On Jan. 14, the visiting Coyotes could be had on the moneyline for as high as +500 against the Avalanche. It was one of the five highest moneyline payouts in the last 20 years. Arizona took a brief third-period lead but lost in a shootout, leaving intrepid underdog bettors just short of a reward for their betting bravery. However, it was a reminder that, even in defeat and at a certain price, there's no such thing as a bad bet.

Sure enough, on the second-to-last night before the All-Star break, the Coyotes returned to Colorado priced at +450 on the moneyline. This time, it took a late game-tying goal for Arizona to force overtime and a subsequent shootout. But unlike three weeks prior, the Coyotes won in a shootout victory. Underdog bettors rejoiced, and there's reason to believe it was a sign of things to come in a season where favorites have won at an unheard-of clip.

The recipe

Before the season, we provided a three-chapter series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and how to use that information to create your own moneylines.

When the NHL took its hiatus around Christmas, we shared my 2021-22 season ratings, which use the metrics I deem important to predict future success. Considering all the lineup inconsistency across the league this season, we held firm for the next six weeks, using a 50-50 split between those ratings and the preseason priors via the regular-season point-total markets.

Since the NHL adjusted its COVID-19 testing policies after the All-Star Game, we'll move to a 60-40 split, slowly putting more emphasis on team metrics for this season while not going all-in on what's happened, given how many games have been played with mismatched roster strength.

The cheat sheet

The following includes my fair price on the games (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I'd need to bet either side. I only need a 1% edge for a favorite if we're getting better than a fair price on the team more likely to win. For the underdog, I'll need 4% or better to make it a bet. For games I project to be closer to a coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough for a worthwhile wager. I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a team playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and a 3% consideration for a team on the second leg of a back-to-back without travel.

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL is back! While there are only a couple of games on tonight's schedule, there is still plenty of value on the board, particularly with shot props.

Let's look at the best way to attack this slate.

Mitch Marner over 2.5 shots (-125)

Mitch Marner has picked things up as a shooter since returning to the lineup. He has attempted 40 shots over a seven-game span. Of those attempts, 27 hit the net. That's good for an average of 3.86 shots on goal per contest.

Considering the success he's enjoyed as a shooter - he scored in all seven games - Marner should have the confidence to continue firing pucks on net whenever he has the chance.

The Carolina Hurricanes are a strong defensive team, but I'm not going to be scared away here. Marner's shot volume is rising, he routinely plays 20 minutes a night, and he'll get cushier usage on home soil. Oh, and Sheldon Keefe should have no problem leaning on his best players, given they just had a handful of days off to rest and recover.

Jesper Bratt over 2.5 shots (-118)

Jesper Bratt has skated on a line with Jack Hughes for a while now. With Hughes in COVID-19 protocol, I think the natural reaction is to lower your expectations for Bratt offensively. That may not be a good idea, at least in terms of his ability to pile up shots.

The reality is Bratt has been a much more prolific shooter when away from Hughes. Bratt averages a little more than 12 shot attempts per 60 minutes of five-on-five play with Hughes on his line. Without Hughes? It's a different story. Bratt generates more than 17 attempts per 60 minutes when Nico Hischier is his centerman. And it just so happens Nico will be centering Bratt this evening in Ottawa.

Expect Bratt to take advantage.

Brady Tkachuk over 3.5 shots (+100)

Brady Tkachuk is one of the best shot generators in the league right now, particularly on home soil. Tkachuk has amassed 73 shot attempts and 51 shots on goal over his last 10 home games. That's a whopping 5.1 shots per contest, and a lot better than his usual average of 3.5.

The Devils are missing their two best play drivers in Hughes and Dougie Hamilton, and they aren't exactly the stoutest defensive team at the best of times.

Tkachuk figures to be the prime beneficiary, especially with more of the offensive workload getting put on his shoulders while Josh Norris and Drake Batherson are sidelined.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin was added to the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list Monday.

