NHL Betting: Avery, Stars on thin ice
NHL Betting: Avery, Stars on thin ice
Sergie Zubov and the Dallas Stars will be without Sean Avery indefinitely after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman suspended the controversial forward for recent comments deemed "detrimental to the league." Avery's career has been dotted by events when he didn't quite seem to have his brain engaged before his tongue went to work, but is Bettman and the NHL going too far with this one?
There must be something in the picante sauce down in Big D. The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back Adam Jones after his latest violent off-field incident, but the Dallas Stars will be without Sean Avery indefinitely for using the phrase “sloppy seconds.”
The NHL handed down its suspension on Tuesday – the first in Avery’s career – after the controversial center spoke his mind during a warm-up skate in Calgary. Avery used to date Elisha Cuthbert, who is now linked to Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Stars owner Tom Hicks came out in support of the suspension, claiming that if the league hadn’t punished Avery, his team would have.
As tempted as ol’ Chance is to wax moralistic about this, let’s stick to handicapping. The Stars are very disappointing this early season at 9-11-4 (9-14 ATS and minus-10.34 units, worst in the NHL). Avery, who signed a four-year deal with Dallas this summer, has just three goals in 23 games after scoring 15 for the Rangers last year. To his credit, Avery is a plus-2 on a team that has been outscored 86-65 on the season. But taking his outsized personality off the ice could benefit the Stars – they beat Calgary 3-1 on Tuesday night and cashed in at +160 while Avery sat out.
The Flames haven’t been particularly good either at 14-10-1 (10-14 ATS, minus 5.20 units). Poor goaltending is the culprit in both cases. Miikka Kiprusoff (.895 save percentage) and Marty Turco (.868 SV%, worst among NHL regulars) have more holes in them than Pebble Beach. The Edmonton Oilers are 10-11-2 (10-13 ATS, minus-8.64 units) with Mathieu Garon (.889 SV%) losing his starting job, and Dan Ellis (.893 SV%) is having a major sophomore slump for the 12-10-2 Nashville Predators (13-11 ATS, minus-2.45 units).
On the good side of the ledger, the Boston Bruins are getting otherworldy goaltending from Tim Thomas (.940 SV%). Thomas receives plenty of heat for his reckless, unorthodox style; then again, so did Dominik Hasek. Boston is the surprise story of the season at an Eastern-best 16-4-4 and easily the top moneymaker in the league at 19-5 ATS (19.63 units). Last year’s top money team, the Montreal Canadiens, finished with 14.9 units at 45-37 ATS.
Speaking of the Habs, they’re cooling off after a hot start. Montreal is four points behind Boston at 14-6-4, but just 6-5-3 since Nov. 7. That leaves the Canadiens 4.74 units in the red at 8-16 ATS despite the hot goaltending of Carey Price (.923 SV%). Covering those pucklines as a favorite requires goal-scoring, and Alex Kovalev has provided just five goals all year and none since Nov. 1. Perhaps they can trade him for Sean Avery.
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers
Wednesday, Dec 3, 7:00 p.m. (ET)
This is a rematch of last season’s Eastern semifinal, which the Penguins won in five games. They could be on a collision course again; New York leads the Atlantic Division at 17-8-2 (11-16 ATS, 0.45 units), while Pittsburgh is second at 14-6-3 (10-13 ATS, minus-2.38 units). The Pens actually have the better record with four games in hand, and the betting odds have them as slim +100 road dogs in this matchup.
Of course, these aren’t the same two teams that met in the playoffs. Pittsburgh had a host of defections during the offseason, but winger Miroslav Satan (nine goals, nine assists) and rookie defenseman Alex Goligoski (four goals, six assists, plus-5) have been excellent, and goalie Dany Sabourin (.930 SV%) has shut the door in relief of the injured Marc-Andre Fleury. Most importantly for the Eastern champions, center Sidney Crosby is back to his dominant self with six goals in his last three games.
The Rangers, meanwhile, are almost unrecognizable from the team Avery played on last year. With Jaromir Jagr plying his trade overseas, the top scorers for the Blueshirts are wingers Nikolai Zherdev (ex-Columbus) and Markus Naslund (ex-Vancouver). Center Aaron Voros and defenseman Wade Redden are also contributing in their Broadway debuts. New York (-132) beat Pittsburgh 3-2 in a shootout at the Garden in their only meeting thus far; the Penguins have just one victory in their last eight trips to MSG.
