Richard Masana 
Jacob’s Above Average Plays is coming off another profitable night with three more above-average plays to grow that bankroll.
Take Chicago Blackhawks +165 versus Montreal Canadiens 7:30 pm EST, Tuesday 15 January 2020)
This line is wrong. Montreal should never be favored this much. They have played terrible hockey for the past month, winning just two out of their last ten games. I understand that the Blackhawks aren’t a team to get overly excited about, but they can steal this game.
Like I just said – Montreal has won just two of their last ten games, and they are scoring an average of only 2.79 goals per game when playing at home. They have lost eight out of their last ten games against the Blackhawks, with an average score of Blackhawks 3 Canadiens 1.6. Included in that is losing the last five in a row against Chicago when playing in Montreal. However, they have an okay defense, so I will give them some credit. They allow an average of 3.15 goals per game. At home, they play above-average defense compared to on the road. The Canadiens are ranked ninth in the NHL in shots allowed on goal when playing at home. I do not like the fact that they have been in bad form recently, and I think the Blackhawks can take advantage of that.
I understand the Blackhawks are not an above-average team. They rank in the middle of the league in scoring on offense and defense, shots on goal, penalty kill, etc. The reason I really like them tonight is I think Montreal is way overpriced, and the Blackhawks have played great this year on back to back games. They have won seven of the last eight games played on back to back nights, and with the win against Ottawa last night – I can see them rolling here. Chicago has won five of their last six games on the road, and are winners of eight out of the last twelve overall.
When you take a big picture look at this game, you can see that there are a lot of things in the Blackhawks favor here. While I was struggling with deciding between the puck line at -165 or the money line +165, I decided to take the Blackhawks to get the outright win here because I really see them beating up on the Canadiens. Take Chicago +165 to win this one outright.
Take St. Louis Blues -180 versus Philadelphia Flyers (8:00 pm EST, Tuesday 15 January 2020)
This game has one team that is just simply better than the other. The Blues are one of the best teams in hockey. While the Flyers are an above-average team and have a good offense, the Blues are just better -, especially at home.
The Flyers play well on both ends of the ice, and I usually like them as a team. They score an average of 3.17 goals per game and allow 3.09. Recently though, it has been a different story. They have won just two of their last five games, and only two of the last six versus the Blues. The teams that the Flyers have recently lost to include: Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Vegas. These teams, including the Blues, are in the upper echelon in the NHL. So, it would appear that Philadelphia does not play well against good teams.
The Blues are the hottest team in the NHL right now. They have won nine straight home games, and have won twenty-two out of their thirty-four games as a favorite. They win with a mix of good offense and an above-average defense. Their defense ranks third in the NHL in goals allowed when playing at home, allowing an average of just 2.29 goals per game. I really just do not think that there is any other team playing better hockey than the Blues right now, so I’m sticking with them to get an easy home win.
The Blues are simply unstoppable right now. I think they continue to dominate at home as they get their tenth home win in a row by beating up on Philly, again.
Take Boston Celtics -10 -110 versus Detroit Pistons (7:00 pm EST, Tuesday 15th January 2020 )
I really like Boston to blow out Detroit tonight. Boston has historically dominated the Pistons – the way both of these teams are playing, it looks like this is set up to continue that trend. Boston has been playing above-average on both ends of the court, and Detroit has been decimated by injury this year. There’s no way their bench players can compete against Celtics starters.
Detroit has covered just three out of the last fifteen games they have played, and are just 2-8 straight up against the Celtics in the last ten games played. They rank 22nd in points scored per game (108.3 ppg), they are also ranked last in the league in rebounds per game. This is a bad combination when playing the Celtics tonight, who rank in the top fifteen in the league in both categories.
Boston comes into this game, winners of two in a row, and they look to make it three versus the struggling Pistons. Boston has won sixteen out of the last nineteen games at home and have won ten out of the last fourteen overall. The Celtics above-average offense is ranked eighth in scoring at home, scoring an average of 115.05 ppg. The Celtics’ great offense goes along great with their stellar defense. The Boston defense is ranked fifth overall in the NBA in defense and is keeping teams to an average of 104.32 ppg. The Celtics are rolling and I see it continuing.
These are just two teams who are trending in very different directions. The Celtics are working for a good playoff spot and the Pistons are about to start working for a good draft pick. Lay the points with Boston. Boston -10.
