Posted on 2/26/2008 1:40:50 PM

NHL Hockey Betting Furious Free Picks - Tuesday Edition Part 1

By Tim Furious

Pittsburgh Penguins (35-21-7) vs. New York Islanders (30-26-7)

Tuesday, February 26th --- Nassau Coliseum, NY --- 7:00pm EST

NHL Betting Line: NYI -110

As good as Evgeni Malkin has been down the stretch, the Pittsburgh Penguins need Sidney Crosby back. Nothing cemented that idea better than consecutive losses to Ottawa and San Jose. Things don’t get better as the meet a surging Islanders team led by Mike Comrie that has gone 6-1 SU in its past seven games.

Malkin has steadied the scoring path for the Tuxedo Birds who average 2.95 goals per game. But their team defense is still lacking. Ryan Whitney is more of an offensive defenseman, and despite his excellent puck pushing skills, he can not protect the blue-line all by himself. Without Sidney Crosby and the offense putting teams on their heels, life is getting more and more difficult for Ty Conklin in net. The Pens allow 2.71 goals per game on 30.62 shots. Simply put that’s just too many shots for a second-tier goal tender like Conklin to have to face every night.

Not helping matters is that the Penguins are 1-4 SU on the road when playing the New York Islanders. Those savvy betting investors who jumped on the Islanders betting bandwagon have been rewarded handsomely. Mike Comrie, who recently signed a handsome three-year deal, leads the way with 45 points (18 goals, 27 helpers). He is followed closely by Bill Guerin and Mirsolav Satan, who both have 35 points. In fact, the Islanders have eight skaters with 20+ points, which means that they are both deep and deadly. The Islanders have surprisingly become a physical team, and that is the type of team that the Penguins traditionally struggle against.

Bet on the Isle tonight. While they struggle against teams that play rigid team defense, they will have their way with a Penguins team that is starting to show exhaustion. Cool off on the Penguins for now, or at least until Sid The Kid makes his return. At least back off tonight. The Islanders are 4-1 SU in their past five home games with the total going in the UNDER for the majority of their home matchups.

NHL Free Pick: New York -110

Atlanta Thrashers (29-30-4) vs. Montreal Canadiens (33-21-9)

Tuesday, February 26th --- Bell Centre, Montreal --- 7:30pm EST

NHL Betting Line: Montreal -200

It’s absolutely no secret that Montreal desperately wants to add Thrashers gunner Marion Hossa to their roster. Trade rumors have been swirling like wildfire in Montreal that the right winger from the former Czechoslovakian is Montreal bound. But the trade deadline is today at 3pm. The hot air has gotten so thick in Montreal that it’s hard to believe that Hossa will don a Habs jersey this season. And if there is no action by the 3pm trade deadline today, at least Habs fans will get a first class ticket to see what they’re missing out on.

Hossa has 56 points this season, trailing Ilya Kovalchuk who has 69 points. The dynamic duo has been anything but, but you can hardly blame them for that. This roster is shallow and lacks any real scoring depth. It’s a wonder that Atlanta averages 2.68 goals per game. The fact that they average 3.22 goals against balances out the cosmos for me.

Atlanta betrays their betting faithful on the road. They are 2-6 SU in their past 8 road games and are 5-10 SU in their last 15 games when playing in the Bell Centre. On top of that, they’re tumbling through a brutal three-game losing streak.

But are they catching the Habs at the right time? The Habs followed up a tremendous comeback victory over the Rangers by losing to Pittsburgh and then getting shutout by the Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Columbus Blue Jackets! Who gets shut out by them? After that Rangers game I firmly believed that the Bell Centre was perhaps the most hostile rink in the league. And while that may remain so, it also proves that this Habs roster doesn’t have what it takes to win in the playoffs.

They are a fast team that is coached extremely well. They average 3.11 goals per game, and have a fantastic power-play led by Dany Markov. But they simply allow far too many shots on net. They give up 31.05 shots against, which is simply far too much for either Cristobel Huet or the young Carey Price to deal with. This is a stay away game until the deadline passes. If the Habs pull the trigger to acquire Hossa, then bet heavy on the Habs. If they don’t, I have a bad feeling that Hossa is going to make them regret it. But as the teams stand right now, I wouldn’t bet on the Thrashers whenever they’re playing a Canadian team. They simply never play well against Canadian teams.

NHL Betting Line: Montreal -200

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