NHL total I am not sure if there is much interest in the NHL on this forum. When I share my picks with guys from the "Tuesday Crew,"they tell me not to bother with a writeup since they neither understand "hockey lingo"nor know any of the players.Even on this site, hockey plays are relegated to the "field."
I played Pitt/Ottawa over 5.5 (+100).Normally, I am a statistical handicapper. However, my play on this total is basically a fundamental look at the matchup. The Pens lost another blueliner, Jay McKee, in their last game. He is a "stay at home" defenseman who anchors the Pens defense. Since late October,Pittsburgh has lost five of their top six defensemen due to injuries.They have three defensemen called up from their Wilkes-Barre farm team playing major minutes.The good news is that Pitt should get back Gonchar and Talbot back tonight. Gonchar is the "point" on their power play and is their best offensive defenseman. He has been out for nearly a month.Last year's leading scorer, Malkin, has missed 10+ games due to an injury..He returned two games ago and the Pens have scored 11 goals in those two games.Surprisingly,Pittsburgh's power play was ranked second last (29th)in the NHL. In fact, without Malkin and Gonchar ,they went on a streak of 30 consecutive pp's without a goal.That should change with the return of these two key players.
Ottawa's starting goalie,Leclaire, has been inconsistent at best. He had been called out by his coach for his spotty play. However, had an impressive game in his last outing versus the offensively challenged Leafs.If previous form holds true, I don't expect him to have two dominant games in a row.The Sens' main off-season acquistion, Kovalev, has scored 4 points in his last 4 games after struggling with his new team early in the season.He is scheduled to return to Russia to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law.However, he is not going to leave until after tonight's game.If he wasn't going to play tonight, I would have passed on the total.
Since one could make a strong statistical argument for playing the under on this contest, I am playing only one unit on the "over."If you play it,please bet it accordingly.This is more of a "qualitative" rather than a "quantitative" handicap.
Good luck,
charliej
