My Cup Size Is Stanley (+2.0 Goals) (-160)
Red Floyd (-2.0 Goals) (+110)
Over 6.5 (-105)
Under 6.5 (-135)
Notes: This looked like it could shape up to be a heavyweight showdown about midway through the season when red was rolling and black was undefeated, but a month later red continues to be a favorite to advance to their first title game in the Nate Lerner era while black has lost 4 of 5. They’ll be riding high after last week’s historic OT win but still, the public doesn’t seem to have much faith in them.
Red’s biggest edge in this game is speed and I’m not entirely sure how black will neutralize it. Mikey, DRo, Hill and Jenn will need to use all their speed and physicality (hopefully within reason) to shut down the red attack while Minsky and Jo are going to have to put on a show offensively. Of note, these are also the only two teams in the league who regularly used their ladies on defense (green did occasionally but not every single game). These are also two of the top goalies in the league and probably the two teams I received the most complaints about in regards to chippy play. I have to give the edge to red here but honestly I just hope this doesn’t go to 28 minutes of overtime.
SexyBack (EVEN)
Layin’ Pipe (-145)
Over 6.0 (-120)
Under 6.0 (-120)
Notes: On paper, this feels like a fairly even matchup to me. The public seems to disagree.
Same exact 76% figure as for red over black despite this being a theoretically much closer matchup. Thus I have little choice but to move the line to accommodate public perception. I do think it’s close to a coin flip though; the teams met twice this season, both times missing a ton of players, and the results were 2-0 wins each way. Both teams will also have their goalies back from hiatus as Jeff Green just flew back in from Europe while Phelps is in town from Atlanta directing a play and will be in net tonight. A true toss-up in my opinion and probably the game of the night.
Championship Lines:
Away Team (+110)
Home Team (-155)
Over 4.5 (-130)
Under 4.5 (-110)
Red Floyd (+135)
Layin’ Pipe (+200)
SexyBack (+200)
My Cup Size Is Stanley (+350)
HIstory is on the line. If black wins, it represents Jenn’s first ever trip to the finals despite captaining since the dawn of the league (minus four seasons in the middle). If blue wins, Sam gets his record 5th cup. If Red wins, Goose gets his record 5th cup. And if Pipe wins, Andrew wins his 4th cup in 4 seasons cementing himself as perhaps the best analytics player this league has known. Should be an electric evening. See ya tonight at the rink (and at Reif’s afterwards).
