Scott Rickenbach

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #57 Friday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Money Line (-) @ Winnipeg Jets @ 8:05 ET - Though I rarely lay prices in money line sports, this is a fantastic situation that is worth the risk of laying a -140 price range for a top play. As of early game day morning, this line is in the -140 range on the Lightning and this is a fantastic spot for Tampa Bay. Yes, I know the Bolts are in a back to back spot but they saved #1 (and red hot) goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for this game. Also, the fact they are off a loss last night strengthens their resolve here. Adding to their "hunger factor" here, Tampa Bay does not play again until the 27th as their All Star break starts a little bit early. This is the Bolts final game until after the break. Last, but certainly not least, this is also a revenge game for the Lightning as they lost at home to the Jets earlier this season. Note that Winnipeg hasn't been as dominant at home this season and actually they have more losses than wins on home ice thus far! As for Tampa Bay, they had won 13 of 22 road games prior to last night's disappointing loss at Minnesota. Look for the Lightning to bounce right back and make the most of this final opportunity before their break. The last thing the high-powered Bolts want to do is to go into the break on a losing streak. Look for a huge effort here and note that Winnipeg is off a shutout win over Vancouver but this was preceded by a stretch that saw the Jets lose 7 of 10 games! Remember Tampa Bay had won 11 of 12 games before their loss last night. The Lightning get one final win before their break. Lay it! 10* TAMPA BAY

NHL Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #55 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins @ 7:35 ET - The Penguins have Sidney Crosby back on the ice in recent games and he scored 24 seconds into last night's game at Boston. Inexplicably however, that ended up being the only goal for Pittsburgh in a 4-1 loss to the Bruins. The Pens will make up for that performance here as they take advantage of a Red Wings team that is allowing an average of 4 goals per game this season. The key to the value here with the over is that Matt Murray will be back between the pipes for the Penguins tonight since Tristan Jarry started last night. Murray has a poor .875 save percentage on the road this season. Pittsburgh has allowed at least 3 goals in 5 straight games. Prior to last night's loss, the Penguins had won 4 straight games and scored an average of 4.3 goals per game in regulation of those 4 games. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #861 Friday 10* Top Play Wisconsin Badgers (+) @ Michigan State Spartans @ 7 ET - The Spartans just got rolled at Purdue. So now everyone is jumping on Michigan State in a bounce back spot on their home floor. However, how much is too much? In this case I feel strongly that this line has been blown out of proportion. The Badgers have plenty of motivation here and are not an easy team to blowout. Wisconsin has revenge against the Spartans as Michigan State has held the upper hand in their meetings in recent seasons including knocking them out in Big Ten tourney action each of the past two years. Last March the Badgers actually had 15 more shots from the field as they dominated in terms of forcing Spartans turnovers. Wisconsin simply had an awful shooting performance and that was the difference in the game as the Badgers lost by a dozen points. Wisconsin enters this game having won 6 of their past 7 games and the lone loss came by a single point. Michigan State, while it is tempting to back them after their ugly loss to the Boilermakers, actually does not have a good history ATS in spots like this. When off an upset loss by a double digit margin in a game in which they were a favorite, the Spartans are a long-term 7-16 ATS including 1-3 ATS in recent seasons. Off an upset loss by 15 or more points as a road favorite, Michigan State has gone 0-4 ATS in their next game! More of the same here. 10* WISCONSIN

A10 Total of the Year - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #857 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in St Louis Billikens vs Dayton Flyers @ 7 ET - I have had my eyes on this match-up for awhile as one that is likely to lead to plenty of points. The Flyers lost to St Louis in the Atlantic 10 Tourney last season and it is payback time here. That said, I expect Dayton to score plenty in this one but the Billikens are a strong home team that can put up big points as a host. St Louis is averaging 74.5 points per game at home this season. The Flyers, even on the road, are a huge scoring team as they are averaging 81.6 points per game away from home this season. Dayton enters this game on a 6-game winning streak and has averaged 81.5 points per game in these six victories. The Billikens most recent home game was a low-scoring win but that was preceded by 3 games as a host which saw St Louis average 80.7 points per game. The over is 12-6 in Dayton's last 18 games. The over is 6-3 in the Billikens last 9 games. Also, in the last 6 meetings between these teams, 4 have gone over the total. More of the same here. The Flyers were held to just 55 points in their last match-up with STL and that means Dayton will not take their foot off the gas no matter how big their margin in this revenge game. 10* OVER the total in St Louis

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #531 Friday 10* Top Play Chicago Bulls (+) @ Philadelphia 76ers @ 7:05 ET - The line looks low right? A bad Bulls team facing a 76ers team that is 19-2 SU at home this season and yet the line, as of early Friday morning, is only a 7.5 across the board. In typical contrarian fashion I am grabbing the points with the team most won't want! Note that Philadelphia pulled away late for the win and cover against Brooklyn Wednesday. As impressive as the final score may have been, the Nets were actually in that game all the way. The Sixers simply aren't the same team without Joel Embiid and he is currently out with an injury. The Bulls have been scrappy recently and are exactly the type of team that will sneak up on a good team like Philly in a spot like this and give them all sorts of trouble. Chicago has won and covered 2 of its last 3 games and note that the Sixers, prior to their win over Brooklyn, had lost 6 of their past 8 games SU. The Bulls are 8-2 ATS this season when they enter a game having lost 6 or 7 of their past 8 games. The 76ers are 4-7 ATS this season as a home favorite in a range of 6.5 to 12 points. Grab the points with the scrappy underdog in this one. 10* CHICAGO

Eastern Conference Total of the Year - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #533 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Raptors vs Washington Wizards @ 7:05 ET - The over is a perfect 5-0 in the last 5 meetings between these teams. The Wizards are one of the worst teams in the NBA defensively as they are allowing 120 points per game on the season. The Raptors are a big favorite here with good reason and they won't take their foot off the gas in this one. Toronto's games are 7-2 to the over this season when they are a home favorite in a range of 6.5 to 12 points. Washington's games are 12-4-1 to the over this season when they are playing against a team with a winning record. Also, the Wizards are off back to back non-covers and that is a situation that has seen the over go 7-0-1 in Washington's game this season. When these teams get together it has been a track meet in recent match-ups and I am expecting another one tonight with plenty of run and gun action. Will gladly test the perfect trends noted above. 10* OVER the total in Toronto