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NHL
Thursday, October 29
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Ice picks: Today's best NHL bets
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Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers (+150, 6)
The news in Atlanta keeps on getting worse. The Thrashers have dropped three straight after winning four of their first five games. Of course the biggest worry is how the club will be able to turn things around without Ilya Kovalchuk in the lineup.
Kovalchuk, by far Atlanta’s best player, is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a broken bone in his right foot. The sniper had already notched nine goals and leads the team with 10 points.
Atlanta coach John Anderson says he won’t let his team use the absence of Kovalchuk as an excuse.
“As soon as you think it’s OK to lose, then you’ve lost that game,” he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”
Anderson held a meeting with his team’s leaders to drive the point home.
Realists will argue it’s going to be tough for the Thrashers to find the back of the net without Kovalchuk. It doesn’t help either that scoring center Nik Antropov is questionable for Thursday’s game due to a sore groin.
Pick: Capitals
Detroit Red Wings at Edmonton Oilers (+125, 5.5)
The flu bug the Oilers are trying to fight off might be a little more serious than originally thought. News broke Wednesday morning that Edmonton defenseman Ladislav Smid tested positive for swine flu.
Smid, who played though the sickness last week, is reportedly feeling much better (the test results didn’t come back until four days later), but Edmonton backers have to be nervous about the possibility of the flu bug lingering in the locker room.
Coach Pat Quinn has had to shuffle lines several times over the last few games because of sick players coming in and out of the lineup.
Quinn is working on solving his club’s scoring woes. The Oilers have zero goals in their last seven periods and have just two tallies in their last three games.
Pick: Red Wings
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Thursday, October 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ice picks: Today's best NHL bets
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers (+150, 6)
The news in Atlanta keeps on getting worse. The Thrashers have dropped three straight after winning four of their first five games. Of course the biggest worry is how the club will be able to turn things around without Ilya Kovalchuk in the lineup.
Kovalchuk, by far Atlanta’s best player, is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a broken bone in his right foot. The sniper had already notched nine goals and leads the team with 10 points.
Atlanta coach John Anderson says he won’t let his team use the absence of Kovalchuk as an excuse.
“As soon as you think it’s OK to lose, then you’ve lost that game,” he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”
Anderson held a meeting with his team’s leaders to drive the point home.
Realists will argue it’s going to be tough for the Thrashers to find the back of the net without Kovalchuk. It doesn’t help either that scoring center Nik Antropov is questionable for Thursday’s game due to a sore groin.
Pick: Capitals
Detroit Red Wings at Edmonton Oilers (+125, 5.5)
The flu bug the Oilers are trying to fight off might be a little more serious than originally thought. News broke Wednesday morning that Edmonton defenseman Ladislav Smid tested positive for swine flu.
Smid, who played though the sickness last week, is reportedly feeling much better (the test results didn’t come back until four days later), but Edmonton backers have to be nervous about the possibility of the flu bug lingering in the locker room.
Coach Pat Quinn has had to shuffle lines several times over the last few games because of sick players coming in and out of the lineup.
Quinn is working on solving his club’s scoring woes. The Oilers have zero goals in their last seven periods and have just two tallies in their last three games.
Pick: Red Wings
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