NHL Hockey Betting for October 23, 2016
Just two NHL games on the board for Monday which gives me time for a couple of hockey rants:
–BOBBY ORR SAYS NHL SHOULD BRING BACK THE REDLINE: Bobby Orr is as good of a hockey player as to ever grace the NHL ice. He was such a stud that Bally Manufacturing made a pinball machine in his honor during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks. Revolutionized the game of hockey in too many ways to enumerate. Most significantly, he gave rise to the ‘two way defenseman’ who is adept at both ends of the ice. Beloved sports figure in Boston, smart guy who is now an agent and complete class act. I can’t think of one bad thing to say about him–other than he may have had the worst knees of any pro athlete ever (non-Greg Oden division). Orr put up 950 points in the NHL despite having to retire at age 30 due to the aforementioned knees.
Orr says that the NHL should bring back the red line and he’s dead wrong about that. First of all, can you imagine what an absolute monster he would have been with no red line? More importantly, hockey is just so fun to watch now. The elimination of the red line ‘opened up the game’ without turning it into video game hockey. Defense is still important as is goaltending. Removing the redline wasn’t just a good idea it was a necessity. It helped eliminate the onerous but effective ‘neutral zone lock’ defense that infested hockey for awhile. It has also helped to maintain competitive balance in the game. Players are huge now–guys like Montreal’s 6’4″ 280 pound defenseman Shea Weber–and no red line makes for more open ice which is a necessity with the bigger, faster, stronger players.
Goaltenders are also so much better now. That’s partly due to skill and coaching and partly due to their equipment which is much lighter than their predecessors. Ken Dryden won five Vezina Trophies playing with some of the greatest NHL teams in history in front of him. His career goals against average was 2.24. Last year the top six goalies in the NHL had this GAA or better. The last goalie to win the Vezina Trophy with a GAA over 2.25 was Dominick Hasek in 1996-97. Between the 1969-1970 and 1980-1981 seasons there were 7 in 11 years. Scoring went way up in the 1980s which is why Grant Fuhr won the Vezina in 1987-1988 with a 3.43 goals against average. That would have given him the highest GAA among starting goalies last season. Among every goalie to play last year Fuhr’s 3.34 GAA would have ranked him #85 of 93 NHL goalies.
This is in no means meant to denigrate Dryden, Hasek or Fuhr (who won 5 Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers) but to illustrate that the game has definitely changed but at this point there’s a really nice balance between offense and defense. Some would suggest that the rules are still too favorable to defense and a case can be made for that. That wouldn’t justify bringing back the red line but finding a way to *increase* scoring some more. Bobby Orr is a stud and unlike a lot of ‘old timers’ would have been as dominant now as he was in his prime. He’s dead wrong about this.
NHL HOCKEY BETTING FOR OCTOBER 23, 2016:
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS AT MONTREAL CANADIENS:
This game preview will start with my second rant. It amazes me that there are still fans in Montreal griping about the blockbuster trade that brought Shea Weber to the Habs and sent P.K. Subban to Nashville. You can definitely make a case that Subban got a raw deal from Canadiens management and the Montreal media. He’s also an easy guy to like–as charismatic a personality as you’ll find in sports. Every time you look up there’s a video of him doing something cool for underprivileged kids or donating a few million bucks to a cancer hospital. But from a hockey sport this was a complete no brainer that made both teams better.
It’s also disrespectful to Weber. Full disclosure–I’m a Nashville Predators honk. Even in a different team’s sweater I can still say without reservation that Weber is the kind of guy you want on your team and in your community. Great player on the ice, leader in the dressing room, complete class act off the ice. More significantly, he could be ‘the missing link’ in Montreal. The Habs got physically manhandled at times during last season and particularly after Price went out and the injuries started to pile up. That’s not going to happen with #6 on the ice. He gives the team a tougher, more physical defense and a guy who’ll do all of the dirty work in the corners. He’s an asset on the power play with his lethal slapshot and while he’s not as good at starting a rush as Subban he’s an excellent playmaker.
Another thing that you may have noticed after Price went out–there was something of a ‘leadership vacuum’ with the Canadiens. Weber is a great fit here since he’s capable of being a excellent team leader but doesn’t have to be ‘the man’. That’s why he wore the ‘C’ in Nashville. Weber is off to a great start with his new team: 5 games 1 goal (a game winner no less) 4 assists 5 points and +8. He’s definitely missed in Smashville–you’d have to go back to the late Steve McNair to find a more beloved sports figure in the city–but he’s in a great spot.
Finally, I don’t ever want to hear about how ‘knowledgeable of the game’ that Canadian fans are relative to their US counterparts. Ditto the take that Southern hockey fans are ‘uneducated’ or ‘don’t appreciate the nuance of hockey’. Nashville fans were sorry to see Weber go but immediately ‘got’ the move from a hockey standpoint. Weber will get a standing ovation when he comes back to town. There have been gripes (mainly from the mainstream sports media) that Subban has ‘underachieved’ in Nashville thus far. Anyone making that gripe doesn’t know much about the Predators team. Subban can improve on the defensive end but in all fairness that’s not why he was brought to town and the Preds already have the deepest–and arguably the best–defensive corps in the NHL. Subban has averaged a point a game (2 G 3 A 5 P) and put up 13 shots on goal. I’ve been impressed about how well he’s been able to adjust to being on a team with multiple offensive options. Any head to head comparison between Weber and Subban is ‘apples and oranges’ anyway and particularly in the roles they’re expected to fill with their new teams.
Montreal wins this one. Both teams can score goals but only Montreal can stop the other team from scoring.
BET MONTREAL CANADIENS -160 OVER PHILADELPHIA FLYERS