The Toronto Maple Leafs will take a two game winning streak into T-Mobile Arena tonight for a matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams are 4-2-0 and match up well so we should see some entertaining hockey tonight. The Knights four wins have not been against the NHL’s elite (LA, Chicago, Seattle and Winnipeg) so don’t get too excited. Between the pipes tonight, Vegas is expected to have Logan Thompson and for Toronto Ilya Samsonov. Thompson is 2-2-0 with a 2.30 GAA and a .926 SV%. Samsonov has been outstanding. He is 4-0-0 with a GAA of only 1.73 and a .938 SV%. The Leafs have two of the NHL’S best, Auston Matthews and John Tavares, and Tavares has been on fire. Toronto has won 2 straight against Vegas and 5 of the last 6.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Month: October 2022
Sunday NFL Pick
The 4-2 New York Jets are currently a slight favorite today when they visit Mile High for a matchup with the 2-4 Denver Broncos. Denver will be playing on a short week after losing to the LA Chargers on Monday and have now lost three straight. The Broncos offense is inept to say the least, averaging just 15.7 points per game, and they will be without starting quarterback Russell Wilson who is sidelined with a hamstring issue. The Jets are 3-0 on the road, are averaging 23.8 points per game, and are coming off an impressive 27-10 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK JETS M/L
Saturday NHL Pick
The Buffalo Sabres are moving in the right direction after being bottom feeders and the brunt of many jokes for so long but that is about to change. The Western New Yorkers are 3-1 on the season and are coming off two very impressive road victories. On Tuesday, they took down the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton, 4-2, then made the short trip to Calgary to knock off the heavily favored Flames, 6-3. Tonight they will be a big dog once again when they head to Vancouver to take on the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Vancouver is winless on the season, at-0-3-2, and is expected to have Thatcher Demko between the pipes. Demko’s numbers are not good. He is 0-3-1 with a 4.30 GAA and a .861 SV%. Buffalo is expected to have Craig Anderson in net and he is 1-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .972 SV%. The Sabres have won the last two meetings with the Canucks and maybe after a win tonight they will start getting some respect.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BUFFALO SABRES
Friday MLB Pick
The Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres split a pair at Petco Park and now the NLCS moves to the Phillies home turf, Citizens Bank Park, for the next three. The Padres will have confidence and momentum on their side moving forward. With comeback wins against the Dodgers on Saturday and the Phillies on Wednesday, the Padres know they can beat anybody at any time and come back in any situation, and that makes them a very dangerous team. San Diego will hand the ball to their ace, Joe Musgrove. Musgrove delivered all season long and that has carried over to the postseason. In his two starts, he is 1-0 with an ERA of only 1.38 and a nasty 0.85 WHIP in 13 innings of work. Philadelphia will counter with southpaw Ranger Suárez. Suárez is 0-0 in the postseason with a 2.70 ERA and an elevated WHIP of 2.40 in just 3.1 innings of work. The Friars are 18-4 in their last 22 following a day off and 7-3 in their last 10 road games against a left-handed starter. Machado, Bell, Soto, and Drury can all do a lot of damage and should be able to get to Suárez.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES
Thursday NHL Pick
The 3-1-0 Boston Bruins lost their first game of the season on Tuesday, falling to the Ottawa Senators, 7-5, at Canadian Tire Centre. The Bruins were the better team by far in that matchup but probably took the Sens for granted and were playing back-to-back games, which is always tough. Tonight they return home to TD Garden to take on the 1-3-0 Anaheim Ducks. Since winning the season opener, the Ducks have lost 3 straight. They are expected to have John Gibson between the pipes and thus far he has not played well. Gibson is 1-2 with a 5.96 GAA and a 0.872 SV%. The Bruins are 2-0 at home and are expected to have Linus Ullmark guarding the net. He is 2-0 with a 2.59 GAA and a 0.927 SV%. Advantage Boston. The Ducks always give the Bruins a run for their money but Boston is averaging 5.33 goals per game which is the best in the league and should have no problem getting the puck past Gibson.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON BRUINS
Wednesday MLB Pick
The New York Yankees will be a big dog tonight when they travel to Minute Maid Park to open the ALCS with the Houston Astros. The Yankees will have momentum on their side after winning their last two against the Guardians, and believe me, they have not forgotten 2017. Expected starters are Jameson Taillon for New York and Justin Verlander for Houston. Over his last 3 turns, Taillon is 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and the Yankees are 4-0 in his last 4 starts against the AL West. Verlander was throwing flames all season long but has come back down to earth. Over his last 3 starts, he is 1-0 with a 3.94 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and was lit up in his last turn by Seattle, yielding 6 runs on 10 hits in only 4 innings of work. The Astros last played on Saturday and layoffs do not always work in your favor. The Bombers are worth a shot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES
Tuesday MLB Pick
Yesterday’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees was rained out. Today they will play an early one in the Bronx. Nothing has changed from yesterday’s blog except Nasty Nestor Cortés, Jr. will start the first leg for the Yankees over Jameson Taillon, which is a good thing. The pick remains the same.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES