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Welcome to our first ever back-to-back NHL betting guide here on House Enterprise.
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Game 1: New York Rangers @ New York Islanders
Here it is! Our first Battle of New York here in the 2022-23 season. I love when they come early in the year, because it really sets the tone for who is going to be top-dog in the New York hockey landscape. Rangers vs. Islanders is New York's best rivalry. As much as I love the Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees, those two teams have no bearing on each other at the end of the day. The Yanks and Mets are in two completely different leagues, and aside from the friendly bragging rights you might have over your neighbor or the person in the cubicle next to you, that's all they play for. There's no division lead or playoff spot at stake when these two get together. The Jets and Giants hardly ever play each other, and the Knicks and Nets... eh... I don't think that's ever been much of a rivalry that anyone has ever paid attention to.
Rangers/Islanders however... these two teams play in the same division, the Islanders success has an immediate impact on the Rangers and vise versa. Not only that, but hockey is an extremely physical sport and tensions are always high. When you put the division rivalry on the line, as well as the crown of New York City, the end result is explosive action. The players get into it, the fans probably even more so. I hate the Islanders with every fiber of my being, more than any other professional sports franchise, and I know a lot of Islanders fans who feel the same about the Rangers.
This rivalry goes beyond bragging rights. This is pure hatred from both sides. It's on.
The Rangers come in as the underdogs tonight (+100) despite having the better record thus far. The only reason I can think of why this would be is because the Blueshirts just played last night against the Colorado Avalanche, so tired legs and possibly having backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak in net is probably playing a huge factor.
Still, give me the Rangers.
I'll take:
NYR ML
Mika Zibanejad O 3.5 shots on goal
Game 2: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Anaheim Ducks
I went on a little bit of a Twitter rant last night about how throwing the towel in on your team this early in the season is completely asinine. The Tampa Bay Lightning are experiencing exactly that right now. The Lightning hold a 3-4-0 record coming into tonight's game, but as we know, this is the Tampa Bay Lightning. They won't stay down for long, I promise.
Their opponent tonight is the Anaheim Ducks, this is the exack kind of matchup that Tampa needs to get back on track. The Ducks are bad early on in the season, and I mean really bad. Which is surprising to me because I picked them as my dark horse to make some noise in the Western Conference this year. Oh well, what do I know? It's still early. Surprise us, Anaheim.
I'll take:
TBL -1.5
Steven Stamkos anytime goal scorer
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