New York Rangers reeling in profit at window
The Blueshirts are looking a little green these days...at the betting window, that is. Sitting 9-5-1 in the current standings and just three points behind Pittsburgh in the division, the New York Rangers have cashed 10 times for a nice little 11.3 units of profit in the early going. With the season now a month old, here is a quick betting report card on those teams making money on the follow, and those raking it in on the fade.
You’d better believe it’s hockey season now. November is here, and we’re about a dozen games into the 2009-10 NHL campaign – enough action to start handing out some report cards. I’ve already given plenty of praise in this space to the Colorado Avalanche, so let’s give them their requisite A-plus and move on down the list.
New York Rangers: A-plus
Fans in the Big Apple felt their hearts leap into their mouths when Marian Gaborik had to leave last Monday’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes with what was first described as the dreaded “lower-body injury.” But Gaborik was back on the ice Sunday to score the lone goal in New York’s 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins. The injury turned out to be to his right knee, and not related to the groin and hip problems that plagued Gaborik during his years with the Minnesota Wild.
That means the Rangers (9-5-1, second place in the Atlantic Division) can continue their assault on the betting odds. Gaborik’s 11 goals in 13 games have helped the Blueshirts to a 10-5 record ATS and a league-best 11.32 units in profit.
Atlanta Thrashers: A
The most pleasant surprise outside of Denver has to be the performance of the Thrashers (5-4-1, 11 points) at the 10-game mark. These guys didn’t come close to making the playoffs last year and appeared to be in grave danger of another lost season without goaltender Kari Lehtonen (back). But this development has ushered in the Ondrej Pavelec Era; the young Czech netminder has a .924 save percentage, and Atlanta is 9-1 ATS for 8.12 units in profit.
Other “A” students: Calgary Flames (8-4 ATS, 8.38 units), San Jose Sharks (8-7 ATS, 4.75 units), Pittsburgh Penguins (7-7, 4.36 units)
Phoenix Coyotes: B-plus
The NHL has stepped in to buy the floundering franchise, which was expected to bottom out with the departure of former coach/part owner Wayne Gretzky and his entourage. But someone forgot to tell Ilya Bryzgalov. The former Sharks backup has a .930 save percentage, enough to keep his low-scoring team in second place in the Pacific Division at 9-4. More importantly for our purposes, that’s also good enough for an 8-5 record ATS and 1.73 units in earnings.
New York Islanders: B
I could easily have given the Islanders (4-4-5, 13 points) a higher mark for compiling a 10-3 ATS record and a tasty 4.63 units in profit. But quality does count for something. This is a very young team up front, led by the top line of Matt Moulson (!), John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. It’s the improved goaltending tandem of Martin Biron (.911 SV%) and Dwayne Roloson (.910 SV%) keeping the Isles from getting blown out, even if they are in last place in the Atlantic. All the easier to sneak up on bettors.
Other “B” students: New Jersey Devils (7-5 ATS, 3.41 units), Dallas Stars (8-6 ATS, 1.24 units), Buffalo Sabres (5-6 ATS, 1.09 units)
Washington Capitals: C-plus
Hard to punish the Caps for leading the Southeast at 8-2-4 (20 points), and yet they’re not living up to their potential. Semyon Varlamov has a perfect 5-0 record in six appearances, but with a save percentage of .895, Varlamov isn’t getting Washington to the pay window against the puck line. He’s lost his No. 1 job back to Jose Theodore, who is giving us something closer to his old Vezina Trophy form with a .915 percentage.
The Caps are 6-8 ATS for a mere 0.90 units of profit, and they could easily dip into the red with Alex Ovechkin (14 goals in 14 games) forced to leave Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets with an undisclosed injury.
Other “C” students: Boston Bruins (6-7 ATS, 0.53 units), Chicago Blackhawks (5-8 ATS, 0.26 units), St. Louis Blues (6-6 ATS, 0.13 units)
We’ll wrap things up with our list of five remedial class students. Remember, the “F” stands for Fade.
