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.
WPG/TOR – We rarely see a move down in the point total without a strong lean on the odds, so I am going to take this somewhat seriously. The problem is that people are in agreement with it, so it might be as simple as that. Cautiously, I will scale down the offensive expectation. In addition, TOR’s odds have completely plummeted, and it’s clearly because of the absence of Auston Matthews. The interesting thing is that people are not flipping sides. It makes me think TOR might still be the answer. I’ll go with 3-2 TOR.
NSH/CAR – Similarly to the first game, we see some movement toward the under, although this one is in the odds, itself. I’ll take the same approach and scale down the offensive expectation a bit, but there is clearly no similar move in the ML. In fact, they haven’t budged. I will hold firm with CAR 3-2.
FLA/TB – Make this