The 35-year-old missed the first 34 games of 2021-22 following offseason knee surgery. He's produced five goals and eight assists in 12 contests since making his return in early January.

Pittsburgh recalled forwards Michael Chaput and Valtteri Puustinen in corresponding moves.

The Penguins resume their regular-season schedule Tuesday against the Boston Bruins.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

One day after helping the Metropolitan Division win the NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Jack Hughes tested positive for COVID-19.

The New Jersey Devils center entered protocol Sunday after the afternoon test result following his flight back to New Jersey. He was pulled from Sunday's practice.

Hughes is the first 2022 All-Star to land on the list. The 20-year-old scored twice in the opening game against the Pacific Division on Saturday before adding a goal and an assist in the final against the Central. He also took part in the skills competition Friday night.

The American-born forward is having the best season of his young career. Hughes collected 12 goals and 15 assists over the first 28 games of this campaign, his third in the NHL.

New Jersey drafted Hughes first overall in 2019.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vegas Golden Knights veteran Mark Stone never wore the "C" for the Ottawa Senators, but he believes newly minted captain Brady Tkachuk is the perfect fit for the honor.

"You could tell from Day 1 that he was the guy, you know? When I was there kind of leading the charge, he was my right-hand man - when he was 19," Stone said during the weekend's All-Star festivities, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "The way he plays speaks for itself. He brings you into the fight every night."

The pair's tenures in Ottawa overlapped during Tkachuk's rookie season in 2018-19 before the Senators sent Stone to the Golden Knights at the 2019 trade deadline.

Tkachuk even lived with Stone that season and rented the property from the 29-year-old after Stone's move to the desert.

"I loved (our time together) and still have that relationship to this day. Look forward to keeping that relationship," Stone said. "Maybe someday down the road we'll meet up again and play."

The Golden Knights captain reflected on his stint in Ottawa, where he put up 311 points in 366 games.

"I loved my time there. Loved playing. Loved going on those playoff runs," he said. "It's kind of disappointing the way everything went down. You know, I only know a couple guys left there."

Stone and Tkachuk were able to catch up during All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. Their respective squads will meet again March 6. The Golden Knights bested the Senators 5-1 in their first clash earlier this season.

Vegas currently sits atop the Pacific Division, while Ottawa is in seventh place in the Atlantic.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry coming off his second All-Star Game appearance amid a strong start to the season, general manager Ron Hextall certainly looks wise for sticking with him.

After helping the Penguins finish atop the realigned East Division during the shortened 2020-21 campaign, Jarry struggled in the playoffs, putting up an .888 save percentage in six games against the New York Islanders en route to the Penguins' hasty first-round exit.

Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke said Hextall's support of Jarry after his significant struggles was "critical."

"People are saying, 'Oh, you've got to get a goalie.' Ron Hextall said to me as soon as the playoffs were over, 'We don't need a goalie,'" Burke told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Seth Rorabaugh. "And he told Tristan that: 'We're not looking for a goalie. We believe in you.'

"When your (general manager) tells you that, that means a lot. But when your (general manager) was a pretty phenomenal NHL goaltender, that means even more. ... It was huge."

A couple months after the Penguins' early exit, Hextall said he firmly expected Jarry to bounce back in 2021-22, and the 26-year-old has repaid the faith so far. Jarry has registered a sparkling .923 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average heading into the All-Star break.

Burke also noted that Jarry's playoff struggles weren't out of the ordinary given the fact that 2020-21 was his first year as the full-time starter in Pittsburgh following Matt Murray's departure.

"You look at (ex-Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury), I think had a couple of tough playoffs. (Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei) Vasilevskiy. (Montreal Canadiens goaltender) Carey Price," he said. "So for a player to scuffle a little bit early on, that's not unusual."

