in NHL Free Picks

Most sports bettors overlook the NHL when it comes to making their wagers for the night, preferring to stick pro and college football or basketball at this time of the year. However, there are several observations that can be made about the first month-and-a-half or so of the NHL season thus far. Here are some things to watch out for:

Thrashers and the Over

Whenever the Atlanta Thrashers play, the over is something you have to take into consideration. Early on in the season, this team was playing superb defense, even posting consecutive shutouts. However, since then, they tended to get into high-scoring affairs, usually ending up on the winning side.

Depending on their foe for the night, the over in Atlanta games have to be considered. Whether it’s the over for the game or the over for their team goals on the night, the Thrashers have made me a lot of money with their lack of defense and high octane offense. In fact, any time you see them listed at only 2.5 team goals, no matter the opponent, they are a good bet.

As well, don’t be scared away from game totals of 6.5 involving Atlanta. This indicates they are playing a team capable of matching their goal prowess. Most of my over Atlanta wins this season have involved game totals set at 6.5. This is a trend we have released on the BetUS.com Radio show repeatedly and listeners/customers such as Graig in Florida have been riding it for a while.

Lightning on the Money Line

Due to their early season struggles, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been great value lately on the money line. Still only a .500 team or so right now, they are 6-3-1 in their last 10 and have seen their goal-scoring pick up dramatically. If you act quick, you can get them on the money over the next few games and still see pretty good figures before the oddsmakers start catching on.

Oilers on the road

While the Edmonton Oilers are a fantastic home team, they have only one win on the road the entire season. Edmonton is a fast skating team and everyone knows their home rink has the best ice in the league (in fact, their icemakers were brought in to do the rinks at the 2002 Winter Olympics). So, it appears to be a good bet to go against them on the road these days- particularly when Edmonton travels to places with warm climates and sub par ice.

Stay away from Ottawa

Yes, the Ottawa Senators have a lot of talent and have underachieved this far. Everyone keeps expecting to see this team get on a roll. Don’t be sucked in to their good-looking odds right now. Let them get out of this early-season funk before hopping on them with a money line bet. Something is not right in Canada’s capital city and we advise against betting on them, at least for now.

Avalanche Overs

The Colorado Avalanche were not expected to be one of the league’s elite teams in 2006-2007. However, they are getting some good production out of their youngsters. But, because they are going with youth, they also give up goals. In fact, Colorado is in the top half of the league in scoring and giving up goals. Look at the overs in their games, especially against teams that can score as well. Again, don’t be afraid of the 6.5 game totals.

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