Stephen Nover – Sports Handicapper

At this price, I'm going to take a shot on the Blackhawks. The Kings have clinched a playoff berth. So they could be resting players to get ready for the Stanley Cup.

The Kings still could clinch third place in the Pacific Division if they win and somehow the visiting heavily underdog Ducks upset the Golden Knights. But even if that were to happen, the Kings would meet the Oilers in the first round. That's not an ideal matchup for the Kings, who have been eliminated in the first round by Edmonton each of the past two seasons.

Chicago has lost five in a row. Prior to that, though, the Blackhawks upset the Stars. The Blackhawks also played the Golden Knights tough in Las Vegas during their previous game. Chicago trailed by one goal late in the game before pulling its goalie and losing by two goals when the Golden Knights scored an empty net goal.

Given their injuries, the Red Sox have done well to open the season 10-9. Boston has received outstanding starting pitching and power from Tyler O'Neil, who is second in the majors in homers with seven.

But the Red Sox are in trouble in this game. O'Neil is likely to miss his third straight game because of a concussion. Boston's bullpen is below average and this is going to be a bullpen game for them.

Reliever Brennan Bernardino is slated to start for the Red Sox. He's only expected to pitch one or two innings followed by Cooper Criswell. The Red Sox have a 4.11 bullpen ERA.

By contrast, the Guardians rank No. 2 in the majors in bullpen ERA at 2.15. This is a huge plus for Cleveland's aged starter Carlos Carrasco, who has allowed two earned runs during his past 7 2/3 innings and has a respectable 3.55 ERA.

Given these circumstances, I'll go with the Guardians especially in an underdog role.