National Hockey League Handicapping Tips: California Cruising

After rolling out winners in five of our first six 2013 Major League Baseball free picks, our handicapping Crew turns to the National Hockey League for today’s prediction. Sunny California is definitely on our mind.

Teams that were “sellers” leading up to the NHL trade deadline, the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars, head into No & SoCal to battle the playoff bound San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks on Friday, April 5, 2013.

Playoff hungry Sharks set to feast on floundering visitors

Streaky San Jose opened the season like a house on fire as they won their first seven games but then dropped their next seven contests to open a 6-17 run. Those early season Sharks are back though as San Jose is riding a six game winning streak that includes two wins over Anaheim and one win over both Vancouver and Minnesota. San Jose plays their sixth straight home game at the Shark Tank tonight and they are tied with Minnesota for fifth place in the Western Conference.

Calgary Flames: Barely flickering after NHL trade deadline fire sale

Calgary made a lot of trade deadline noise as they shipped their beloved Captain Jerome Iginla to Pittsburgh and top defenseman Jay Bowmeister to St. Louis – in return for a bunch of hopes and dreams. Coming off an 8-2 beat down on Wednesday night, at home and to their Provincial rivals the Edmonton Oilers, the Flames are barley flickering. Playoffs are a pipe dream in Cowtown once again this season as Calgary is on a 4-10 recent run and have lost 11 straight road games.

Sharks vs Flames: Bovada Betting Lines and Sportsbook Review Prediction

Checking in at the bovada.lv sportsbook we find that San Jose is huge home chalk at -1.5 (EVEN) ATS and -260 straight up. The Flames are road pups at +1.5 (-130) on the puck line and +210 S/U while the Over/Under is set at 5.5 goals (O -105 U -125). The only hope for Calgary, and it’s a slim one, is if Miikka Kiprusoff has one of his “I’ll win this one alone” games. We’ll swim with the Sharks in San Jose and the -1.5 (EVEN) puck line at the Bovada sports wagering website.

Sportbook Review Bonus Tip: Back the Anaheim Ducks (-210 ML) over the Dallas Stars!