Tuesday Night Trifecta

First off lets talk some basic NHL strategy that hasn't been touched on.  More than any other sport, an NHL tilt can swing either way on any given night.  This unpredictability makes it dangerous to load up on any one team in a given night.  It also makes the juice something to pay attention to -- you'll be hard pressed to find me betting on ANYONE at -200 or worse, even if the Penguins are playing their AHL affiliate.  Your best bet here is to diversify with a series of smaller wagers.

Equally important is who is in net -- I like to use www.dailyfaceoff.com as my source for who is between the pipes.  Then you gotta factor days rest, momentum (huge in hockey) and home ice.  Home ice is difficult in hockey cause some teams have a huge advantage and others don't -- off the top of my head the Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, DC, Buffalo, Detroit and Carolina jump to mind.

Anyways, without further ado here is the Tuesday's trifecta of NHL picks:

--Pitt -175: Steep price to pay but they are fresh, at home, and talented.

--Atlanta EVEN: I know I know, I mentioned Montreal can be a tough place to play... but that goes for the home team too, who got booed off the ice recently.  The Habs are struggling and the Thrashers are cruising right now with a red hot power play.  I gotta ride the hot hand with the even money as the Canadians are turning to Jaroslav Halak tonight who has been unimpressive at best.

--Calgary -145: Columbus took the first game of this series at home and I look for Calgary to get even on their own ice.  Calgary has passionate fans is one of the most difficult places to play and has lost only once at home this year.  I'll take the Flames coming off 3 days rest.