Don’t look now, people, your boy finally broke the goose egg on his Gold Picks. Washington squeaked it out in a shootout last week against Boston, but a win is a win and I will take everything I can get at this point. An overall 5-1 week last Saturday brings my overall record on the year to 17-20, and as I’ve said multiple times before, this is a long season and so much of it is still left to make bets accordingly.

This week is shaping up to be one where like a lot of home favorites in some favorable spots in their own rinks. So be sure you are either shopping around for the best lines or are throwing down some coin on a few parlays with the following picks, as betting on these straight up won’t likely net you a big return, so pick your spots.

Three matinee matchups are on tap for this afternoon followed by 11 evening games for our betting enjoyment. Good luck!

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2019-2020 record

Gold: 1-5   

Silver: 4-2

Bronze: 3-3

Side bets: 9-10

Overall total record: 17-20

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Gold

Anaheim Ducks @ Tampa Bay Lightning – Pick: Lightning

Never one to pass up on an opportunity to bet against the Ducks, I once again can’t help myself from wanting to completely hammer a big wager on the Lightning this evening when they welcome a sputtering Anaheim group to South Florida. The Ducks have only one win in their last eight contests and have a seriously tough time scoring goals, as the team sits near the bottom of the league in scoring (22nd) and currently have no players with double-digits in goals.

Meanwhile, Tampa has shaken off a tough start to begin its long-awaited ascent up the Eastern Conference standings with victories in four of its last six games. Now, it has to be noted here that both Lightning superstars Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are likely to miss this evening’s tilt, as both players suffered injuries in the past week. But the Lightning have proven over recent years they can get it done without key pieces, and their record of late against the Ducks inspires even more confidence in laying a bet here.

Anaheim is just 3-7 in its last 10 overall against Tampa, including a 2-5 record in the Lightning’s building and I expect those trends to continue tonight. Take the Bolts, either in a parlay or on the puck-line with a bigger wager.

Silver

Chicago Blackhawks @ Dallas Stars – Pick: Stars

After yet another round of criticism from team management, this time from their head coach, the Stars are starting to look like the team a lot of hockey pundits were pegging as a dark horse to compete for the Western Conference crown.

Behind the rejuvenated play of its two superstar forwards in Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn (eight and seven points in their last four games, respectively), Dallas has wins in five straight and points in 10 in a row. This has arguably been the best team in the league in the month of November, so I’m jumping on this train while it’s still running hot.

The Blackhawks are in the midst of some kind of weird semi-rebuild with holes at basically every position on its roster – not to mention, Chicago is an awful road team, winning only three of its last 11 games away from the Madhouse on Madison. I think you can see where I am going here. Dallas keeps it rolling tonight against an outmatched Hawks team struggling to find its identity. Take the Stars, good for my Silver Pick of the week.

Bronze

New York Rangers @ Montreal Canadiens – Pick: Canadiens

GO HABS GO!? Well, I might not be there quite yet, but I cannot deny that betting on the Canadiens this year has me wanting to cheer for them loud and proud. Now, that’s probably never going to happen, but with Montreal continuing to play solid hockey and put up wins, they continue to be a solid option every week to make some coin. And with the lowly Rangers rolling into town tonight, I’m licking my lips over this juicy-looking matchup where I can see Montreal scoring early and often.

Aside from the Rangers being a complete bucket of a team this season, they also haven’t fared well against the Canadiens of late, losing four of their last five matchups in Montreal. With New York coming off yet another ugly loss just last night (4-1 to the Ottawa Senators) and the Habs having been at home resting over the last couple days, I love this spot for the Canadiens in their own barn.

Keep in  mind, with Carey Price already playing twice this week, there is a chance that backup netminder Keith Kinkaid will be patrolling the blue paint for Montreal, but that shouldn’t faze from throwing down on the team in the better spot here. Canadiens get the two points tonight, my Bronze play of the week.

Side Bets

Florida Panthers @ Carolina Hurricanes – Pick: Panthers

Minnesota Wild @ Boston Bruins – Pick: Bruins 

New York Islanders @ San Jose Sharks – Pick: Sharks

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Flip Livingstone is a former NHL writer for theScore with past experience at such outlets as Narcity Media, Postmedia, and Hockey Night in Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @FlipLivingstone and @Flips_Picks