Double Teamed (-2.0 Goals) (-145)
Attack Of The Pie Pie (+2.0 Goals) (EVEN)
Over 8.5 Goals (-110)
Under 8.5 Goals (-130)
Notes: Two teams that not many expected to be near the bottom of the standings open week eight in a bid to get themselves out of play-in danger. One of the participants in that game is close to decided but the other is up in the air and the loser of this one is a prime candidate to be involved. Yellow opened the season as the #2 team in the power rankings but has run into some issues particularly on the defensive end where they’ve given up a league high 7.5 goals per game. Meanwhile orange has had an up-and-down season but is currently riding a two game win streak, although they’ll have to make due tonight without both Danilo and Cherie. James’ friends, coworkers, neighbors and whomever else he’s got on this team have certainly been improving as the season’s rolled along but I think this is a tough matchup for them without their top dman and top lady. They certainly have the horses to get it done, especially if the yellow defense continues to be shaky, but I’m not sure if it’s in the cards tonight. 6-4 yellow.
Show Bobs (+3.0 Goals) (+200)
Red Day (-3.0 Goals) (-320)
Over 8.5 Goals (-120)
Under 8.5 Goals (-120)
Notes: After a league record five goal line in their game on Monday which netted me $15 in straight up bets vs Jenn, the line tonight has stabilized to a far more reasonable but still hefty 3.5. Of course, red will be playing without the services of Tarnow and Campbell who are both now on sabbatical, meaning Nate alone has the reigns of the franchise which has caused me to receive this meme associated with it several times.
Regardless, these D5 seasons do often come down to momentum and in this case we’ve got two teams going in opposite directions: red, winners of four of their past five games (somehow their only loss in that span was a game where it seemed like they were going to face an empty net or Gelman himself in goal) while black has dropped four games in a row and given up an astounding 36 goals in those games. Red does have some absences but I’m not sure if I see either streak stopping tonight short of divine intervention or Hicks’ steroid intake exceeding even the pre-covid levels. These teams met just a few weeks ago and red took it down 8-5; I see this one being fairly similar. Red Day by a score of something like 7-3.
Merry Pranksters (-120)
Double Teamed (-120)
Over 8.5 Goals (-110)
Under 8.5 Goals (-130)
Notes: Pranksters won’t have Sonj in the lineup but otherwise should be mostly stacked and have Tyler subbing in net. Projected by many to be near the bottom of the league, tie dye instead is 4th overall in points per game with impressive wins over red and navy on their resume. Yellow has been similarly close to impossible to project all season and this game is no different as the lineup is probably somewhat short and certainly in flux for the second game of the doubleheader. I really have no idea where to go with this one. If you look at the rosters on paper the clear edge goes to yellow. But as we all know, the game is played on the rink and not on paper and the Pranksters have been playing great team hockey all season. Projecting this one as a tossup and probably a trap game gambling-wise. If anything I’m taking Gelman 2+ points parlayed with the over (boosted to +150).
Hootie & The Doug Fish (-120)
Hockey At Glatt’s (-120)
Over 9.0 Goals (-120)
Under 9.0 Goals (-120)
Notes: These teams met a few weeks ago and the game went to a shootout that was eventually won by Zuck in the fourth round. This week camo won’t have Hootie (although Glatt’s did approve Shane to sub for some reason) while Ken is a GTD. Usually he finds a way to make these GTDs but he did miss Monday so maybe he’ll miss this one. Glatt’s seems to have most of their lineup in considering they didn’t ask me for a single sub and honestly their allowance of a sub for the first place team that didn’t really need it speaks to the confidence of this group. If you just take a cursory look at the standings it seems like camo should take this down and continue their march up to the Presidents Trophy. But much like the previous game, there’s more than meets the eye to these matchups and although I’d expect the public to take camo, I have it rated as a tossup. Once again, the only bet I would take is a specialty SGP with Glatt/Everett/Bramson 2+ Points each, boosted to +135.
Hockey At Glatt’s (-1.5 Goals) (-130)
Merry Pranksters (+1.5 Goals) (-110)
Over 8.5 Goals (-110)
Under 8.5 Goals (-130)
Notes: The final game of the evening. One team that’s done much better thus far than public expectations while the other was the preseason #1 but is currently 10th in the standings. Sneaky storyline is that Tony agreed to sub for tie dye but then bailed on them almost immediately, perhaps due to cowardice, perhaps antisemitism. We may never know. But one thing I do know is that his middle name is apparently Giuseppe. Do with this information what you will but all the above points are relevant for the upcoming lawyer power rankings. Whether they were relevant or not for this preview is up for debate. My personal opinion: matchups are huge in hockey, particularly at our level, and Glatt’s is a brutal one for tie dye. Gelman is going to get his but unless he’s over 3 points I don’t think he’ll be able to stop the Glatt’s march out of the basement and to the upper middle class of the standings that is sure to happen. Give me brown to win 6-4. See ya tonight.