Zero to Hero: Dominating the NHL Season with Smart Bets – October 19
Hi, all. Over halfway through October…the weather is changing…the holidays are right around the corner… What a great time of year.
The premise of each article in this series is to feature a few “safe” foundational plays to build some strong cash lines around as well as to offer any props or straight bets that have some solid potential. We’re looking for players and teams that have a solid floor and are in a good spot matchup-wise; these will be the building blocks of a booming bankroll. (Yeah, I alliterized…deal with it.) I will also provide a recap from the day before and rewind to see if we were on the right plays. Keep in mind that just like a regular season, the building of a solid bankroll is a grind – it requires patience, mental fortitude, and discipline to weather the cold streaks until things turn around and you go on a heater.
Recap from 10/18
Player builder: Dylan Larkin (three assists and four shots) ✅
Stack builder: OTT1 (one goal and five assists on 14 shots) ✅
Bet builder: Larkin O 3.5 SOG / Malkin O 2.5 SOG parlay ✅
ML Builder Record: 4-1; +3.67 units
Prop Builder Record: 1-0: +2.05 units
THE BUILDER – OCTOBER 19
The Player Builder: William Nylander ($7300 DK / $7800 FD)
Boy, what a difference a contract year can make. Nylander has been a very good player for awhile, but he’s started this season white-hot with three goals and three assists in the Leafs’ first three games. He’s averaging over 20 minutes of ice time and has taken a very efficient 13 shots in those minutes. He’s continued to find great chemistry with John Tavares and should find more success tonight against the Panthers, who are not a good defensive team.
The Stack Builder: TOR PP1 (Matthews/Marner/Tavares/Nylander/Klingberg)
Toronto as a team has scored 13 goals in their first three games and are averaging close to 37 shots per game, good for second in the league. The Panthers are giving up 3.67 goals per game; they are also allowing five power play chances a game this season and have given up goals in two thirds of them. The Leafs have only had 10 power play opportunities, but they’ve scored on four of them. They also spread out their four forwards between their top two even strength lines, which makes this an even nicer play – Matthews and Marner play together on the top line and Tavares and Nylander pair up on the second line, so there is correlation all over. This game also has an O/U of 7 at near even money, so there should be plenty of offense to go around.
The Bet Builder: COL/BOS ML parlay (found around -135)
The Bruins take on the lowly Sharks tonight in San Jose. Boston has won both of its games so far this season by its stellar defense, giving up just a goal and a half a game thus far. David Pastrnak has picked up right where he left off last season with three goals in two games. The Sharks are on the flip side of that coin, having given up 11 goals in three games and allowing an average of 42 shots per game. This game (ML around -280) should go the Bruins’ way.
The Avalanche offense has been as advertised this season so far. They take on the Blackhawks tonight at home having won their first three games of the season. They are averaging a league-best 39 shots on goal per game and are led by Mikko Rantanen (three goals and two assists) and Nathan Mackinnon (goal and two assists; 21 shots). This matchup bodes well for the Avs as the Blackhawks are allowing over 36 shots per game, the third most in the league. Connor Bedard has been as advertised so far with a goal and two assists in his first four games, but the Blackhawks don’t have the firepower to keep up with the Avs, who come in as around -345 favorites.
Nov 26, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) passes the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin (8) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
