Welcome, Zak’s Puck Picks!! I started in Cash with Flash Handicapping Challenge and have been heating up. I am super excited to keep the momentum going and win some serious money with all of you!
A big part of my life is my 3 kids. Each one of them holds a different attribute that I would personally use to aid me in deciding what picks to make. My twins Pork and Ribs and their little brother Bean (not their real names but very appropriate nicknames).
Pork is a doer. He is one to dive into a situation and figure it out as it unfolds, usually with great success. In terms of the pick, it will be a gut feeling pick and be backed with some stats to explain the feeling. Ribs, he likes to observe the situation, take in all the information, and then make an educated decision on what his next step will be. His pick will be focused around teams that are on hot streaks, either against a team in a matchup or on a winning streak. Now Bean may sound cute and innocent, but he is a wild man. Not a lot of thought goes into actions and if there is some thought, its geared towards “how can I push Dad’s buttons”. His pick will be a little more on the risky side. There will be reasons why I think we should go this way.
As cook by trade and hockey as a passion since I was 3 years old, let’s get some puck picks in the oven and make some dough shall we?
All odds are referenced from vegasinsider.com. I will play ALL of the picks I write about in these articles
Puck Record. The month of January #30dayhandicappingchalenge (35-34) article picks (7-8) (2-1 Friday night)
Pork’s Puck Pick- Las Vegas Golden Knights -127
The Golden Knights have a better away winning record (11-9-3) than the Canadians do at home (9-12-4). Like that new car smell, the Knights are still riding that new coach wave of energy. The top two lines figured out how to bulge the twine again and Fleury remembered how to stop the puck. They looked really good against Ottawa Thursday night and I see this continuing into the weekend. After losing 6 straight. The Canadians have rattled off 3 wins in a row against Ottawa, Calgary, and Philadelphia. This streak comes to an end however as Vegas is only 1 point out of the top spot in the division and management won’t settle for anything less apparently showing this in the firing of a fantastic coach Gerrard Gallant.
Rib’s Puck Pick- Vancouver -155
Vancouver has been terrific in their own barn with a record of 7-0 in their last home starts. Former Calgary Hitmen Jake Virtanen avoided suspension and will play in this one giving the Canucks some sandpaper and scoring. Jacob Markstrom has won 8 of his last 10 starts and looks solid to continue puck stopping the “nucks” to W’s. The Sharks 0-4 on the road and 0-4 against the Pacific Division in their last 4 games in these categories. The home team has won both matchups this season with Vancouver having the slight edge 7-6 in total scoring.
Bean’s Puck Pick- Panthers PUCK LINE -1.5 (-134)
Whether it’s the top line rolling or the second line. This team can put the puck in the net! I shared a Newsday sports photo on the Discord chat yesterday that shows every stat category they post, Detroit ranks 30th or 31st in the league except for shots against. Detroit is coming off the first leg of a back to back facing a Panthers team that had the night off. I don’t see this game being or staying close, as the Panthers are fighting for every point they can in a tight playoff race.
Zak’s Puck Pick- Calgary -157
Sometimes dads need to get in on the action too don’t they? I have no idea why this line is only at -157. The Flames haven’t lost to Ottawa since October 13, 2017. Like Vegas, Calgary has a better away record (13-11-2) than Ottawa’s home record (11-8-4). With the All-Star game looming and David Rittich representing the Flames, I think Cam Talbot will get the start. Cam has become his old self stopping the puck like he was a Ranger again. While the flames have had some trouble scoring they have been great defensively and have won 6 of their last 7.
Keep an eye on!! Arizona Coyotes +114 (3 PM EST start!)
Here is a fun stat for you. In the year 2019, including their first two matchups of this season, the road team has won every game. This is the situation Arizona finds themselves in tonight. With Arizona’s stingy defense allowing the league’s 3rd best puck out of a net score of 2.55 goals per game against the Oilers 14th best pick finding twine at 3.042 goals per game, I think the Coyotes claw out of oil country with a win. My hold up here is who is stopping the puck. If Raanta starts, this bet is something I would play. If it’s Aiden Hill I will not play this bet. I will update as a twitter comment and on discord chat!
I am very excited to join this team of highly skilled people at Win Daily. If you have any further questions, please feel free to find me on the Win Daily Discord chat (@Zak PRB) or on Twitter (@PRBpuckpicks) Thank you to you all for reading, let’s go make some bacon!