Detroit Red Wings: 2-10 ATS, -7.35 units
Columbus Blue Jackets: 5-8 ATS, -7.39 units
Toronto Maple Leafs: 4-8 ATS, -8.83 units
Carolina Hurricanes: 4-9 ATS, -10.08 units
Minnesota Wild: 4-10 ATS, -11.73 units
The Blueshirts are looking a little green these days...at the betting window, that is. Sitting 9-5-1 in the current standings and just three points behind Pittsburgh in the division, the New York Rangers have cashed 10 times for a nice little 11.3 units of profit in the early going. With the season now a month old, here is a quick betting report card on those teams making money on the follow, and those raking it in on the fade.
You’d better believe it’s hockey season now. November is here, and we’re about a dozen games into the 2009-10 NHL campaign – enough action to start handing out some report cards. I’ve already given plenty of praise in this space to the Colorado Avalanche, so let’s give them their requisite A-plus and move on down the list.
New York Rangers: A-plus
Fans in the Big Apple felt their hearts leap into their mouths when Marian Gaborik had to leave last Monday’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes with what was first described as the dreaded “lower-body injury.” But Gaborik was back on the ice Sunday to score the lone goal in New York’s 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins. The injury turned out to be to his right knee, and not related to the groin and hip problems that plagued Gaborik during his years with the Minnesota Wild.
That means the Rangers (9-5-1, second place in the Atlantic Division) can continue their assault on the betting odds. Gaborik’s 11 goals in 13 games have helped the Blueshirts to a 10-5 record ATS and a league-best 11.32 units in profit.
Atlanta Thrashers: A
The most pleasant surprise outside of Denver has to be the performance of the Thrashers (5-4-1, 11 points) at the 10-game mark. These guys didn’t come close to making the playoffs last year and appeared to be in grave danger of another lost season without goaltender Kari Lehtonen (back). But this development has ushered in the Ondrej Pavelec Era; the young Czech netminder has a .924 save percentage, and Atlanta is 9-1 ATS for 8.12 units in profit.
Other “A” students: Calgary Flames (8-4 ATS, 8.38 units), San Jose Sharks (8-7 ATS, 4.75 units), Pittsburgh Penguins (7-7, 4.36 units)
Phoenix Coyotes: B-plus
The NHL has stepped in to buy the floundering franchise, which was expected to bottom out with the departure of former coach/part owner Wayne Gretzky and his entourage. But someone forgot to tell Ilya Bryzgalov. The former Sharks backup has a .930 save percentage, enough to keep his low-scoring team in second place in the Pacific Division at 9-4. More importantly for our purposes, that’s also good enough for an 8-5 record ATS and 1.73 units in earnings.
New York Islanders: B
I could easily have given the Islanders (4-4-5, 13 points) a higher mark for compiling a 10-3 ATS record and a tasty 4.63 units in profit. But quality does count for something. This is a very young team up front, led by the top line of Matt Moulson (!), John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. It’s the improved goaltending tandem of Martin Biron (.911 SV%) and Dwayne Roloson (.910 SV%) keeping the Isles from getting blown out, even if they are in last place in the Atlantic. All the easier to sneak up on bettors.
Other “B” students: New Jersey Devils (7-5 ATS, 3.41 units), Dallas Stars (8-6 ATS, 1.24 units), Buffalo Sabres (5-6 ATS, 1.09 units)
Washington Capitals: C-plus
Hard to punish the Caps for leading the Southeast at 8-2-4 (20 points), and yet they’re not living up to their potential. Semyon Varlamov has a perfect 5-0 record in six appearances, but with a save percentage of .895, Varlamov isn’t getting Washington to the pay window against the puck line. He’s lost his No. 1 job back to Jose Theodore, who is giving us something closer to his old Vezina Trophy form with a .915 percentage.
The Caps are 6-8 ATS for a mere 0.90 units of profit, and they could easily dip into the red with Alex Ovechkin (14 goals in 14 games) forced to leave Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets with an undisclosed injury.
Other “C” students: Boston Bruins (6-7 ATS, 0.53 units), Chicago Blackhawks (5-8 ATS, 0.26 units), St. Louis Blues (6-6 ATS, 0.13 units)
We’ll wrap things up with our list of five remedial class students. Remember, the “F” stands for Fade.
Detroit Red Wings: 2-10 ATS, -7.35 units
Columbus Blue Jackets: 5-8 ATS, -7.39 units
Toronto Maple Leafs: 4-8 ATS, -8.83 units
Carolina Hurricanes: 4-9 ATS, -10.08 units
Minnesota Wild: 4-10 ATS, -11.73 units
