Last night's Blues/Penguins game was exciting stuff.
It feels like a long time since I’ve really enjoyed watching NHL hockey.
Maybe I’m getting old, but I find myself reminiscing a lot about the game I fell in love with in the late 80s and early 90s. Hockey Night in Canada started at 8 pm on Saturday nights and, if I was lucky, I’d get to stay up for the first period. I remember running down the stairs one Sunday morning to find out my Leafs had beat Gretzky’s Oilers 8-6 the night before.
8-6!
Those days are long gone, obviously. The beginning of the end was those Devils teams in the mid-90s playing the neutral zone trap. The shift to defensive-minded hockey was exacerbated by the ridiculously large goaltending equipment, designed more for prevention of goals than protection of the netminders.
Do these goalies look different to you?
It’s to the point now that almost every NHL game has an Over/Under of 5. (That makes over/under betting really difficult now, since an empty netter can account for 20% of the scoring.)
I don’t need lacrosse-like scores to enjoy NHL hockey again, but I need to feel like a shot from the slot has a legitimate chance of going in. I don’t know about you, but it feels to me like a lot of goals in the NHL these days are bankshots off defencemen’s skates or other flukey plays.
Last night, though, I found myself really enjoying NHL hockey.
I spent most of my night watching the Blues/Penguins game. It was free-flowing and exciting. Stars like Crosby, Malkin and Tarasenko were noticeable, not being suffocated and checked into the ice at every opportunity. It was 1-1 late in the second period, but it wasn’t a typical 1-1 hockey game. The Penguins finished the game with 38 shots, but the Blues won 5-2, the final goal coming into an empty net.
For one night, it felt like I was watching hockey from the ‘good old days’.
Maybe it was because I had the Over 5, and I won a bet. But I’ve won and lost a lot of bets before, and it doesn’t necessarily affect my enjoyment of the game.
I’m looking forward to watching again tonight to see if I get that feeling again!
Tuesday, January 19 NHL Betting Odds
There’s tons of NHL hockey to bet on tonight, with 8 games on the ice.
Sportsnet has Canucks/Rangers, Flames/Devils, Bruins/Canadiens, Oilers/Lightning, Blackhawks/Predators and Stars/Kings, while TSN will broadcast the Leafs/Flyers game.
Here’s a look at tonight’s NHL betting odds:
Tuesday, January 19 NBA Betting Odds
The Raptors are off today after enjoying a nice come-from-behind victory last night, outscoring Brooklyn 31-16 in the fourth quarter to win 112-100 – and cover as 11-point favourites.
But the most interesting result in the NBA last night was Golden State absolutely SPANKING the Cavaliers 132-98 in Cleveland. The Cavs were 3.5 point favourites in what was billed as a grudge match for last year’s loss in the NBA Finals.
It’s a quiet night in the Association tonight, with just 4 games on the schedule. TSN will carry the game between Andrew Wiggins’ Timberwolves and the Pelicans, beginning at 8 p.m.
Here’s tonight’s NBA betting odds, taken from Sports Interaction.
Tuesday, January 18 NCAA Basketball Betting Odds
Shocker last night as #20 Duke lost 64-62 at home to Syracuse! The Blue Devils were 11.5 point favourites and everyone expected them to bounce back big from their loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. Duke couldn’t possibly be overrated… could they? Cause that never happens.
#1 Oklahoma also went down, 82-77 at Iowa State. Before you call that an upset though, don’t forget that the #19 Hawkeyes were 2-point favourites.
There are quite a few ranked teams in action tonight. The one that we’re interested in watching is 11-6 LSU at #10 Texas A&M. If you’re a fan of college basketball, make sure you see LSU’s Ben Simmons in action as soon as you can. He’s incredible.
Here’s a look at just some of the NCAA basketball betting odds from the LSU/Texas A&M game at Sports Interaction. As you can see, there’s a ton of them.
Tuesday, January 18 Australian Open Tennis Odds
The first major of the tennis season is underway in Australia. TSN is airing Round 1 coverage this morning and Round 2 play tonight.
Eugenie Bouchard plays at 3 am tomorrow (eastern time). Here are the odds on her match at William Hill.
Live Odds
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