Zero to Hero: Dominating the NHL Season with Smart Bets – November 1
November! Can we listen to Christmas music now? Of course we can! Also, hockey continues…
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 10/31
Player builder: Woll (loss; forgot he was good and allowed four goals) ❌
Stack builder: TOR2 (goal and assist; 10 shots on goal) PUSH
Bet builder: John Tavares O 0.5 points / Quinn Hughes O 0.5 points parlay ✅
Builder Record: 11-5; +7.45 units
THE BUILDER – NOVEMBER 1
The Player Builder: John Oettinger ($8000 DK / $8500 FD)
Oettinger has been his absolutely normal elite self, going 4-0-1 with a 1.74 GAA and a .940 save percentage. The Stars’ offense hasn’t gotten off to a strong start yet, but the defense definitely has, limiting opponents to 30 shots per game and killing penalties at better than 95%, and Oettinger is a big part of their defensive prowess. Their opponent tonight, Calgary, has a -15 goal differential, second worst only to the Sharks, which in and of itself puts the Stars in a strong position for a victory tonight and for Oettinger to continue his unbeaten streak. Strong play in all formats.
The Stack Builder: COL PP1 (Mackinnon/Rantanen/Lehkonen/Johansen/Makar)
The Blues have been rather pedestrian defensively to start the season, and that means going with the team that is third in the league in shots per game (nearly 35) and is converting on just over 18% of its power plays is a lovely place to start. The Blues have been decent at killing penalties (80%), but the Avs’ power play is humming along; additionally, all six of the team’s power play goals (and 20 of the team’s 27 in total) have come from this line.
The Bet Builder: COL ML / DAL ML parlay (found around +130)
The Avalanche come into their matchup with the Blues on a two-game losing streak, but there shouldn’t be a ton of concern with their matchup. Colorado is scoring close to four goals a game and are putting the puck on net the third most in the league (just under 35), whereas the Blues are averaging half that (14 goals in seven games). Mikko Rantanten is pacing the Avs with 12 points in eight games, and Alexandar Georgiev is guarding his net to great effect. This line can be found around -255.
The Stars are facing the Flames tonight, who are just 2-6-1 with a goal differential of -15, second worst in the league only to the lowly Sharks. Dallas is just a point behind the Avalanche for tops in the Central at 5-1-1, and the play of John Oettinger (4-0-1, 1.74 GAA, .940 save percentage) is a big reason why. The Stars’ offense is averaging just over three goals per game, but Calgary is not operating on the same level overall as the visiting team in this matchup. This line can be found around -140.
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
