Scott Rickenbach – Sports Handicapper

Big East Beast - NHL Rotation #52 Saturday 10* Top Play Montreal Canadiens Money Line (-) vs Winnipeg Jets @ 7:05 ET - The Canadiens have impressed me a lot of late. Montreal was in a very tough spot versus Winnipeg Thursday as it was the 2nd game of a back to back and goalie Carey Price is out with an injury so Jake Allen was also playing his 2nd straight game between the pipes without a day of rest in between. The Habs put up a valiant effort but ultimately fell short versus the Jets despite outshooting them by a substantial margin. I feel strongly that we will see some carry over from that game right into this game. The Canadiens are currently in the 4th spot in the standings but have 3 games in hand compared to the Jets who are 8 points in front of them. The Habs are hungry for points here to close the gap because, keep in mind, there are some teams not too far behind Montreal, in particular Vancouver, that could put a run together. The Canucks, dealing with covid issues presently, are certainly getting plenty of rest for their skating legs and ready to make a push. That said, this is the 2nd game of a 6-game homestand for the Canadiens and they know they need to the most of it. Dropping the first was somewhat expected as was a tough back to back but the fact is Allen has been playing very well in goal and Montreal is off back to back losses but only once this season (out of 4 prior occurrences) have the Canadiens had a losing streak longer than 2 games. Winnipeg, when on the road and off 2 or more consecutive wins, has lost 3 of 4 this season. Look for these trends to continue Saturday. 10* MONTREAL

Earliest Cash - NHL Rotation #50 Saturday 8* Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) vs Boston Bruins @ 2:05 ET - Jeremy Swayman has played very well between the pipes for the Bruins but is still just a 22-year old netminder making only his 3rd NHL start here. This will also be the first time a team is getting a second shot at him and that means they have seen some of his tendencies in live game action. In other words do you go glove side or blocker side or do you go top shelf or five hole...of course these decisions as a shooter depend on what a goalie gives you and how he reacts in certain situations. The Flyers should fare better than they did in Tuesday's 4-2 loss when they outshot the Bruins 42 to 26 but fell short on the scoreboard. Philadelphia is chasing Boston for the #4 (and final playoff spot) in the division. Picking up two points here is key as they also take two away from Boston. On deck for Philly tomorrow is a game against Buffalo which is worth noting as the Sabres are one of the worst teams in the league. The Flyers approach this weekend as a critical juncture in their season prior to Monday's trade deadline. They know they have an opportunity to do quite a bit with picking up 4 points in this weekend's games. Even though Philly is off a loss to the Islanders, they absolutely outplayed the Isles as the game went on and deserved the full two points rather than the single point they earned in the shootout loss. There has been no quit in this Flyers team and Claude Giroux continues to lead by example and Sean Courterier continues his stellar play. Also, Philly is 7-2 this season when they enter game off 2 or more losses. Once again they snap a losing streak at just 2 games as they continue to show great resolve. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Big East Beast - MLB Rotation #927 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox @ 7:05 ET - The Orioles will be facing Garrett Richards and they beat Richards and the Red Sox 11 to 3 for their best game of the season when they saw him the first time. As a result, Baltimore will have some extra confidence at the plate for this one and they are looking to bounce back after Thursday's home opener loss as Boston drilled them 7 to 3. While I do expect the O's to bounce back at the plate, I don't expect them to necessarily win this game because they are also likely to give up plenty of runs. I know Bruce Zimmerman had a solid first start against the Red Sox at Fenway Park but this is still a guy pitching in just his 4th MLB game. Also, he is a native of Baltimore and this will be the first appearance of his career in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He grew up cheering for the Orioles and certainly will be highly energized here but perhaps too much so. Young pitchers in situations just like this one actually have a tendency to overthrow or overdo it and end up struggling as they want so badly to succeed in a setting like this. I have seen it time and time again and he is facing a Red Sox team that has turned it around since they saw him the first time. Boston has won 4 straight games and scored an average of 8 runs per game in these victories. The over is a perfect 5-0 last 5 Red Sox games and I look for that trend to continue here. 10* OVER the total in Baltimore

Situational Slaughter - NBA Rotation #583 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors @ 7:35 ET - The Cavaliers are playing with more confidence right now as they enter this game off back to back wins in which they scored an average of 127 points per game. The Raptors could get Lowry back for this one but even if he does not return, they did not have him when they scored 130 against Golden State in what is part of a 4-game stretch which has seen Toronto average 112 points per game. This is a late-season match-up (only 20 games left roughly for each team) between a pair of clubs that know their playoff hopes are all but finished. These are the kind of games I like to look for a bit of let-up in defensive intensity and loose, relaxed play on the offensive end that often leads to strong shooting performance. Cavs off back to back big wins with a lot of points scored and the Raptors will be ready to match them bucket for bucket here in an entertaining game between two teams "playing out the string" on this season. Per all of the above, this total is set too low in my opinion. 10* OVER the total in Cleveland

Goal Line Dominator - EPL Saturday 10* Top Play Chelsea -1 -115 @ Crystal Palace @ 12:30 ET - Chelsea had been dominant since Thomas Tuchel had taken over at manager but then got embarrassed, in part to being down a man due to a red card, in a 5-2 lost to West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea immediately responded with a 2-0 dominating win over FC Porto in UEFA Champions League action. Look for Chelsea to carry momentum from that fixture right into this one as they now look to immediately get back on track in Premier League action. Chelsea has been playing extremely well overall ever since Tuchel took over and they are pushing hard for a top four spot in the table. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, is essentially stuck in mid-table as they are generally safe from relegation but also generally too far from the top 8 to move into a more favorable spot. The road side is the much more talented club in this fixture and, per the above, will prove to be the much more motivated club as well and I expect a road rout. With Chelsea, unsurprisingly, posted in the -200 range on the money line, we will of course utilize the goal line here instead to reduce our cost for investing here. Of course we do not want the push result of a 1-goal win but I am truly expecting domination here given the situation. 10* CHELSEA -1 -115