Posted on 1/22/2008 1:59:22 PM

NHL Betting Action – Week 17 Free Picks

By Tim Furious

Nashville Predators (24-20-4) vs. Colorado Avalanche (26-18-4)

Tuesday, January 22nd --- Pepsi Center, Denver --- 9:00pm EST

Opening NHL Money Line: Colorado -160

The Predators are the hottest team in the Western Conference right now. After a slow start, they have crawled out of the gutter salvaging a 10-12-2 road record on the season. As underdogs they are only 12-16 SU, but going 3-2 SU in their past five games should make the betting investor a little less queasy.

Colorado, however, has been on fire lately, going 4-1 SU in their past five games, including a shut-out of the Tampa Bay Lightening. The Avs rank 11th in the league defensively with 2.7 goals against, and also have the 15th best offense with 2.8 goals per game. The surprising element to all of this is that they are doing it without Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth. Don’t you dare sleep on Wojtek Wolski! He’s an actual player. I swear (God, I love the NHL!).

The problem for them is the red-hot Predators have been gunning down opponents. In their recent back-to-back conquests of St. Louis, they deployed the Blues by outscoring them 11-5 in two games. The Avs are pretty hot right now, but their four victories this past week have come against some pretty awful teams (TB, Florida, Columbus and Carolina). The easy money here is on Nashville, who should can match the fast skating of the Avs with their own solid pace. Cash in on the Preds now, before the lazy hockey oddsmakers catch up to their winning ways.

NHL Free Pick: Nashville +140

Columbus Blue Jackets (23-20-6) vs. Dallas Stars (28-18-5)

Tuesday, January 22nd --- American Airlines Center, Dallas --- 8:30pm Est

Opening NHL Money Line: Dallas -170

The Jackets have been sneaky lately, but are 11-17 SU as dogs and shouldn’t be trusted if you’re trying to be an underhanded hockey bettor. The Stars average 2.98 goals per game, with only 2.59 goals against. Lately, however, they have been finding the twine for 4.0 goals per game during their impressive three-game winning streak. This is a rematch of a game these two teams played last Saturday. Dallas won outright 3-1.

Columbus is a better home team by far. They are 4-2 SU in their past 6 games and are 1-4 SU in their past five games on the road. They average 2.51 goals for, while barely being edged by opponent defensively, allowing 2.53 goals per game. There’s a reason they’ve been chewing the collective dust of their Central Division rivals for the past few seasons. At home, Columbus is a very attractive 16-6-4, which is why they are a bettor’s best friend on occasion.

But with a 4-4-2 SU record against Dallas in their past 10 games with the Stars, Columbus is about as ugly betty as you can get on the road. Take Dallas with the handicap and reap the rewards. It may seem like a stiff price to pay for a favorite, but Dallas will reward the betting faithful that get behind them tonight.

NHL Free Pick: Dallas -170

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