Despite battling through a myriad of injuries, the Penguins are currently third in the deep Metropolitan Division with a 27-11-8 record.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Seventy years ago in Norway, Czechoslovakia's Olympic hockey captain carried an olive branch past center ice. He was about to face Canada and wanted to hand the opponent his national delegation's flag.

His sportsmanship surprised the Canadian players. They didn't have a gift for him.

"Already sadly deficient in (medals) in the 1952 Winter Olympics," The Canadian Press reported at the time, "Canada now has been caught with its courtesies down."

In 1952, Canada and the United States combined to alienate foreign teams, fans, and sportswriters, spurring some to suggest that the Olympics should drop hockey. Onlookers in Oslo objected to their physical play. The Soviet press accused both teams of fixing the tournament finale. Processing the criticism, the head of Canada's hockey association said the country should sit out future Games.

No boycott materialized, and the 1952 tournament entered Canada's lore. Only one other Canadian, speed skater Gordon Audley, medalled at the '52 Games, but the men's hockey team went undefeated. It was Canada's last Olympic championship in the sport for half a century, the wait ending once NHL stars started to play in the event.

Some Olympic tournaments are remembered for an indelible sight: 1980's Miracle on Ice, Wayne Gretzky's benching in a '98 shootout, Sidney Crosby's golden goal in 2010. One theme defined what went down in '52.

"Europeans regard the North American type of game as 'too rough,'" Robert Ridder, the manager of the American team, wrote in his post-Games report to the U.S. Olympic Committee.

That hockey was played in 1952 was a small miracle. Two rival American teams boated to 1948's Winter Games in Switzerland, inciting an eligibility dispute. The IOC sidelined the squad it preferred but, seemingly out of spite, disqualified the participating U.S. team from medal contention. Canada won gold but called the referees incompetent, bashed the quality of the Swiss ice, and contemplated skipping the next Olympics.

Instead, the Edmonton Mercurys were sent abroad in '52 to defend the title. The Mercurys were a senior amateur team bankrolled by Jim Christiansen, a local car salesman who employed several players at his Ford dealership. One veteran forward, originally from Saskatchewan, was nicknamed "Mr. Hockey." This wasn't Gordie Howe, but George Abel, an expert puck handler whose brother Sid won the Stanley Cup with Howe on the Detroit Red Wings.

The Mercurys outscored opponents 88-5 and cruised to gold when they represented Canada at the 1950 world championships. That earned them the trip to the Olympics, and they toured Europe to play dozens of exhibition tuneups ahead of the Games. On a Swedish highway, the team bus slid into a ditch and hit a tree, according to journalist Tom Hawthorn. Injuries were limited to cuts and sore backs, and the Mercurys won that night's game 7-2.

The Olympic contests were played outdoors at Jordal Amfi, a 9,000-seat rink built on time because Norwegian players volunteered to lay the piping. The Mercurys thumped Germany 15-1 in their tournament opener while wearing black armbands to mourn King George VI, whose state funeral was held in London the same day. Canada's next opponent, punchless Finland, lost 13-3 despite deploying up to four defensemen at once.

The U.S. sent a plucky, all-star collective of recent college players to Oslo. (Winger Ken Yackel, representing the U.S., was the only American in the NHL when he debuted with the Boston Bruins in 1958.) The Americans started slowly, opening the tournament with a narrow victory over a Norway team that finished winless. Up 3-2 late, the U.S. goalie was caught out of his net, but Norway's shooter fired wide from close range.

"It was at this point that coach (Connie) Pleban almost blacked out!" Ridder wrote after the tournament.

The U.S. rebounded to beat Finland 8-2 during a snowstorm - the puck came close to disappearing at points - and then blew out Switzerland by the same score. However, trouble brewed in the Swiss game. American defenseman Joseph Czarnota jumped on an unsuspecting opponent during a third-period scrum. Referees escorted Czarnota to the penalty box while the Oslo fans, some yelling "Chicago gangsters," threw orange peels on the ice.

