Scott Rickenbach

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Game #13 Thursday Free Pick Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) @ Montreal Canadiens @ 7:35 ET - There is great line value here with the Flyers as a sizable dog. Philadelphia is off an ugly home loss to the Lightning and should respond here. Keep in mind, the Flyers had won 12 of 14 games prior to getting blasted by the best team in the NHL Tuesday. Philly is still very much alive in the playoff race and Montreal is one of the teams they are chasing. The Flyers then get a shot at Pittsburgh, the other team they are closest to in the chase for a playoff spot. The point is that Philly knows this is a great opportunity they have over these next two games and Carter Hart has responded all season long when off a bad start. If he doesn't get the start the Flyers also are stronger in goal now since Brian Elliott has returned from injury and Cam Talbot (recently acquired) is now becoming available. Montreal is off a home win versus Columbus but previously had lost 4 straight games. The Canadiens have scored an average of only 2 goals per game in their last 5 games. The Flyers have scored an average of 4 goals per game in their last 6 games. Also, Philly has won 5 straight road games and has beaten the Habs 4 straight times including each of the last two meetings at Montreal. Grab the underdog value here. Free Pick PHILADELPHIA

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Game #1 Thursday 8* San Jose Sharks Money Line (+) @ Pittsburgh Penguins @ 7:05 ET - Great set-up here as many will be looking to back the Penguins on home ice at a short price and playing with revenge. However, Pittsburgh is off back to back wins and the Penguins have not had a 3 game winning streak since their long winning streak that wrapped up in early January. In fact, prior to this current 2-game winning streak the Penguins had lost 9 of their past 14 games. The Sharks enter this game hungry off a loss. Since Christmas, San Jose has only lost consecutive games once! That was a 3-game losing streak in mid-January. The point is that you can see why the odds strongly favor the Sharks avoiding a two-game losing streak and the Penguins not being able to make it 3 in a row. Prior to their home loss to Boston, and a bit of a controversial one at that, the Sharks had won 16 of their 21 prior games. Also, San Jose has won 16 of 24 this season when off a non-conference game. Pittsburgh has lost 5 of their last 6 games against teams with a winning record and the Sharks are one of the top teams in the league! 8* SAN JOSE

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Game #5 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators @ 7:05 ET - The Devils have scored an average of 4 goals per game in their last 3 games. However, New Jersey is allowing goals like crazy too. The Devils have given up an average of 4.4 goals per game their last 5 games. The over is also a perfect 5-0 in the last 5 meetings between these teams. Incredibly, those games have averaged 8.6 goals per game. The Senators are unlikely to change the pattern here either. Ottawa has allowed an average of 4.8 goals per game their last 5 games. To their credit, the Senators have averaged scoring 4 goals per game their last 7 games but, again, if you can't keep the puck out of your own net it is tough to win. The Senators and Devils are each last place in their respective divisions. I love looking for games like this late in the season where you have two teams that have faded from the post-season race. These tend to be very high-scoring games as defensive intensity is not at its best as a general rule. That said, this particular match-up fits the bill very well and the recent trending between these teams make this a top situation. Look for both hockey clubs to continue to see their goalies struggle here. 10* OVER the total in New Jersey

Total of the Month - Rickenbach CBB Game #607 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Michigan Wolverines @ 7 ET - The Wolverines are known for defense. However, Michigan also has been known for having some sub-par performances on the road. That said, the Golden Gophers offensive production also has been much better when at home. Combining those factors we've got great value here with a low total posted on this game. The first meeting between these teams this season stayed well under the total but both teams had horrible shooting nights. Prior to that game however, the over was 3-0 in the 3 prior meetings and those games averaged 157 points. Now, consider this as well. The total in the first game between these teams was posted at 137. Now, because of the low-scoring result in that match-up, we're seeing totals as low as 131.5 for this game as of early this morning. This is more than 5 points less than the first match-up even though the fact that this game is at Minnesota means it should be higher scoring. Keep in mind, the over is 8-4 the last 12 times the Golden Gophers have hosted the Wolverines. Also, Michigan has allowed 71.3 points per game in their last 3 road games. As for Minnesota, they've had one ugly recent performance at home versus Wisconsin. However, other than that, the Golden Gophers have averaged 80.3 points per game in their last 6 home games! Minnesota is a much more confident team when at home and their shooting stats show that. Also, the over is 10-5 in Golden Gophers home games this season. More of the same expected here. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #601 Thursday Central Florida Knights (+) @ Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - Losing is one thing...getting completely annihilated is another thing altogether. The last time the Knights visited Cincinnati they found themselves down 33-13 at the half. UCF went on to lose that game 77 to 40. Central Florida went 0 for 14 from three point land and the Bearcats made 10 threes. Simply put, it was just one of those nights that can happen from time to time but, rest assured, the Knights haven't forgotten and they look to atone for that loss here. This is the first time these teams have met since that game and it is again in Cincinnati. While I don't necessarily expect an outright upset win here in terms of revenge for UCF, I do expect Central Florida to be much more competitive. That means great line value here with the spread on this game currently sitting at +8. Keep in mind, even though Cincinnati is 9-1 SU their last 10 games, the Bearcats only won 3 of those games by more than 8 points and one of those was by 11 and another by 10. In other words, there is every reason to believe that UCF will be "right there" with this number throughout this game and I believe their highly motivated effort means this one is decided by more than a half-dozen points. The Knights are allowing just 61.8 points per game on the road this season! You can tell by the low total on this game (has dipped into the 120s) that a tight, defensive struggle is quite likely which means even more value with the generous points being offered. 8* CENTRAL FLORIDA

PA Insider - Rickenbach NBA Game #502 Thursday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Miami Heat @ 7:05 ET - The fact that the Sixers are without Joel Embiid for this one is keeping this line to a very manageable number considering Philly is on their home floor and the Heat have been struggling. The 76ers, even without Embiid, are still the much more talented team here. Philadelphia has Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, and JJ Redick. Additionally, the Sixers new reserve big man Boban Marjanovic will step up with Embiid being out. Philly is 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS the last 7 times they've hosted Miami. Of course the Heat have revenge here as they were ousted from the playoffs by the Sixers last spring but, keep in mind, they had that revenge on their mind earlier this season too when they hosted the 76ers and yet they still lost by double digits at Miami! The Heat enter this game having lost 6 of their past 8 games. The Sixers are off a win and have won 14 of 21 in the New Year. Philly did lose their most recent home game but had won 9 of 12 prior on their home floor. 8 of the 76ers last 9 wins have come by 7 or more points and I see every reason to expect another win by at least that margin tonight! 10* PHILADELPHIA