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Horse Racing NHL Hockey Friday Best Bets: Head West Young Lad
NHL Hockey Friday Best Bets: Friday, March 3rd
Our resident pucks pundit Ej Garr is on the prowl for a pair of winning tips for Friday night, and it looks like he’s headed to the West Coast to find them. Ej will start in Edmonton and work his way down to Fabulous Las Vegas covering a pair of important games with playoff-bound teams involved, so let’s take it to the ice!
In this article:
- Edmonton Oilers vs Winnipeg Jets Preview
- Edmonton Oilers vs Winnipeg Jets Best Bet
- Vegas Golden Knights vs New Jersey Devils Preview
- Vegas Golden Knights vs New Jersey Devils Best Bet
Edmonton Oilers vs Winnipeg Jets Preview
March 4, 02:05 (UK time)
The Winnipeg Jets are falling apart right in front of our eyes and now they have a road team against a hot Oilers squad that just plowed their way through the Maple Leafs two nights ago. Currently mired in a 4-game losing skid, the Jets are tied with Seattle with 72 points for the 7-8 positions in the Western Conference table.
Calgary is only five points behind them both now, but Le Flame isn’t exactly playing their best hockey of later either. By the same token, the Jets can’t afford to look at who is behind them because they need to worry about what they can control and not what they cannot.
The Oilers are 39 – 23 to the over 6.5 goals odds, and I believe they are going to be the large contributor to why they get close to that number tonight. I am not going to bother with the game total because when I opened the team total lines and saw Marathon offering 1.94 odds on the Oilers Team Total Over 3.5, I knew that was the best bet to make from this affair.
I honestly don’t want to hope that Winnipeg can muster up enough offense to get us more than 7 goals tonight, but I do think Edmonton can put up a 5-spot at home tonight. Connor Hellbuyck is listed as the starting netminder tonight, and over his last two skates, he has allowed 5 goals each night. Catching the Oilers right now is not a good situation when you are a struggling goalie, and I think they’ll keep Hellbuyck reeling further.
Stuart Skinner has allowed only two goals in 4 of his last 5 outings, and the other was a mere 3goals allowed to a strong Bruins outfit. Skinner looked impressive against the Leafs the other night, stopping 28 shots in a 5 – 2 win against another playoff-bound team.
Yes, I am aware that these two teams stink in this building when they get together. The last 4 meetings in Edmonton have seen a total of 12 goals but that will change today. Every situation is different and I can guarantee the Oilers want to get the Jets back for their 2 – 1 win in this building back in December. Revenge is a wonderful thing when you can channel it the right way!
Edmonton Oilers vs Winnipeg Jets Best Bet
I don’t think the Oilers will want to let Hellebuyck get comfortable at all, knowing he has given up 5 goals in each of his last two outings. Keeping a goalie busy is a great way to test their confidence, and I think the Oilers are going to throw at least 37 shots at the Jets tonight.
We just need four of those shots to find glory, so I offer the Oilers team total with reasonable odds of just below even money.
- Selection: Edmonton Team Total Over 3.5 Goals
- Best odds: 1.94 (Marathon)
- Stakes: 4/10
More Edmonton Oilers vs Winnipeg Jets Tips
Vegas Golden Knights vs New Jersey Devils Preview
March 4, 03:05 (UK time)
So after I got done watching my Rangers play like junk against Philly last night, sorry for the btw, I tuned in for the Jersey Avs game. It figures I had that Over 6.5 at 2.23 posted on my social site but I didn’t make that my best bet yesterday. I thought the Rangers would do what these same Devils did to them breaking out a 7 – 0 against the Flyers before heading to Denver to face Colorado.
What a game it was to watch too, as the Devils came out guns-a-blazing following up that effort against the Flyers. Once again, the Devils found their way to another 7-goal effort in Denver and it was 5 – 4 before the mid-way point of the second period.
Andrej Palat netted the first goal of the game just a minute into the contest, and New Jersey carried that to a 3 – 0 lead before the Avs responded. With only 14 seconds left in the opening frame, Nate MacKinnon continued to stay hot getting the Avalanche back in the game… or so we thought.
Ironically, it was Vitek Vanacek who was pulled from the game for New Jersey after 19 shots and 5 goals allowed, while the Avs stuck with Justus Annunen who was only making his second appearance of the campaign. Annunen was smoked early and often, but the Jersey offense was incredibly in tune with each other and you could see it throughout the game.
Jersey looked faster, looked more confident, and they weren’t just throwing pucks at the net with hopes for a rebound or a deflection with men in front of the net.
With MacKenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier out for the Devils, Vanacek will be thrown right back into the fire tonight as the listed starter for tonight’s game. Adin Hill is undoubtedly posting his best career numbers in his sixth season in the NHL, posting a 2.50 GAA and a 15 – 6- 1 overall record.
The Knights just did the Devils a favour in their last game against the Hurricanes coming away with a 3 – 2 win. New Jersey and Carolina are in a highly contested battle for the Metropolitan Division lead with only one point separating the two organizations at the moment.
I know folks out there dig into some trends, so I will support my play on this total with some numbers for you. The Devils Over are 7 – 2 in their last 9 games against Pacific Division opponents, and 9 – 3 over the total in their last 12 road games.
Only once in New Jersey’s last six outings have been held to under four goals and the way they looked to me last night I see them being aggressive with the same mindset in this game.
Vegas Golden Knights vs New Jersey Devils Best Bet
Because Pinnacle is leaving a decent price on the board at 1.89, that is nothing to ask for 6 pucks to find the net in Vegas. Take in a show, go hit the slot machines, and enjoy your walk to the window to cash a ticket on this total.
Oh, by the way. It will be my birthday when these games start on the 4th, so feel free to give me cheers, mates!
- Selection: Total Over 6 (OT-Incl)
- Best odds: 1.89 (Pinnacle)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as of 8:00 am March 3, 2023. Odds may now differ.
More Vegas Golden Knights vs New Jersey Devils Tips
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