Dan Kaiser Sports Handicapper

Ottawa has seen the over go 6-4 in their last 10 games. Over that period, they scored 3.2 goals per game and have scored at least four goals in four of their last six contests. They score 2.54 goals on the road however. Toronto has gone under in eight of their last 10. . The Maple Leafs have averaged 3.2 goals a game and allowed 1.5 goals a night in that span. The under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings between the teams. If Ottawa is going to win Ullmark will need to play well.

Play on the UNDER. This is a free play.

The Golden Knights have won five straight over the Wild and three out of the last four on home ice. Minnesota has struggled against the Vegas defense, scoring two goals or less in five straight games. Vegas has scored more than three goals in three of the last four against the Wild, including a 4-1 win last time out. The Golden Knights are fifth in the NHL in scoring the Wild rank in the bottom half. Vegas has won 47 of their 81 games against the spread and 70% of their games played on home ice.

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

Ottawa went 3-0 against Toronto this season, with two of those victories coming on the road. Toronto was 27-13-1 on home ice this season. Ottawa is 7-3 in their last 10 head-to-head matchups with Toronto. The Senators went 6-1-1 in their last eight while Toronto won nine of their last 10 games. The Senators don’t have the elite scoring options Toronto has and will need their goalie to have a huge game. Toronto’s goalies were hot down the stretch posting three shutouts in the last 10 games and only allowing three goals in two games. Toronto has the experience but they also have the experience of failing all these yers. They can’t afford to lose the opener at home.

Play on Toronto. This is a 2% play.

Carolina is 7-3-0 in the last 10 games against New Jersey. Carolina ranked ninth in goals per game and second in shots per game. They have scored three or more goals in six of the last 10 games. On the defensive end, they have ranked 10th in goals against and first in shots against per game. New Jersey ranked 20th in goals and 17th in shots per game. Carolina was good on offense this season. They have scored two or fewer goals in five of the last nine games. On the defensive end, they ranked fifth in goals against per game and sixth in shots against per game. The Hurricanes have won four of their last five home games, while the Devils have lost four of their last five games.

Play on Carolina. minus 1.5 goals. This is a 2% play

All three games went under the goal total. Minnesota struggles to score against the Knights and have not scored more than two goals in five straight games against them. Adin Hill has allowed Minnesota to one goal in his two starts this year. The Wild rank 25th in average goals scored per game with 2.74. They ranked fifth in goals against per game and sixth in shots against per game. Vegas allowed only 2.61 goals per game, the third least in the league. Minnesota also ranks in the league's top half in average goals allowed per game. Minnesota cannot try to outscore Vegas so I am looking for a tight defensive game.

Play on the UNDER. This is a 4% play

The Los Angeles Dodgers are who we thought they were. The did have a little slump after winning starting the season red-hot. They are back to being the Dodgers winning 4 of their last last 5 games and 6 of their last 9 straight up. They've also covered the run line in 4 of those 5 games and 5 of their last 8. In non-league matchups, they’ve covered the run line in 4 out of 5 games. The Rangers have won 4 of their last 8 games straight up and covering the run line just 4 times in their last 11. The Dodgers have hit Mahle pretty well, even though everything points to a run line play I will take LA on the money line.

Play on LA. This is a 2% play

The Royals have lost six in a row and eight of their last nine. They are looking to avoid a sweep. That will not be easy today as they face last year’s A.L. Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal. Kansas City’s offense has been struggling to score and facing Skubal does not give you a lot of faith they will turn it around today. Kansas City is 0-6 in its last six games, and they’ve lost five of those games by 2+ runs. Detroit has been able to hit Michael Wacha in the past and the wind will be blowing out, they should be able to produce runs. Wacha has struggled this season and Kansas City has scored just eight runs in his four starts. Skubal has thrown 13 combined scoreless innings in his last two starts.

Play on Detroit minus 1.5 runs. This is a 2% play

Cleveland has taken the first two games of the series and will look for a sweep by sending Logan Allen to the mound. He is 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 15.2 IP. The Pirates will go with Mitch Keller on the mound. He is 1-2 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 23.0 IP. Pittsburgh is putting up just 3.3 runs per game which is 26th in baseball. The Guardians are 4-1 over in their last five meetings with the Pirates. The Guardians have the better offensive capabilities. Keller has gotten an average of just 2.5 runs of support from the Pittsburgh offense.

Play on Cleveland. This is 2% play.