Scott Rickenbach

Rickenbach NHL Game #5 Tuesday 8* OVER the total in New York Islanders vs Vancouver Canucks @ 7:05 ET - The Canucks will likely be going with a back-up goalie since starter Jacob Markstrom was in be between the pipes in last night's loss to the Rangers. This is not good news for Vancouver as Anders Nilsson has been struggling between the pipes. Perhaps even Richard Bachman gets the call here for Vancouver but truly none of the options yield confidence in the Canucks goaltending situation. As for the Islanders, they're also having issues between the pipes. Regular starter Robin Lehner has been struggling and back-up netminder Thomas Greiss has an ugly .865 save percentage against Western Conference opponents this season. Only 13 of the Canucks last 34 November games have resulted in an under so last night's low-scoring loss to the Rangers was the exception rather than the norm. Look for "normalcy" to resume tonight as Vancouver has had just 20 unders the last 55 times they were off a game where they scored 1 goal or less. As for the Islanders, they are 22-10 to the over when playing 2 days of rest between games. Also, New York is 29-16 to the over when off a loss by a multi-goal margin in their prior game. The Isles are also 27-14 to the over when, in the first half of a season, they are facing a team with a winning record. 8* OVER the total in the New York Islanders

Rickenbach NHL Game #3 Tuesday 8* Pittsburgh Panthers Money Line (-) @ New Jersey Devils @ 7:05 ET - The Penguins have revenge on their minds here. I know both teams have been struggling but the fact Pittsburgh finally snapped their skid with a win Saturday while the Devils have lost 3 straight and 9 of their last 11 is a key factor in me backing the Pens here. Pittsburgh still remembers the ugly 5-1 home loss to New Jersey a week ago and it is time avenge that defeat. The Devils have lost 6 of 7 games this season when off a game where they allowed 4 or more goals. The Penguins have won 24 of their last 36 when playing with home loss revenge and the Pens offer exceptional line value here since they are on the road as that is keeping the money line very low. I'll take advantage! 8* PITTSBURGH

Rickenbach NHL Game #2 Tuesday 8* Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (-) vs Florida Panthers @ 7:05 ET - Yes the Panthers are hot but so too are the Flyers. That said, there is excellent home ice line value with this play. The home team has won 6 of the last 7 meetings between these teams and the Flyers have won all 4 home ice games versus the Panthers since the start of the 2016-17 season. Florida has lost 89 of 148 road games with a posted total of 6 goals or more. The Flyers have won 17 of 26 when they enter a game on a winning streak of 3 or more games. Lay the small price with the Flyers at home as goalie Brian Elliott stays hot. 8* PHILADELPHIA

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Game #9 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ 7:35 ET - The Sabres and Lightning last met in April and the game totaled 12 goals! The last time these teams met in Buffalo the game totaled 8 goals! Tampa Bay enters this game having averaged scoring 4.3 goals per game their last 7 games! The Sabres enter this one having scored an average of 4 goals per game their last 10 games. In other words, look for the lamp to be lit early and often in this one. The over is 3-0-1 in the Bolts last 4 games. The over is 8-2-1 in Buffalo's last 11 games. The Sabres are a perfect 6-0 to the over this season in games against teams with a winning record. The Lightning, when off a game where they allowed 4 goals or more, have had just 22 unders the last 64 times. This season in that situation Tampa Bay is 3-1 to the over and I look for the high-scoring ways of both of these hockey clubs to continue Tuesday! 10* OVER the total in Buffalo

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CBB Game #507 Tuesday 10* Top Play Wisconsin Badgers (-) @ Xavier Musketeers @ 6:30 ET - The first viewpoint on this would be with consideration to how strong Xavier was last season and the fact they are a home underdog here, they simply "must" be the play here. Of course the contrarian viewpoint is to not be fooled! The fact is that the Badgers are a much more cohesive unit right now plus playing with revenge here plus will take advantage of an Xavier team dealing with a major transition period. Not only did the Musketeers lose head coach Chris Mack, Xavier also lost key players Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura. That said, they're going to have trouble with a Badgers team that is much healthier now than they were last season when their backcourt was ravaged by injuries. Also, Wisconsin still has big man Ethan Happ and he creates a troublesome match-up for the Musketeers. Another key variable in favor of the Badgers here is that the injuries last season helped younger players get some valuable playing time which will now pay dividends this season. This line is very close to a pick'em and the Badgers have gone 12-1 SU the past two seasons when off a game where they scored 80 points or more. Also, Xavier is 0-2 ATS this season and also went 0-2 ATS the past two seasons when the Musketeers were at home with a line ranging from pick'em to +3. Xavier will get better as the season goes on but they're going to endure some growing pains early on and the Badgers take advantage on Tuesday. 10* WISCONSIN

NBA TV Smash Pass - Rickenbach NBA Game #502 Tuesday 10* Top Play Cleveland Cavaliers (+) vs Charlotte Hornets @ 7:05 ET - Of course the Cavs 1-11 SU record on the season makes them look very uninviting to the betting markets. The result is line value in a situation like this because they have been a different team since the coaching change. The Cavaliers last 3 losses have come by an average margin of defeat of only 4 points. Cleveland has been playing better on the defensive end and has allowed an average of just 99 points per game in their last 3 losses. The Hornets are in a tough scheduling spot as they are off a big win at Detroit and have a big revenge game with the 76ers on deck. Charlotte just recently lost to Philly by a single point and can't help but be anticipating the big match-up with newly acquired Jimmy Butler and the Sixers. The Hornets are also having to deal with a revenge-minded Cavs team here. Cleveland trailed Charlotte by just 7 points at the half in their meeting earlier this month but then got blown out by 32 by the time the final horn sounded. Time for some payback here and the Cavaliers improve to 3-0 ATS this season when playing with revenge. 10* CLEVELAND

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFB Game #301 Tuesday 8* Western Michigan Broncos (-) @ Ball State Cardinals @ 6 ET - Both teams have been struggling but the Broncos are still the superior team and will respond after getting blown out in back to back games. In fact, Western Michigan is a perfect 5-0 ATS the last 5 times they've entered a weekday game off B2B SU losses. The Broncos are also a fantastic 10-2 ATS as road favorites of more than 6 points when facing a team with a losing record! Ball State is an ugly 0-4 ATS in their last 4 meetings with Western Michigan. In fact the Broncos have blown out the Cardinals by a combined score of 161-30 in the last 3 meetings! I am well aware that EACH of these teams has issues at the QB position but at least Broncos QB Kaleb Eleby had a solid effort when he first replaced the injured Jon Wassink 2 games back. As for Ball State QB Drew Plitt, he has come in place of the injured Riley Neal but turnovers were a major issue in his first game. Another key factor here is that, with the QB situation for each team, the running game carries extra importance. The Broncos run defense had been solid for many consecutive weeks prior to the last two weeks. Though Western Michigan's run D struggled in its past two games they certainly didn't struggle as much as the Cardinals did. Ball State allowed an average of 307.5 rushing yards per game the past two games! Also, in terms of rushing yardage on offense, the Broncos have averaged 251 yards per game on the ground in their last 4 road contests! The Cards have gained more than 160 on the ground just once in their last seven games. Ball State is on a long-term 6-16 ATS run in conference games and with this line dropping to a 7 as of Tuesday evening, it is "go time" with the Broncos! 8* WESTERN MICHIGAN