Sergie Zubov and the Dallas Stars will be without Sean Avery indefinitely after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman suspended the controversial forward for recent comments deemed "detrimental to the league." Avery's career has been dotted by events when he didn't quite seem to have his brain engaged before his tongue went to work, but is Bettman and the NHL going too far with this one?
There must be something in the picante sauce down in Big D. The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back Adam Jones after his latest violent off-field incident, but the Dallas Stars will be without Sean Avery indefinitely for using the phrase “sloppy seconds.”
The NHL handed down its suspension on Tuesday – the first in Avery’s career – after the controversial center spoke his mind during a warm-up skate in Calgary. Avery used to date Elisha Cuthbert, who is now linked to Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Stars owner Tom Hicks came out in support of the suspension, claiming that if the league hadn’t punished Avery, his team would have.
As tempted as ol’ Chance is to wax moralistic about this, let’s stick to handicapping. The Stars are very disappointing this early season at 9-11-4 (9-14 ATS and minus-10.34 units, worst in the NHL). Avery, who signed a four-year deal with Dallas this summer, has just three goals in 23 games after scoring 15 for the Rangers last year. To his credit, Avery is a plus-2 on a team that has been outscored 86-65 on the season. But taking his outsized personality off the ice could benefit the Stars – they beat Calgary 3-1 on Tuesday night and cashed in at +160 while Avery sat out.
The Flames haven’t been particularly good either at 14-10-1 (10-14 ATS, minus 5.20 units). Poor goaltending is the culprit in both cases. Miikka Kiprusoff (.895 save percentage) and Marty Turco (.868 SV%, worst among NHL regulars) have more holes in them than Pebble Beach. The Edmonton Oilers are 10-11-2 (10-13 ATS, minus-8.64 units) with Mathieu Garon (.889 SV%) losing his starting job, and Dan Ellis (.893 SV%) is having a major sophomore slump for the 12-10-2 Nashville Predators (13-11 ATS, minus-2.45 units).
On the good side of the ledger, the Boston Bruins are getting otherworldy goaltending from Tim Thomas (.940 SV%). Thomas receives plenty of heat for his reckless, unorthodox style; then again, so did Dominik Hasek. Boston is the surprise story of the season at an Eastern-best 16-4-4 and easily the top moneymaker in the league at 19-5 ATS (19.63 units). Last year’s top money team, the Montreal Canadiens, finished with 14.9 units at 45-37 ATS.
Speaking of the Habs, they’re cooling off after a hot start. Montreal is four points behind Boston at 14-6-4, but just 6-5-3 since Nov. 7. That leaves the Canadiens 4.74 units in the red at 8-16 ATS despite the hot goaltending of Carey Price (.923 SV%). Covering those pucklines as a favorite requires goal-scoring, and Alex Kovalev has provided just five goals all year and none since Nov. 1. Perhaps they can trade him for Sean Avery.
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers
Wednesday, Dec 3, 7:00 p.m. (ET)
This is a rematch of last season’s Eastern semifinal, which the Penguins won in five games. They could be on a collision course again; New York leads the Atlantic Division at 17-8-2 (11-16 ATS, 0.45 units), while Pittsburgh is second at 14-6-3 (10-13 ATS, minus-2.38 units). The Pens actually have the better record with four games in hand, and the betting odds have them as slim +100 road dogs in this matchup.
Of course, these aren’t the same two teams that met in the playoffs. Pittsburgh had a host of defections during the offseason, but winger Miroslav Satan (nine goals, nine assists) and rookie defenseman Alex Goligoski (four goals, six assists, plus-5) have been excellent, and goalie Dany Sabourin (.930 SV%) has shut the door in relief of the injured Marc-Andre Fleury. Most importantly for the Eastern champions, center Sidney Crosby is back to his dominant self with six goals in his last three games.
The Rangers, meanwhile, are almost unrecognizable from the team Avery played on last year. With Jaromir Jagr plying his trade overseas, the top scorers for the Blueshirts are wingers Nikolai Zherdev (ex-Columbus) and Markus Naslund (ex-Vancouver). Center Aaron Voros and defenseman Wade Redden are also contributing in their Broadway debuts. New York (-132) beat Pittsburgh 3-2 in a shootout at the Garden in their only meeting thus far; the Penguins have just one victory in their last eight trips to MSG.