would end quickly in round one against the talented, top-seeded Flyers were in a for a bit of a shock on Friday. The lowest seeded team, who beat the mighty Penguins in four games in the play-in round, shocked Philly with a 5-0 rout two nights ago. Veteran goalie Carey Price was magnificent, stopping all 30 shots he faced while the Flyers pulled their #1, Carter Hart, after he allowed four goals and replaced him with veteran Brian Elliott. If you're a Flyers fan there's no need to panic just yet. Philly was simply flat on Friday and the Flyers have done a really good job recently at bouncing back after games like that. Philly is 7-2 (+6 games on the moneyline) in its last nine after a blowout loss of at least five goals in the previous contest. The Flyers are also 14-5 (+10 games on the moneyline) in their last 19 revenging a loss to an opponent. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are a poor 6-11 this season (and 16-32 the past 3 seasons (-15 games on the moneyline)) when matched up against the league's best teams (which outscore their foes by 0.5 goals per game). Take Philadelphia. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
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08-15-20 | Lightning -167 v. Blue Jackets | Top | 3-2 | Win | 100 | 13 h 26 m | Show |
At 7:35 pm, our selection is on the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Columbus Blue Jackets. You have to hand it to the Blue Jackets. After a devastating 5 OT loss in Game one on Tuesday, you wouldn't blame them if they packed it in. But Columbus sucked it up and came back in Game 2 on Thursday and beat the favored Bolts, 3-1. Now it's up to Tampa to show that it can rebound in the same manner. The Lightning once again had a huge shot advantage in game two, 37-22, but following his NHL record 85-save performance in Game 1, Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo was stellar once again. Look for the Bolts to shake up their front lines in an effort to get back to the type of scoring they had during most of the regular season (first in the NHL at 3.47 GPG). The banged-up Jackets will once again be without several key offensive players, including Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson, and Cam Atkinson. Tampa is 19-3 (+14 games on the moneyline) in its last 22 after scoring 1 goal or less in its previous game, and 59-25 (+20 games on the moneyline) off a loss. Take the Lightning. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |