BEST LINES: Pinnacle -1½ +285 Bet365 -1½ +265 SportsInteraction -1 +148  5DIMES -1½ +280

BEST LINES: Pinnacle +103 Bet365 -105 SportsInteraction -110 5DIMES +100

Posted at 11:30 AM EST 

Before we begin and until further notice, we’re going to be splitting up our NHL underdogs into two bets. We’re playing them straight up for 1 unit and we’ll be playing them on the reverse puck line (-1½) for 1 unit, thus making up our traditional 2 unit bet. The thinking is that if the dog loses, we lose our bet anyway. If the game goes into OT, which is a coin-toss anyway, we lose our -1½ bet but have a chance to profit a pork-chop if we happen to get lucky and win it in the extra time. If our team is winning by a goal, we know for sure we’ll get a crack at an empty netter and there is also a good chance that if our team is ahead, it might be by more than one goal anyway. Therefore, our bet for this game and every dog we play will be -1½ for 1 unit and straight up for one unit.

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7:05 PM EST. After a five day break, the Bruins returned to the ice on Thursday night and defeated the Sharks 2-1. Boston was the second best team on the ice that day but Anton Khudobin stole one and a rookie by the name of Danton Heinen, who was sent back down to the minors and recalled just before game time scored both Boston’s goals. Boston allowed 37 shots on net and was also out-chanced, 31-25. The game prior to that, Boston lost in OT to Buffalo and allowed 42 shots on net and were out-chanced in that one too. The Bruins get Tuukka Rask back tonight after he missed the last three games but contrary to market belief, that’s not a good thing. Rask is not only rusty, but he’s been shaky as hell with a 1-3 record and losing to Vegas once and the Avalanche twice.

These are not the same “grinding out victories” Kings’ that were used to seeing. Under Darryl Sutter and GM Dean Lombardi, the Kings played a defensive, physical, old school game that worked for a while but wasn’t working anymore. When we think L.A. Kings hockey over the past five years, we think 3-2 and 2-1 games but that’s not the case anymore. It’s now John Stevens behind the bench with Luc Robitaille taking over the GM duties and the Kings are playing a different style that the players are embracing. It’s no longer a case of sitting back and waiting for the opposition to make a mistake. The Kings have become an aggressive team that has been given free reigns to attack and create. Ask the 600 + players in this league which style they would rather play and 100% of them would choose the latter. The vets on this team are loving it after being stuck playing a defensive style for so long. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown are thriving. Kopitar struggled through a 12-goal season under Sutter but has seven goals and 12 points in the first 10 games this year.  Rookie Adrian Kempe is an early season fav for the Calder and goaltender Jonathan Quick is playing at a high level too. It’s not just those singled out players either. From top to bottom, the Kings are having fun coming to the rink again and they have the numbers both above and under the surface to confirm that their early success is sustainable.

The bets are as follows:

Los Angeles -1½ +285 for 1 unit

Los Angeles +103 for 1 unit

Open an account today at Pinnacle Sports and take advantage of their -104 style pricing on sides and totals, which is 60% better than other sportsbooks.