Dan Kaiser Sports Handicapper

The Vegas Golden Knights are 43-20-8 and are first in the Pacific Division. They have won four in a row and are coming off a 5-1 road win against the Minnesota Wild, The Blackhawks are 21-42-9 and are eighth in the Central Division, They are coming off a 5-3 home loss against the New Jersey Devils. They have split their two games this season. Vegas is fourth in the sport with 3.39 goals per game this season. On the defensive end, they are sixth with 2.65 goals allowed per game. The Blackhawks are 25th place with 2.71 goals per game. As bad as the offense is, the defense is worse, ranking 30th with 3.57 goals allowed per game. Vegas is allowing 1.75 goals in their last four games while Chicago is giving up 4.4 goals in their last five games. Vegas is second in the NHL against the puckline at 43-28, while Chicago is just 37-35. Vegas has the fourth-best goals-for average and the eighth-best goals-against, while Chicago is 25th in goals-for and 31st (next to last) in goals-against. Vegas has won four of its last five games, and 13 of the last 20 head-to-head games with the Blackhawks. Chicago has lost eight of its last nine and their last seven against the Western Conference.

Play on Vegas minus 1.5 goals. This is a 3% play.

The Vegas Golden Knights are 43-20-8 and are first in the Pacific Division. They have won four in a row and are coming off a 5-1 road win against the Minnesota Wild, The Blackhawks are 21-42-9 and are eighth in the Central Division, They are coming off a 5-3 home loss against the New Jersey Devils. They have split their two games this season. Vegas is fourth in the sport with 3.39 goals per game this season. On the defensive end, they are sixth with 2.65 goals allowed per game. The Blackhawks are 25th place with 2.71 goals per game. As bad as the offense is, the defense is worse, ranking 30th with 3.57 goals allowed per game. Vegas is allowing 1.75 goals in their last four games while Chicago is giving up 4.4 goals in their last five games. Vegas is second in the NHL against the puckline at 43-28, while Chicago is just 37-35. Vegas has the fourth-best goals-for average and the eighth-best goals-against, while Chicago is 25th in goals-for and 31st (next to last) in goals-against. Vegas has won four of its last five games, and 13 of the last 20 head-to-head games with the Blackhawks. Chicago has lost eight of its last nine and their last seven against the Western Conference.

Play on Vegas minus 1.5 goals. This is a 3% play.

The Mariners left it late but gave their fans something to cheer about after scoring three times in the eighth to secure a 4-2 win over the A’s. The Athletics will look to even the series by sending Jeffrey Springs to the mound. He was 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA in 33 innings in 2024. In his career against Seattle, he's 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA. The Mariners will counter with Luis Castillo on the mound. He went 11-12 with a 3.64 ERA in 175.1 innings in 2024. He is 3-2 with a 3.24 ERA in his career against the A’s. Luis Castillo went 7-5 with a 3.15 ERA pitching in Seattle. The Athletics didn't hit the ball well last season, and they were one of the worst offensive teams in the league. They have not had a lot of success against Catillo, scoring only seven runs in five games, The Athletics had the fifth-worst pitching in the league last season and a bullpen that also wasn't very good. I am on Seattle at home at a decent price.

Play on Seattle. This is a 2% play.

The Red Sox will be facing the Rangers in game two of their series. The Red Sox had a record of 4-2 versus the Rangers in 2024 and opened this season with a 5-2 win. Boston will go with Tanner Houck on the mound. Houck was 9-10 with a 3.12 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 30 appearances in 2024. Houck has a record of 0-1 with an ERA of 5.30 and 14 strikeouts in 4 appearances against the Rangers in his career. Jack Leiter will look to even the series when he takes the mound for the Rangers, Last season he was 0-3 with a 8.83 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 9 appearances in his rookie season in 2024. Last season the Rangers' bullpen ranked fifth to last in the league in ERA at 4.41 and forth to last in WHIP at 1.37 and it let them down again yesterday. The Red Sox are 6-4 in their last 10 games versus the Rangers on the road. The Rangers went deep into a problematic bullpen yesterday, so that could already be a problem in just their second game. I look for Boston to take advantage of the Rangers bullpen late if they can’t get to Leiter early.

Play on Boston. This is a 2% play.

The Braves will look to even their series with the Padres by sending Reynaldo Lopez to the mound He went 8-5 last season with a 1.99 ERA last season. During the Spring, he ws 1[-1 with a 2.08 WHIP in 13 innings. The Padres will counter with Dylan Cease. Last season he was 13-11 with a 3.47 ERA. During the Spring he pitched 19.1 innings going 1-0 and posting a 3.26 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Yesterday the Braves scored four runs in the first four innings but it wasn't enough.They were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Lopez faced San Diego twice last season, going 0-1, allowing 6 runs in 12.1 innings on 12 hits with three walks, and nine strikeouts. The Padres scored four in the seventh to get the come from behind win. They were 3-of-9 with runners in scoring position. Cease pitched twice against the Braves going 1-0 in 10.0 innings, allowing 10 hits with six walks and 16 strikeouts. Cease has a live arm and has recorded the most strikeouts since 2023. The Braves struck out 10 times yesterday. The Padres stole five bases yesterday and expect them to do that today if they get runners on. The Padres swept the Braves in the Wildcard last season and will look to make it two in a row to start this season. Lopez is usually not great in March/April, posting a 6-8 record with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Cease, on the other hand, has a 3.28 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in his career in Marsh/April. I like the Padres to take game two.

Play on San Diego. This is a 2% play.