Zero to Hero: Dominating the NHL Season with Smart Bets – October 31
BOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! (It’s Halloween.)
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 10/30
Player builder: Ullmark(two goals allowed on 37 shots; win) ✅
Stack builder: VGK PP1 (two assists; team scored two goals total, one on the power play, but not from these). PUSH
Bet builder: BOS/VGK ML parlay ✅
Builder Record: 10-5; +6.45 units
THE BUILDER – OCTOBER 31
The Player Builder: John Woll ($8100 DK / $8000 FD)
As far as the Leafs’ net goes, most people are of the opinion that it should belong to Woll without question. He’s been fabulous in his four starts, going 3-1-0 with a sparkling 1.33 GAA and a nearly-immaculate .961 save percentage. The Kings, Toronto’s opponent, are in the top 10 in shots on goal, and they’re also on the road in the second half of a back-to-back. The Leafs have been much better defensively as of late: they gave up 16 goals in their first four games while giving up exactly half that in their last four, and it’s no coincidence that Woll was in net for the three of those games that they won, giving up five goals in those wins.
The Stack Builder: TOR2 (Tavares/Nylander/Bertuzzi)
Access to the top power play line but cheaper and usually lower owned. Still a great floor and ceiling for this line; Tavares (12 points) and Nylander (11) are actually outproducing their L1 counterparts in Matthews (10) and Marner seven)…and all four skate together on PP1. Kings are above average (85%) at killing penalties, so I’d rather attack this line at even strength, and Bertuzzi has a decent amount of upside as well and has been moved off of L1 to pair with these two. Way to get slightly different and maintain upside on this small slate.
The Bet Builder: John Tavares O 0.5 points / Quinn Hughes O 0.5 points (found around +126)
Tavares has been doing it all this season, finding himself second on the team in scoring with four goals and seven assists in eight games. He’s been very adept at continuing the chemistry he has with William Nylander (the Leafs’ leading scorer), and I see this continuing tonight. This line can be found around -210.
Hughes is seeing the most ice time for the Canucks at just over 24 and a half minutes per game. He’s also averaging right at a point per game with three goals and five assists; half of those points have come on the power play, which bodes well for his chances tonight as the Predators are killing penalties at just under 70%. This line can be found around -175.
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