"The 'sins' attributed to this minor American ice hockey player," The New York Times reported later, "so thoroughly disturbed (one Oslo) newspaper that it proposed the introduction into the Norwegian language of a word 'czarnota' as a synonym for cheat and ruffian generally."

Canada annoyed the locals, too. On the day of the Czarnota fracas, the Mercurys beat Czechoslovakia 4-1 in the tournament's rowdiest and most physical game. The Canadians snubbed the opposing captain in the gift exchange, then slashed, hooked, held, and hammered his teammates all over the rink.

The Mercurys took 17 penalties, and the crowd booed their barrage of body checks, "not understanding that this is all part of hockey," The Canadian Press noted. Fed up, a Swiss newspaper wrote that "overseas teams" were polluting European hockey and urged the IOC to consider dropping the sport.

"If there is no hockey in the next Olympics, they may as well cancel the Games," Doug Grimston, the president of Canadian amateur hockey, said in response, per CP.

"Hockey is the big drawing card, and no one is kidding anybody about that."

Canada's Olympic finale proved him right. Unbeaten through seven games with a plus-57 goal differential, the Mercurys had already secured gold entering their last clash with the U.S. The Americans owned a 6-1 record - Sweden beat them - and needed a point from the game to finish on the podium. A loss would relegate them to fourth.

An Olympic classic transpired. Canada outshot the U.S. 58-13 but nursed a 3-2 lead in the waning minutes when American defenseman James Sedin converted a give-and-go play. Pleban and a few players huddled at the U.S. bench and decided to sit back to protect the tie.

"The Canadians had come to the same conclusion themselves and literally froze the puck for the remaining three minutes," Ridder wrote afterward.

"At the final whistle, both teams poured over the boards in sheer delight - the Canadians because they had won the championship, the Americans because they had tied the invincible Canadians and won what seemed an impossible silver medal."

United Press International reported that "stony silence" greeted the Americans at the closing ceremony, though the Mercurys sparked laughs by showing up in cowboy hats. All the while, anger over the standings festered behind the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Union didn't play in Oslo, but the Moscow newspaper Trud claimed Canada and the U.S. conspired to tie so communist Czechoslovakia wouldn't medal.

"We expected something of that kind from Russians," Ridder told reporters, per The Associated Press. "I suppose the Reds cannot lose without throwing dirt on victors."

Eager to chime in, Grimston called the accusation "about the stupidest thing I've ever heard" and later grumbled the Mercurys weren't reimbursed for their expenses while touring Europe. He told reporters that Canada ought to pull out of future Olympic tournaments.

Grimston was blustering - Canada went to the next Games and placed third - but it took time to resolve the transatlantic schism. At the Summer Olympics in Finland later in 1952, the great Czech distance runner Emil Zatopek set records in the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and marathon, which he entered on a whim. His motivation to dominate was unusual.

"It was the brutal and harsh play of the United States ice hockey team in the Winter Olympics which drove me to my most recent performances," Zatopek said, per The Associated Press. "I made a pledge to win at least two gold medals for my country."

By then, the Mercurys had secured their place in history. Edmonton held a victory parade in the city center when the team returned, with players riding in Ford convertibles down Jasper Avenue as 70,000 people cheered. Christiansen, the team owner, died of pneumonia not long after the Olympics, and a group of players, including captain Bill Dawe, took over his car dealership.

While Sid Abel's Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 1952, George Abel headed home to Saskatchewan, where he kept playing senior hockey and helped run his family's hauling business. He died in 1996, six years before Canada's next Olympic hockey triumph.

The Toronto Maple Leafs invited Dawe to a tryout when he returned from Oslo, making it possible the Mercurys would graduate a player to the NHL. Dawe, who wasn't a bruiser at 165 pounds, accepted the offer but didn't last long with the Leafs.

"He probably would have made the team," Dawe's son told the Toronto Star many years later. "But he said, 'I'm too small, and those guys hit too hard.'"

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.