Tuesday 8/4/20 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

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33FLORIDA -34 NY ISLANDERS
NY ISLANDERS are 5-17 ATS (-13.6 Units) against good offensive teams - scoring 2.85+ goals/game - 2nd half of the season in the current season.

35CALGARY -36 WINNIPEG
WINNIPEG is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) revenging a road blowout loss versus opponent by 3 goals or more in the current season.

37COLUMBUS -38 TORONTO
COLUMBUS are 12-2 ATS (9.8 Units) after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 2 seasons.

39CAROLINA -40 NY RANGERS
NY RANGERS are 9-3 ATS (5.7 Units) in road games when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days in the current season.

41MINNESOTA -42 VANCOUVER
MINNESOTA is 8-3 ATS (7.5 Units) in road games when playing against a marginal winning team (Win Pct. 51% to 60%) in the current season.

45ARIZONA -46 NASHVILLE
NASHVILLE is 14-18 ATS (-12.9 Units) vs. losing teams in the current season.

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NHL
Long Sheet

Tuesday, August 4

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FLORIDA (35-27-0-8, 78 pts.) vs. NY ISLANDERS (36-23-0-10, 82 pts.) - 8/4/2020, 12:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 122-177 ATS (+300.6 Units) when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
NY ISLANDERS are 88-71 ATS (+172.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
NY ISLANDERS are 67-64 ATS (-25.0 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 6-4 (+1.5 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
NY ISLANDERS is 6-4-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
8 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+7.2 Units)

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CALGARY (37-27-0-7, 81 pts.) vs. WINNIPEG (37-29-0-6, 80 pts.) - 8/4/2020, 6:45 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
WINNIPEG is 4-4-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.2 Units)

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COLUMBUS (34-22-0-15, 83 pts.) at TORONTO (36-26-0-9, 81 pts.) - 8/4/2020, 4:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 21-11 ATS (+9.3 Units) when trailing in a playoff series since 1996.
COLUMBUS is 9-4 ATS (+13.6 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
COLUMBUS is 12-2 ATS (+9.9 Units) after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 36-35 ATS (+77.4 Units) in all games this season.
TORONTO is 6-11 ATS (-12.2 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 16-17 ATS (-7.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
TORONTO is 17-20 ATS (-19.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
COLUMBUS is 5-4 (+2.6 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
COLUMBUS is 5-4-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)

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CAROLINA (39-25-0-5, 83 pts.) vs. NY RANGERS (37-29-0-5, 79 pts.) - 8/4/2020, 8:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 10-3 (+11.4 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 10-3-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.9 Units, Under=-0.7 Units)

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MINNESOTA (36-27-0-7, 79 pts.) vs. VANCOUVER (36-28-0-6, 78 pts.) - 8/4/2020, 10:45 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 29-44 ATS (-22.0 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 208-246 ATS (+525.6 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
MINNESOTA is 19-14 ATS (+38.4 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 10-6 ATS (+18.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 6-4-0 straight up against VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.4 Units, Under=-0.4 Units)

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ARIZONA (34-29-0-8, 76 pts.) vs. NASHVILLE (35-27-0-8, 78 pts.) - 8/4/2020, 2:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NASHVILLE is 135-135 ATS (+294.9 Units) in road games revenging a loss versus opponent since 1996.
ARIZONA is 19-11 ATS (+32.4 Units) on Tuesday nights over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 35-35 ATS (-4.1 Units) in all games this season.
NASHVILLE is 14-18 ATS (-10.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ARIZONA is 5-4 (+2.9 Units) against the spread versus NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
ARIZONA is 5-4-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.9 Units)

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NHL

Tuesday, August 4

Trend Report

Florida @ NY Islanders
Florida
Florida is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 5 games when playing at home against Florida
NY Islanders is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Florida

Arizona @ Nashville
Arizona
Arizona is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Nashville
Arizona is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Nashville
Nashville is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Nashville's last 14 games when playing Arizona

Columbus @ Toronto
Columbus
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Columbus's last 6 games
Columbus is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto's last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games

Calgary @ Winnipeg
Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Calgary's last 5 games when playing Winnipeg
Calgary is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Winnipeg
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 5 games when playing Calgary
Winnipeg is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home

Carolina @ NY Rangers
Carolina
Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Carolina is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 18-1 SU in its last 19 games when playing at home against Carolina
NY Rangers is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Carolina

Minnesota @ Vancouver
Minnesota
Minnesota is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Minnesota is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Vancouver's last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Vancouver's last 12 games

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NHL line movement for August 4
Patrick Everson

Kevin Fiala and the Wild aim to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-5 series against the Canucks. Minnesota opened a -115 Game 2 favorite at Caesars sportsbooks, with Vancouver even money.

NHL betting odds are on the board, and Tuesday’s games inside the double NHL Bubble are getting some early attention. The schedule includes several Game 2’s and a potential clinching Game 3 in the best-of-5 postseason qualifying round.

Caesars sportsbooks provided insights on NHL opening lines and early line movement, sharp money and public betting for Tuesday’s contests.

NHL line movement

The Maple Leafs got shut out 2-0 as -157 favorites in Sunday’s Game 1 against the Blue Jackets, but Toronto is a similarly priced chalk for Game 2. Caesars sportsbooks listed the Leafs -150/Blue Jackets +135, and there was no movement Monday night for this 4 p.m. ET faceoff.

Minnesota looks to take a 2-0 lead on Vancouver, after a 3-0 victory in Sunday's Game 1. The Wild opened modest -115 favorites, with the Canucks at even money, and this game likewise had no line movement Monday. It’s a late-night start in the Edmonton bubble, with a 10:45 p.m. ET puck drop.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes look to sweep the Rangers in an 8 p.m. ET Game 3 in the Toronto bubble. Caesars pegged Carolina a -135 favorite, with New York +120 in a back-to-back for these teams, following Carolina’s 4-1 win Monday.

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NHL picks and predictions for Tuesday, August 4
Rohit Ponnaiya

The Under has been the early betting theme of the NHL restart, going 8-2 through the first 10 games, thanks to performances such as Alex Stalock's shutout against Vancouver on Sunday.

After a slew of thrilling NHL games on the weekend we now have some data we can pull for our NHL betting needs this Tuesday.

Unders went 12-0 in exhibition action last week, and continue to be a winning bet in the postseason going 12-4. Clearly teams still need to shake the rust off when it comes to offense, a factor we're keeping in mind as we break down the hockey odds and bring you our best NHL picks and predictions for August 4.

Arizona Coyotes vs Nashville Predators

One of the few games that hit the Over was somewhat surprisingly the opening game of qualifying round series between Nashville and Arizona, which the Coyotes won 4-3. A big reason for that was a whacky first period that saw a total of four goals, most of them happening off bounces and scrambles in the crease.

While the Preds fell behind 3-1 early, they outplayed Arizona during the third period and should enter Game 2 more focused on the defensive end of the ice.

Both these teams were among the stingiest teams in the NHL early in games during the regular season. Arizona allowed the third-fewest first period goals in the league with 53 and Nashville wasn't far behind them with 56. Don't expect another high-scoring start and take the U1.5 on the first period total.

PREDICTION: First Period Under 1.5 (-130)


Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs couldn't get anything going against the Blue Jackets on Sunday in a 2-0 loss. Columbus played its typical brand of slow, grinding hockey and were able to force the Leafs into playing that same style. As talented as Toronto's forwards are, they can't do much if their blueliners can't move the puck past the Jackets' forecheckers.

Columbus will likely have Joonas Korpisalo back between the pipes for Game 2, after he posted a 28-save shutout in Game 1 — the first postseason shutout in the franchise's history. Even if he can't keep the Buds off the scoresheet again he should still be able to limit them, given his 2.60 GAA and .911 save percentage during the regular season. I'm backing the Under again.

PREDICTION: Under 5.5 (-110)


Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks

It's always good to learn from our mistakes and backing the Over 5.5 between Vancouver and Minnesota on Sunday was certainly that, as the Wild won 3-0 with an empty-net goal.

While the Wild had surrendered 3.14 goals per game during the regular season, much of the blame for that falls on former starter Devan Dubnyk. Alex Stalock is now the No. 1 netminder and posted a 2.67 GAA with a .910 save percentage during the regular season. Stalock played terrific in Game 1, turning away all 28 shots he faced, but his teammates also did a great job of keeping the Canucks top line in check and forcing them to settle for low-danger shots.

Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom was no slouch himself, making some big saves to keep the Canucks in the contest, and the only two goals he allowed came on the man advantage. Let's keep the theme going for my picks today and take another Under.

PREDICTION: Under 5.5 (-130)

Today's NHL betting card

Coyotes vs Predators - First Period Under 1.5 (-130)
Blue Jackets vs Maple Leafs - Under 5.5 (-110)
Wild vs Canucks - Under 5.5 (-130)

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Chris Jordan

Tonight I'm delivering them as my free play, as I love the way their resiliency came through for us against the Cleveland Indians last night. Now the Reds have won three in a row, and it makes sense to ride them with this big plus-price.

It's hard to ignore what the Reds are doing offensively, as they've turned back a sluggish start in the win column - they're 5-5 - and are producing about 5.22 runs per game, which is 10th best in the league. That's much better than 2.6 runs per contest the Indians are scoring - which ranks dead last. Add to the Reds' win streak, is the Tribe bringing a four-game losing streak into this game, before the teams head to Cleveland to close the series.

The Reds are poised to produce as a big dog.

And once again the Tribe will play their two games against the Reds without manager Terry Francona in the dugout. Francona is dealing with a non-COVID-19-related medical issue and was at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday for tests. Sandy Alomar will be fine, it's just the distraction of it compounding what has been going on in baseball.

Once again, I won't bother insisting on listing the pitchers in this game - if that's still applicable at your book - but I don't mind seeing Tyler Mahle on the hill. The right-hander will be looking for his first decision, as he's in after giving up two runs on six hits over four innings on Tuesday against the Cubs. He seemed to struggle with his secondary pitches and couldn't put away hitters, so look for him to do better in this one and find his groove with his off-speed junk.

Take the Reds here, as they'll get to Cleveland's Shane Bieber.

3* REDS

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Jack Brayman

My free play for Tuesday night will be the Tampa Bay Rays over the Boston Red Sox. And given the line I'm looking at overnight, and the fact Boston is struggling right now, I'll lay the run line with the Rays.

Don't get me wrong, I know Tampa Bay is battling its own struggles right now, but given this one is at Tropicana Field, I think it will have no trouble snapping a five-game skid. This is the same team that opened the campaign 4-1, so it's fully capable of righting this ship now that it's back home.

The Rays should be able to get their offense going early, as Boston comes into this one with the league's third-highest ERA (5.79) and a league-worst starter ERA of 6.69, more than .30 points higher than the 29th-ranked Chicago White Sox.

That's all good news for Tampa Bay, which has struggled offensively and needs to find a way to snap out of its slump. The Rays are batting a collective .210, but at home that jumps to .236 - tied for 14th in the bigs. It's not that great, but it'll help with confidence.

Since every MLB wager on a run line or total auto-lists pitchers, I want you to be sure the two pitchers on your ticket, when making this play, are Boston's Nathan Eovaldi and Tampa Bay's Charlie Morton. If they are not the pitchers of record when making your play, disregard this play.

Morton is 5-1 with a 4.09 ERA in nine career starts against Boston. On the flipside, Eovaldi is 2-4 record with a 5.45 ERA in eight career appearances (six starts) against Tampa Bay.

Lay the run line with the Rays.

5* RAYS RUN LINE

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Bob Valentino

Rare NHL totals play as my Tuesday freebie is this Minnesota-Vancouver Game Two of the Qualifier to hold Under much the way Game One on Sunday did when the Wild blanked the Canucks, 3-0.

Before things got back underway in the pair of Hub-Cities, there were 12 exhibition games contested and all 12 of them held Under the total.

Saturday saw 5 games played and 4 of the 5 played Under the total.

On Sunday, another 5 games were placed in the record books and 4 of those 5 landed Under the total.

Monday? 6 games skated and 4 of them landed Under the total.

My math shows 28 games now in the Hub-Cities including those exhibition prep games and 24 have landed Under.

To give the Under a little more "juice" when the Wild and Canucks drop the puck against one another the Under is 3-1-1 for the past 5 showdowns.

Another NHL game, and another Under.

Minny-Vancouver Low for Tuesday.

4* MINNESOTA-VANCOUVER UNDER

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Mike Wynn

Free Pick: Texas/Oakland Game Under 8½ Runs

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Razor Sharp

YOUR RAZOR SHARP FREE PICK FOR TUESDAY: WASHINGTON/NY METS UNDER the total of 9½ runs

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Totals4U

Tuesday's Free Selection: Texas Rangers/Oakland Athletics under 8 1/2

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Roz Wins

Roz's TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2020 Free Pick
MLB

924. Athletics -1.43 (6:10 pm PT/ 9:10 pm ET)

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Atlantic Sports

Tuesday's Free Selection from Atlantic Sports: Seattle Mariners + 165

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#1 Sports

Tuesday's Free Play: Atlanta Braves - 160

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Platinum Plays

Your Free Pick: the Cleveland Indians w/Bieber -170 over Cincinnati