DailyFaceoff/Corsica NHL Bets (November 2nd)
After going 0-2 for the first time this season on Wednesday, this post bounced-back with a 2-0 showing last night. The Islanders and Penguins 3-2 finish hit the UNDER and the Senators not only covered their +1.5 spread, but won outright vs. the visiting Sabres. That brings the overall record to 18-9 (66.7%) on the season.
Tonight, we have a two-game slate with one game currently going on in Finland, where Patrik Laine is trying to show he’s the “daddy” by scoring his fourth goal in four periods in his home country. On the night slate we have the Avalanche in Vancouver on the tail-end of a back-to-back and the red-hot Coyotes hosting the analytical darlings of Carolina.
Highest Value
Hurricanes @ Coyotes — Spread | CAR -1.5 (+254)
The Carolina Hurricanes got out of the gates hot, but have since lost five of their last seven games. The opposite has been true for the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes have caught fire since Alex Galchenyuk entered the lineup, winning four in a row while outscoring their opponents 20-to-5. We knew their early-season bad luck would turn to good fortunes eventually, but it might be time for regression.
The Hurricanes remain one of the best 5v5 teams in the NHL and should have a big advantage in that area again tonight. Covering a -1.5 spread is sometimes as simple as adding an extra net goal after a closely contested game, giving the Hurricanes a chance at hitting that mark no matter how this game shakes out. Petr Mrazek is expected to start for Carolina and he is 3-0-0 against the Coyotes in his career.
Highest Probability
Avalanche @ Canucks — Spread | VAN +1.5 (-222)
The Vancouver Canucks come into Friday’s game playing some of their best hockey of the season. Elias Pettersson is back healthy and picked up right where he left off, scoring two goals on six shots in three games since returning from injury. The Canucks are still a little banged up, especially on the blueline, but so are the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs will be without three forwards (Tyson Jost, J.T. Compher and Sven Andrighetto) which means they’ll be more than a one-line hockey team than they normally are.
Colorado is coming off of a crushing loss in Calgary last night, where they surrendered five third period goals to blow a 4-1 lead and lose 6-5.
The Canucks have won two straight against two strong Western Conference teams (MIN & CHI) and have decent chance at making it three in a row tonight. The Avalanche have dropped three of their last four and have been a fairly poor road team over the last 13 months.
Special-teams could decide this game. The Avalanche are 12th on the power-play and third on the penalty-kill, while the Canucks PP continues to struggle at just 17.5 percent. Either way, it should be a tight and potentially low-scoring game, which should allow the Canucks to keep it within two goals and cover the +1.5 spread.