We are living through strange times. In fact, the last seven free picks on YouTube have been a bust, which may be the longest drought we've experienced since I was born'I started this initiative five years ago.
Meanwhile, we had an exceptional week with the Premium Picks (published on the MJPicks.com website), ending with 26 wins, 17 losses and 2 draws. This resulted in a return of +4.69 units as only one unit was risked per bet.
In other words, if you had bet $100 on this pick, you would have made a profit of $469 last week. For all my premium picks, join the many others who have already signed up at mjpicks.com.
Let's start the week on a positive note by ending our current slide. Today I like an option called “The Battle of the Teams” supported by one of my National Hockey League (NHL) betting systems.
Let me explain how this system works. We bet on the away team if the following three rules apply: The away team must have decimal odds greater than 2.50; he must have lost at least five games in a row; The local team must have previously lost exactly one game.
The Chicago Blackhawks have now lost six games in a row and currently have a decimal rating of 4.75. This means that the first two criteria are met. Now their opponent in this game, the Colorado Avalanche, has lost exactly once before when they fell 5-1 to the Predators on Saturday night. Therefore, we have to bet on the Blackhawks according to the rules of this betting angle.
However, I don't bet them directly on the odds. It would obviously be dangerous to bet directly against the Colorado Avalanche in this game. With that in mind, my official NHL pick for today, Monday, March 4th, is the Chicago Blackhawks with a point spread of +2.5 (1.87 in decimal odds). You can find these current odds at numerous sports betting providers.
The Blackhawks come into this game having won just once in their last 15 games and are currently on a six-game losing streak. However, they covered the +2.5 spread in 10 of those games, which is 67% of the time. This is the fourth time the two teams have met this season.
The Avs won two of those games, while the Blackhawks had the honor once. One of the main concerns for me is that the Blackhawks really struggled to score against the Avs at Ball Arena. Additionally, Colorado has managed to reach +2.5 in its last three home games.
However, on December 19th of last year, this young Chicago team showed they could be competitive by earning a 3-2 win over the Avs in front of their home fans. Petr Mrazek is expected to start between the posts for the Blackhawks tonight. He has played in 42 games so far this season and has a 13-23-4 record, a .908 save percentage and a 3.04 goals-against average.
I have to be careful quickly. In the unlikely event that Chicago starts Arvid Soderblom instead of Mrazek, I would probably hesitate to take that bet, even with the +2.5 spread. Soderblom played 23 games and won only two. His efficiency percentage is .876, with nearly four goals per game allowed in front of the net. These are terrible numbers. Without a doubt, the Blackhawks' record over the last 10 games looks like a train wreck.
However, you could also say that the Colorado club has made quite a mess of its own given its 5-4-1 record. We expect better from a team that should really be aiming for the Stanley Cup this season. So tonight I'm going to take a chance on the Chicago Blackhawks with a spread of +2.5 points. Have a good day!