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Today is bounce-back day.

After sweeping the board Monday we settled for a 1-2 record Tuesday, thanks to an insanely frustrating finish in Buffalo.

We had some limited options with just two games on the schedule - something we definitely don't have to worry about Wednesday.

GOATs and scapegoats

Ryan O'Reilly played a starring role for the St. Louis Blues (+105) Tuesday, assisting on the game-tying goal in the third period, doing a masterful job on the penalty kill in overtime, and scoring a beauty in the shootout, helping us salvage a winning end to the night.

The reason we had to salvage something was because of a putrid Buffalo Sabres' penalty kill. The Ottawa Senators went 3-for-3 on the power play for the first time all season. We needed Jack Eichel to finish with a positive plus-minus, and he was on track to in the dying minutes, sitting at plus-one thanks to his goal. However, the Sabres were also losing late because of that pathetic excuse for a penalty kill, and Eichel was on the ice trying to tie the game when Ottawa scored into an empty net. Perfect.

Wednesday's bets

Nashville Predators/Washington Capitals over 6.5 (-105)

Alex Ovechkin returns to the ice tonight having served his one-game suspension for skipping the All-Star Game, and I'd imagine he's got a bit of an on-ice statement prepared. The Capitals can score in bunches and so can the Predators, who also struggle to keep pucks out of their net. The over is 5-0 in Nashville's last five games as underdogs, as well as 5-0 in the last five meetings between these teams.

Anaheim Ducks (+110)

The Arizona Coyotes were putting together a strong season but were largely flying under the radar as the small-market team they are. That all changed when Taylor Hall was acquired. The bandwagon started to fill up after the trade, but the Coyotes are just 7-8-1 since bringing in the former MVP. They've also lost four consecutive on the road (scoring just four goals) and six of their last seven. This is a team struggling to win and score outside of the desert, now facing one of the world's best goalies in the Ducks' John Gibson, who has remarkably better numbers in Anaheim this season.

Los Angeles Kings' team total under 2.5 (-120)

The game under could also be a play here, but there's always the risk of the Tampa Bay Lightning scoring six on their own. The Kings have scored two or fewer goals in six of their last eight home games and have been held to one or fewer in each of those games against teams of comparable skill level to Tampa. The Lightning are allowing just 1.8 goals per game in 2020 and the Kings are 30th in the NHL in goals scored all season. Trust Tampa's resurgence tonight in Los Angeles.

Best bet

Dallas Stars (-115)

The Toronto Maple Leafs' road numbers under Sheldon Keefe are impressive. They're 11-4 outside of Toronto since he took over, as well as 8-1 on the road against Western Conference teams. But the Stars are an entirely different beast. They're 16-5-1 at home since Oct. 18 and have some of the best underlying numbers in the NHL. They're a fundamentally sound hockey team that is more equipped to take advantage of the Leafs' defensive frailties.

As hard as it might be to overlook Toronto's road numbers, trust in the better team to get the job done tonight on home ice.

Trend of the night

The Vancouver Canucks have lost eight of their nine games against the San Jose Sharks in California over the last four seasons (including this one).

Even more remarkably, the Canucks have scored a meager 16 goals in those nine games, and just 11 in the eight losses. But how seriously should we take Vancouver's struggles in San Jose considering both teams are significantly different this season than they were over the last three? The Canucks are drastically improved and sitting atop the Pacific Division, while the Sharks, perennial Stanley Cup contenders, are near the basement of the Western Conference. Because of that I'm not putting as much stock into this trend, and it's a no-play for me.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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