The Mighty Mensches (+1.5 Goals) (+130)
Green Street Hooligans (-1.5 Goals) (-185)
Over 7.0 (-105)
Under 7.0 (-135)
Notes: Before these half-assed previews of tonights games I felt it would be prudent to offer the people a preview of the D5 Gala and where you will be able to find me for pretty much the entirety of the evening. Anyways, the Mensches have four players coming in from their regular roster: a guy who shares his name with a Hollywood predator, rookie of the year frontrunner despite scoring 0 points Ami Cohen, midseason acquisition Annika and probably still not quite sure what she has gotten herself into here Jenny. Their roster is going to be augmented by a just an absolute parade of subs: Rys, Shan, Annie, Rose of LBS/Riveters fame, Rob Meehan of drinking shirtless fame and me of trying to get through this preview without resorting to drinking shirtless fame. Meanwhile green will have most of their roster in besides Sean Kittridge who is out and Yehuda who is a GTD but will probably play because he’s a sicko and it would be wrong to dishonor the lord on the sabbath. I really have no idea how to handicap this game as the Mensches have a roster that’s mostly subs, but the subs are mostly good, but also many of us will be boozing before and possibly during the game. Bet at your own risk.
Julie’s Football Club (-130)
Vegas Golden Knights (-110)
Over 6.5 (+110)
Under 6.5 (-155)
Notes: Super tight game here between two top teams. Orange has most of their lineup in for this one as they have Julie, Tash, Keith, Meehan, Kurt, Jo, Brett, Kev and both Mikes, Milstein and PIgozzi, along with AJ making his second appearance of the season in net. Vegas, meanwhile, has the Campbell Bros, Russo, Joe, Shan, Sanchick, Ellie and Jeff Green in, plus Boylan subbing and a number of guys who are GTDs. Two of the top goalies in the league will probably keep this game relatively low scoring, but there is enough firepower between Jo, Tash and the Campbell Bros to open it up. I’m not brave enough to pick a winner but the under looks like the best bet in this one which is why, in honor of how the city of Las Vegas was built, I have juiced it so severely. Sorry under bettors. Don’t blame me, blame Bugsy Siegal.
The Lavender Llamas (+155)
Merry Pranksters (-220)
Over 6.5 (-120)
Under 6.5 (-120)
Notes: A very tight game between one team who was expected to be a contender but has struggled out of the gate and the team which was ranked last in the opening power rankings only to explode out of the gate. The Pranksters have rode a great team vibe, KG/Hill rotating on D and Derek scoring hat tricks in 2 of 3 games to a current 5th place slot in the standings and 1st place in goals scored at 4.25 per game. Ridzik is once again out tonight but Simon will sub in this game; meanwhile the Llamas should have most of their top players in the lineup minus Pags who I assume is still out but Simon has assured me it doesn’t make a difference because he’s getting a shutout.
He also told me if he loses this game he will retire from playing in goal. Despite my constant need for goalie subs, I am now kind of hoping that the Llamas make that happen. I was literally about to write Lavender to win and probably dog pee cellys to ensue…
…but just got last minute word that Sam’s flight was cancelled and now Annie is on the phone with Gelman negotiating subs, except he now (wisely) has Hilary handle all his sub negotiations so it is very much a business woman / field hockey showdown of legendary proportions going on as we speak. So yea…for now, Pranksters to win and continue the frankly absurd curse of the #1 overall pick. Damn.
Red Zeppelin (-165)
Merry Pranksters (+120)
Over 6.0 (-130)
Under 6.0 (-110)
Notes: For game 2 the Pranksters have Max in net instead of Simon but, perhaps most importantly, Derek, Gelman, Hill and KG are in and I’m pretty sure Danilo and rookie sensation Manny Jurado are too. Meanwhile Red has 7 guys and 2 girls, the bare minimum, but their players love playing time and I think most of their top guns are in. Lots of considerations here: will red struggle with a short lineup?Will the Pranksters be tired in their second game of back to backs? Most importantly, will the Pranksters be preoccupied with cupcakes and booze celebrating KG’s birthday in the stands before the game and on the bench during it? I kind of hope they win for the vibes, but red is a finely tuned machine and assuming their 9 players showing up include some combination of Joe, Tarnow, Colleen, Nate and the Weavers, I think it’ll be too much for tie dye. Should be a fun competitive game but ultimately the Zeppelin should have just enough to pull it out.
Shooting Blancs (-160)
MelRose Place (+115)
Over 6.5 (-120)
Under 6.5 (-120)
Notes: Storer just called out last minute and DRo tried to get Boo Nieves, who he met at a party months ago, to sub but was sadly denied by the former Rangers 4th liner. So MelRose will make do with whoever they have coming tonight, with probably Liz or Ellie subbing for Grace, possibly with Rusty subbing if Simon approves it. The Blancs meanwhile have McCauley predictably out with his latest injury, Cara out but with Carly subbing for her and Simon apparently hurt his neck bouldering but is playing through it. Bouldering has now claimed the lives of Jack, Simon and so many others and I am here to raise awareness that we live on the east coast – stick to hockey and tennis please, stop doing Brooklyn things. Also the Blancs have been trying all season to get Dom from yellow so this will be a good opportunity for them to woo him over, possibly in a midgame trade which I would personally love to see happen. Hockey-wise, these teams are extremely similar in my opinion – solid middle of the pack squads. But the Storer callout is absolutely brutal for MelRose and I think without him on D, the Blancs will be able to use their depth and forechecking to great effect. They haven’t played in almost a month but I’m betting on white to close out the evening with a win and an electric team celebration at Dorrian’s. First round of shots is on Simon.