In this column, I go through the night’s NHL games and give my reads solely based on lines, odds, betting trends, and how I perceive others perceive the game. It’s the reading of all lines, and I try to keep a free-flowing, train-of-thought approach. The purpose of these reads is to find an edge either in DFS, actual picks, or both. Sometimes, no edge exists — or simply can’t be found. I make it a point to note that, as well. As always, please do your own research and due diligence and play responsibly.
CGY/OTT – There’s some nice movement on the odds for the point total, even if it has not changed, and it leads me to expect that we are capped at 6 goals. Quite frankly, it’s not far off from some games we have seen over the past few days. The part that is more difficult to interpret is the moneyline, as the odds have fallen and then risen. Part of it is from people, but I can’t determine if it’s all from people. What’s more disturbing is that the puckline has seem some aggressive moves, and everything is out-of-whack. I think the right play is to trust the oddsmakers, who have this game closer to 3-2/4-2 in favor of CGY, and it actually looks like 4-2 might be the answer. Cautiously, I’ll ask CGY to do something offensively, even if I don’t expect an outright explosion.
ANA/MIN – Between the two early games, this is clearly