The Winnipeg Jets will open the season on the road tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. Winnipeg was 30-23-3 last year overall and an impressive 17-10-1 on the road. Anaheim on the other hand was a dismal 17-30-9 overall and just 6-18-4 at Honda Center. The Jets advanced to the second round of the playoffs last year but were stymied by the Montréal Canadiens due to poor defensive play but that has been addressed with the acquisition of Vancouver’s Nate Schmidt and Washington’s Brenden Dillon. The Ducks did make some moves toward youth in the offseason but still have some of the old guard hanging around like Getzlaf, Silfverberg, and Fowler, and once again should be bottom-dwellers in the Pacific division. The Jets are 6-1 in their last 7 meetings with the Ducks and get their quest for the Cup off on the right foot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: WINNIPEG JETS
Tuesday NHL Pick
Amalie Arena will be electric tonight when the Tampa Bay Lightning raise their Stanley Cup banner and open the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh will be without two of their key weapons, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who are both sidelined with injuries and that is not good for a Penguins team that is 0-5 in their last 5 trips to Tampa. Tampa finished the regular season with a 21-7 record at home and are expected to have Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes, who was outstanding as usual last season. Can the Tampa Bay Lightning capture their third straight Stanley Cup victory? Absolutely and the quest starts tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Monday MLB Pick
The Los Angeles Dodgers will have momentum on their side when they head home for Game 3 of the NLDS. Los Angeles evened the series at one game apiece on Saturday with a decisive 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants and will turn to Max Scherzer tonight to keep it rolling. Since making the move to LA from Washington, the Dodgers are 12-0 in Scherzer’s 12 starts but he has been a little shaky over his last 3 turns. Scherzer said he was having some slight issues with his mechanics but they have since been ironed out. The Giants will counter with ex-Dodger Alex Wood. Wood was lights out in the regular season, going 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA, but was 0-2 against his former team with a 4.76 ERA. LA knows Wood well so there will be no surprises there and will have a well-rested Scherzer on the hill who is due for a dominant performance.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Sunday NFL Pick
The 3-1 Cleveland Browns head west today for a matchup with the 3-1 LA Chargers and the difference maker in this game will be the running game. Cleveland possesses the best run game in the league, behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and this will pose a problem for LA. The Chargers are allowing an average of 139.5 yards per game on the ground, which is 29th in the NFL. The Browns have been a covering machine. They are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 overall, 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games, and will be catching a Chargers team that is working on a short week. Consider the Browns and the points.
TODAY’S PICK: CLEVELAND BROWNS +2.5
Saturday MLB Pick
The Atlanta Braves fell to the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday, 2-1, in Game 1 of the NLDS. The Braves cannot afford being down 0-2 before heading home to Atlanta for Game 3 and will turn to their ace, southpaw Max Fried, to right the ship. Fried has been dealing. Over his last 3 turns, he is a perfect 3-0 with a nasty ERA of 0.39 and an equally nasty 0.48 WHIP. If that’s not domination, what is? The Brewers will counter with Brandon Woodruff. Over his last 3 turns, Woodruff is 0-2 and was on the losing end of an 8-1 loss to Atlanta the last time he faced them on July 31st. The Brewers are 1-4 in their last 5 against a left-handed starter, which is not good the way Fried is throwing flames.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES
Friday MLB Pick
As it has been all year, the San Francisco Giants are getting no respect and will be a home dog tonight when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS. The so-called experts were all waiting and predicting the Giants would come back down to earth but they didn’t. Instead, they went on to win more games than any other team in the Majors, 107, and the NL West. Tonight Logan Webb will be on the hill for the home team. This guy has not lost a game since May 5th and has faced the Dodgers three times this year and the Giants went on to win all three. Walker Buehler will toe the rubber for LA and he has delivered all year, however in his last turn against the Giants at Oracle Park on September 5th, he was lit up for 6 runs on 7 hits in 3 innings of work, and San Francisco went on to win, 6-4. The Giants won the season series this year (10-9) against their hated rivals and are 3-1 in their last 4 at home against the Dodgers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Thursday MLB Pick
The ALDS gets underway today with the Houston Astros hosting the Chicago White Sox in a matinée at Minute Maid Park. The scheduled pitchers are Lance Lynn for the White Sox and Lance McCullers Jr. for the Astros. The last time Lynn faced the Astros it did not go very well. He was lit up for 6 runs on 8 hits in 4 innings of work, resulting in a 7-3 Astros win. On the flip side, McCullers Jr. has faced the White Sox twice this year with very different outcomes. Houston won both games and McCullers Jr. allowed a total of only 3 runs on 4 hits in 13 innings of work. The White Sox and Astros met at Minute Maid back in June and the Stros swept the Sox in a 4-game set, outscoring them 27-8. Consider the Astros.
TODAY’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS