Welcome to 2023 for Blue Seat Bookie! Hope your holiday season was enjoyable, and relaxing. A new year means we start fresh, for 2023. We will not only be keeping track of the wins and losses, but I will also be posting some content every month of both the  biggest flops, and our biggest wins in just providing you transparency and a way to self-deprecate or gloat. Should be a good time this season. With that, there are quite a number of good possible games tonight, let’s break down a few that look promising!

Define the Great Money Line

New York Rangers defeat the Carolina Hurricanes +105

This is not only of interest to me because of my fandom for the Rangers, but tonight is such a good test for their newly constructed lines who have put together a great last couple of games to put on a show against a division rival. The time is now for the Rangers to flip the script and try to amass another good winning streak as their playoff chances are middle of the pack currently. (47% per Moneypuck).

There is no reason the Rangers shouldn’t be able to defeat this Carolina Hurricanes team. The Canes are well coached, and roll a solid 4 lines, but the Rangers have the finishing talent to be able to compete with them. Shesterkin and Raanta are the projected starters, and it’s tough to bet against Shesterkin, even against a team coming in with an 11-game winning streak. Classic trap game scenario.

Pull up the Covers

Edmonton Oilers Cover the Seattle Kraken -1.5 +145

Edmonton should be getting back Leon Draisaitl for this matchup. They were without him the last time they played Seattle, and Connor McDavid put up a 5-point night with a goal and 4 assists in a 7-2 rout. I would suspect that the Kraken will put up a little better of a fight tonight, but I still think with the duo back of McDavid and Draisaitl, that the Oilers covering -1.5 is a huge possibility.

Seattle’s goaltending is a major organizational problem so early into their existence. With Grubauer and Stuart Skinner projected to start for both teams, I would take Skinner with his 12-9-1 record with a .917 save percentage over Grubauer to be able to get some stops. Think this one ends up being 4-2 or 5-3.

Overs or Unders

St Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs OVER 6 -105

I think this is a really good value bet. While this may be a trap game for Toronto with the injuries to Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly, there is so much firepower on both sides that we could see another 4-3 game like the last time these two teams met. Toronto with their big 4, and the talents of the likes of Buchnevich, Kyrou, Thomas, Justin Faulk and the inconsistency of Jordan Binnington, this should be a high scoring game. The odds makers have it as a coin flip, but I think we see some offense tonight.

Dave’s DFS pick

Goalie: Igor Shesterkin ($7,500)

Playing Shesterkin at home, where the Rangers have struggled, against Carolina is a risky bet, but one with a high ceiling for a tournament play. Carolina takes the most shot attempts at 5v5 in the NHL, but is only middle of the road in goals-for at 5v5.  They are also a bottom-10 team in 5v5 SH% that doesn’t have a consistent PP (19.4%, bottom half of the league).

Shesterkin will likely face a high quantity of shots, where he excels, and has a high potential for the 35+ save bonus on DraftKings. Now it’s just a matter of which Rangers team shows up for Shesterkin to potentially get the win and 6 more DraftKings points. At $7,500, he leaves you room for a top line stack as well.

Line: FLA1 – Verhaeghe-Barkov-Tkachuck ($19,800 for the trio)

Florida has the highest implied live on the slate, traveling to Arizona against a tanking team. Florida is all offense and no defense and are top-three in the NHL in both CF/60 and xGF/60 at 5v5 and are 4th in GF/60. Meanwhile, Arizona is a bottom team in chances and goals allowed. This one doesn’t require any overthinking.

Added bonus: All three play on the powerplay. Verhaeghe plays PP2 though.

Disclaimer: Lines and odds from BetMGM as of 3:00pm on 1/3/23. Odds and lines subject to change. DFS options subject to change based on game time decisions, starting goalie news, or unexpected lineup changes. Dave and Tyler may change bets based on new odds and information that becomes available after article is published. If you choose to partake, please gamble responsibly and within your means! If you or anyone you know has a gambling addiction, please seek help. Gambling is only legal in the US for those 21 years of age and older.

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