Zero to Hero: Dominating the NHL Season with Smart Bets – October 21
Hi, all. Getting closer to the last day of the month – Halloween – which always starts “the holidays.” Best time of the 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 10/20
Player builder: Jonathan Huberdeau ❌
Stack builder: CGY1 (Lindholm one goal) ❌
Bet builder: Huberdeau O 1.5 SOG / Andersson O 1.5 SOG parlay (Andersson hit, but Huberdeau only had one) ❌
ML Builder Record: 5-1; +4.67 units
Prop Builder Record: 1-1; +1.05 units
THE BUILDER – OCTOBER 21
The Player Builder: Zach Hyman ($6500 DK / $7400 FD)
Hyman is doing his normal thing so far this season; in four games, he has two goals (on 10 shots) and four assists. You’d like to see him shooting more, but there are only so many shots to go around on this elite offense. This game is the only one with a game total of seven, and the Oilers have an implied team total of almost 4.5. Additionally, the Oilers have mixed up their lines and four of the five on the top power play (minus RNH) are together on the top even-strength line, which bodes well for his opportunity..and the vast majority of Edmonton’s production comes from those five players. His price on both sites is such that you can comfortably stack him or consider him as a strong one-off with some other lower-priced stacks.
The Stack Builder: COL PP1 (Mackinnon/Rantanen/Lehkonen/Johansen/Makar)
The Avalanche are off to a great start at 4-0-0. They’re averaging 3.75 goals per game, led by Mikko Rantanen’s three. They are shooting almost 40 shots per game (paced by Nathan Mackinnon’s 27, good for second in the league). Even Arturi Lekhonen is getting in on the fun, shooting the puck 20 times in his four games since being promoted to this line. They are facing the Hurricanes who kill penalties at a not-good 73% clip. The Canes are averaging a stellar 4.6 goals per game, but they’re also giving up more goals than they allow, which speaks to a great environment for offense tonight. The ML agrees as you can find COL at around a -160 favorite and projected to score just under four goals.
The Bet Builder: Predators ML / Wild ML parlay (around -110)
The Predators are taking on the lowly Sharks tonight in Nashville. The Preds come into the game at 2-3-0, but not for lack of trying: they are tied for the second most shots on goal. The Sharks have an incredible disparity in shots taken (21 per game) versus shots allowed (40!), which is prime for the Predators to make use of their talent. Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi and the rest of the Nashville offense are ready to break out, and this is a prime environment for that. Additionally, The ML for this game can be found in the neighborhood of -260.
Minnesota plays host to the Blue Jackets, who are on the second night of a back-to-back and who lost a tough and higher-scoring game to Jack Hughes and the Devils last night. The Wild should have plenty of offensive opportunities tonight against what should be a tired Columbus team who will also be without Patrick Laine. Kirill Kaprizov (two goals and four assists in six games) and Mats Zuccarello (six assists) have formed great chemistry on the top even strength and power play lines, and that should be on display tonight. Columbus comes in giving up 36 shots per game and killing penalties at just under 77%, which also bodes well for the 23% rate that Minnesota is successful with the extra man. The Wild are around -245 favorites for this game.
Mar 8, 2020; San Jose, California, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the second period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
