Ya gotta like Chance Harper for looking a head to Saturday's action when it's only Friday.

I disagree with some of his sentiments in regards to this Montreal/Leafs game though. I'll be taking my chances with the Leafs in that game.

Rangers, Senators highlight first Saturday of NHL action

By: Chance Harper

It's still very early in the season, and Pittsburgh is certainly going to have a say in the Eastern Conference of the NHL before it's over. But Saturday night's Rangers, Senators matchup in Ottawa could very easily be a playoff preview and spark the crowd at Scotiabank Place into a playoff fervor.

Saturday night’s all right for fightin’. It’s also all right for betting, especially of the NHL variety.
Rangers, Senators highlight first Saturday of NHL action

Sharp hockey bettors know that this is one of the best times of the year to bet on hockey. Not only are the sportsbooks’ best linesmakers concentrating on pigskin and playoff baseball, the public is paying little attention to what’s happening on the ice. Combine this with the fact that most NHL teams have played no more than one game, and there is some serious value in this weekend’s lines if you do your homework.

Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs
Saturday, Oct 6, 7:00 p.m. (ET) CBC

While it pains backers of both sides to hear this, Montreal and Toronto are two of the NHL’s most evenly-matched teams. Last season the storied rivals split the series 4-4, with the Over cashing in four of the eight matchups (with one Push).

The Maple Leafs are coming off consecutive losses to the Ottawa Senators, while the Habs kicked off their season with a 3-2 OT win at Carolina on Wednesday night. Toronto will be without injured forward Kyle Wellwood in this contest. Montreal is injury-free and looked great on the power play Wednesday night, scoring all three of their goals against the Hurricanes with the man-advantage.

With a close game in the cards, it would be a good bet to take the Habs on either the puckline or moneyline. Public bettors have a history of pounding the Leafs, which will surely be the case for their first Saturday-night clash against the hated Canadiens.

New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators
Saturday, Oct 6, 7:00 p.m. (ET)

Last season’s top two money teams face off for the first time when the Senators host the Rangers on Saturday night.

Both the Blueshirts and the Sens had similar years last season, which led to them being two of the most valuable bets in the league. Slow out of the gate, Ottawa and New York had backers up 2544 and 1341 units, respectfully, by the end of the regular season, as they remained underappreciated by the public as they made late runs.

The Rangers were 30-48-4 Over/Under in 2006-07 and that trend is likely to continue despite the offseason acquisitions of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. The Rangers will be a defensively-minded team as long as Tom Renney is behind the bench.

To strengthen the case for taking the Under in Saturday night’s game, the Rangers and Senators are already a combined 0-3-0 O/U this season.

Anaheim Ducks at Pittsburgh Penguins
Saturday, Oct 6, 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Both of these teams will be coming off games on Friday night, so find out who’s between the pipes for both squads before laying down a wager on this dandy.

Oddsmakers will have an interesting time with this line, regardless of who starts in goal. The Penguins are at home, and have some Sidney Crosby guy, which makes them the most public team in the NHL. As for the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Ducks pack a punch with square bettors as well.

The Ducks won the only matchup between the teams last season, but that was in Anaheim with Scott Niedermayer in the lineup. The Penguins should show improvement since last season with the maturation of Crosby and company and the additions of Petr Sykora and Darryl Sydor.

If you can get the Pens at anything less than -140, jump all over it.

San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanch
Sunday, Oct 7, 7:00 p.m. (ET)

The thing to remember about the 'disappointing' San Jose Sharks is that they’ve been sub-par in the playoffs, not the regular season. The Sharks (51-26-3-2) cashed 703 units for their bettors, putting them among 12 NHL teams that made money in 2006-07. The Sharks return pretty much the same lineup as last season, along with the so-called addition of Jeremy Roenick.

The Avs will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs this season, even though former Edmonton Oiler Ryan Smyth will add some grit and scoring to the mix. The truth is that Joe Sakic isn’t getting any younger and the goaltending duo of Peter Budai and Jose Theodore leaves something to be desired.

The key to betting this contest is that the Sharks play in Vancouver on Saturday night, giving the Avs a big edge in the energy department. The Sharks and Avs split the season series a year ago, with the teams playing Over the total in three of the four meetings.