Silver Stallions (+1.5 Goals) (-105)
Mean Girls (-1.5 Goals) (-135)
Over 7.5 Goals (-120)
Under 7.5 Goals (-120)
Notes: The opening game of the evening is a possible play-in matchup although there’s still about half the season left to go and another winless team in the standings who’s looking to escape having to win what would be a record-tying six playoff games to win a championship (the Llamas did accomplish that exact task in Summer 2023 while The Blue Streakers won four last season). Pink looks to have possibly their strongest lineup since week 1 when they outplayed black for a period before getting shelled in the 2nd and 3rd. And by strongest lineup, they’ve only played one night since then so really this is just a stronger lineup than Friday’s, although they did get some solid subs and played both blue and yellow very close. Silver should have most of their lineup in and Jake Kolenberg helping out on defense but while Berkowitz is having a career year in somehow leading the league in scoring, I think they’re going to have all sorts of problems with pink’s speed and depth. It should be a very competitive and fairly wide open game, but I’m taking Regina George and co to take this down 5-3.
The Mighty Ducks (+1.0 Goals) (EVEN)
Fertilizin’ Eggs (-1.0 Goals) (-145)
Over 7.0 Goals (-145)
Under 7.0 Goals (EVEN)
Notes: These teams met last week and the score was an insane 7-6 for one of the craziest games of the season. This one profiles to be a bit lower scoring, but probably not by much. Zisser and Sophia will face off in the battle of goalies who love music festivals and cant reach the crossbar from the butterfly while their teams are currently the top two in the standings. This is a sneaky massive game for the Ducks; if they win, they’re tied with Egg for 1st in points with a game in hand. If they lose in regulation, they are guaranteed to be passed by one of red or blue by the end of the night and most likely finish their season in 3rd or 4th. It feels early to project playoff seedings but when you start seeing these types of high leverage late season matchups, they’re bigger than you think. I’m not sure how high I’m supposed to make the over/under but whatever it is, I’m taking it. Also leaning towards a Ducks underdog play but will depend on last minute injury report on both sides.
Sex Education (-1.5 Goals) (-145)
Reds N’ Roses (+1.5 Goals) (EVEN)
Over 6.0 Goals (-130)
Under 6.0 Goals (-110)
Notes: Speaking of high leverage matchups – a classic battle between two of the league’s top franchises. Blue was ranked #1 in the preseason power ranks but dropped two early decisions and are only 4-2 in the standings. To be fair, one was a super shorthanded Friday night and one was a dominant performance by Corey in net but that’s hockey sometimes. Red, on the other hand, was ranked 9th and most people seemed to think this would be another down year for them like last Spring when they just basically drafted their friends. Instead, after a lame start to the year, they’ve won three straight including quality victories over purple, yellow and light green. As a result they’re currently 3rd in standings and by the end of the night could climb up to 2nd. The line of Doug and Kevin, a lifelong goalie and defenseman respectively, has been producing a ton of points but the true x-factor is APK in net. He was drafted as the 6th goalie but has been playing at an extremely high level since AC. Did his craps losses rejuvenate his game? I honestly have no idea what’s going on with this team but it’s been highly impressive to witness. This game is almost too close to call with a few key absences for blue, including Cardello, but red missing the good Yehuda whos attendance has thus far been anything but good. Blue must be installed as favorite due to what I expect will be a public hammering of that side of the line, but I see this one coming down to the wire. Strong stay-away special with a sneaky lean on the under as, despite their firepower, these are the top two defensive teams in the league.
My Cup Size Is Stanley (EVEN)
The Mighty Ducks (-145)
Over 6.5 Goals (-120)
Under 6.5 Goals (-120)
Notes: Honestly, this is one of the best nights of games I’ve seen on the schedule in a while as this is yet another super tough game to predict. Both teams have surprised thus far with the Ducks hanging around the top of the standings all season and notching an impressive 7-6 OT win over Eggs last week while Cup Size may currently be 6th in the standings but they also have a +7 goal differential and a game or more in hand over everyone ahead of them. Are they for real? Most people think not, but they also felt that way about black last year, even after trade-a-palooza, and black ended up finishing in 4th in the standings. Tonight they’ll have a close to full lineup and a chance to make a real statement against a deep and feisty Ducks team. The x-factors for the Ducks will be two-fold: Zisser finally playing after several weeks off and Sarah’s parents in attendance to cheer on her and possibly Simon depending on how they feel about him. I still have to favor them as the public will favor them and I personally do find their roster a bit deeper and a bit stronger, but this is truly anyone’s game. Will likely to come down to a battle of sicko goalies who love to flash the leather after any impressive save: Carl and Zisser. Can’t wait.
Slime Time Live (+2.0 Goals) (-105)
The MilkMob (-2.0 Goals) (-135)
Over 6.5 Goals (-110)
Under 6.5 Goals (-130)
Notes: On paper, this game has blowout potential. In practice…who knows. Slime Time will be missing top dman Ariel and reigning playoff MVP Max in net and will likely have Cam subbing if he can make it to the rink before tomorrow. MilkMob has been absolutely fantastic thus far this season and on a roll as of late, but I do think this is a sneaky tough game for them. Their speed and offensive firepower are likely to cause fits for green, but I just can’t see this green team being quite as bad this season as they’ve looked so far. Maybe I’m wrong on this one and it’ll end up being like that terrible purple team Jack drafted while hammered in Italy in Fall 2023 and I’ll lose money every week in not making them enough of an underdog, but I think there’s too much depth and experience on the roster to not make some noise eventually. Whether they have enough speed to do so is another matter entirely. Regardless, I’m taking Slime Time to cover.
Purple Nurple (-105)
The MilkMob (-135)
Over 6.5 Goals (-130)
Under 6.5 Goals (-110)
Notes: The final game of the night is a real barnburner. Will the MilkMob raise a banner in honor of Caleb, their inaugural season 1st rounder who was about to become a co-captain last season before an unfortunate preseason injury landed him on the IR. Now he finds himself on the other side of the cow’s udder, as the old proverb goes, and looking to dish out some punishment to his former teammates. If he and Milkman meet at center ice it could cause the type of explosion that creates a black hole and eats the universe, like our own personal Large Hadron Collider but instead of underground in a tunnel between France and Switzerland it’s on the 96th street rink next to Taco Bell and the housing projects. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. I find these teams incredibly evenly matched and borderline too close to call so in this case, I’m riding the momentum of the MilkMob. Ring that cowbell. See ya tonight.