Weekend Gambling Primer: Prop it to me

Last week was suboptimal, but how about those prop bets? 4 straight weeks the Prop(s) to
Watch have propped up this column and my bank account (pun totally intended). We have a couple of fun matchups and two Avalanche games this weekend so let’s hit the deposit button on our DraftKings account, restock the war chest, and throw some money around.

Tampa Bay -162 vs Boston

Here is the list of teams Tampa has beaten since March 1st – Ottawa (Capital of Canada),
Detroit, Chicago (twice), New York Islanders, Vancouver, Seattle, and Carolina. They are 8-10 in that stretch. Should we be worried? Probably. Am I worried? Probably not enough. Give me the Bolts at home with a slightly inflated -162 number.

Colorado -1.5 (+135) @ Winnipeg

We discussed the weirdness of the Avalanche schedule on the post-game show Tuesday night.

However, the good side of that is they come into this one about as rested as you can be this time of year. Quick scouting report on Winnipeg, they aren’t very good at hockey.

Last week the Avs let us down with this bet when Cale Maker couldn’t channel his inner EJ and pad his stats with an empty netter, tonight I am hoping we won’t need the empty netter. Take the Avs, lay the points, cash the +135.

Pittsburgh -143 vs Washington

The Penguins have lost 3 in a row, thanks to the scheduling Gods making them play the
Avalanche back-to-kind-of-back and then the Rangers in the last week.

(Quick Side Note – This game got me very excited for what Ball Arena is going to be like for this playoff run. The game felt like a playoff game and the crowd felt like a playoff crowd. The next couple of months are going to be a lot of fun)

We’ve discussed Washington in this column before, and I still don’t love what I see. Pittsburgh is too good to drop 4 in a row, and the apoplectic Caps are the perfect team to face when needing a pick me up this late in the season. I also like that it is under -150

Colorado @ Edmonton 1P +215

Hear me out here (I challenge all of you to create a sentence using the same word twice with
two different spellings and meanings and make it coherent). I’m not saying bet against the Avs, but I’m not exactly saying bet on them either. However, this will be the second night of back-to-back, to end a boring week long road trip for 3 games, and they don’t play again until Wednesday. Add all that up and I don’t think it’s crazy to think they may be a bit sluggish to start this one, and at +215 it is too tempting pass up so let’s take Edmonton in the first and call it an emotional hedge.

Why Not Parlay +596

CAR -185, FLA -1.5 (-180), COL -180, NJ +1.5 (-115)

This is the 6th week we’ve done this column; when this parlay hits, it will make us positive for the year on the parlay bets.

Prop(s) to Watch

Nathan MacKinnon o1.5 points +140
Mikko Rantanen o1.5 points +165

Nate looks locked in lately. He has always been a bit streaky with his goal scoring and I’m
hoping Monday is the start of long hot streak that lasts through the end of June. These two
bets feel very linked to me based on how much they play together. They generally assist on
one another’s goals and they both have the added chance for the cheap second assists on the
Power Play by virtue of playing on PP1.

Correct score Avs – Jets 4:2 +1700
Correct score Avs – Jets 5:2 +1800

Why not? Split a normal between the two and hope one hits for a little better than 8-1 payout.

Straight Wagers 8-11-1 (-3.97units)
Overall Record 14-17-1 (+15.36units)