I managed to go 2-1 with my free selections last night and if it weren’t for my ‘shot’ on the Sabres to finally get their heads out of their asses and play some decent hockey it would have been a perfect night. Tonight’s the start of the college basketball season and while many bettors are clamoring to the window to get down on those games, I prefer to take it slow early on in the season and get a better handle on what to expect from all 300+ teams going forward.

So tonight’s it’s just NHL and NBA on the card as I look to keep building my record in the right direction in those two sports.

All lines taken from Pinnacle Sports with bet amounts ‘to win’ on favorites and flat on underdogs

Play of the Day in Bold

Free Play Records

CFL YTD: 6-8 (-$266)

NCAAF YTD: 21-20 ATS (-$199) 

NFL YTD: 10-15 ATS (-$1568)

NHL YTD: 10-7 (+$1420)

NBA YTD: 8-4 (+$1047)

NHL Free play

Toronto ML (+125) $200 to win $250

Don’t get me wrong, Pittsburgh is one of the best teams in the NHL, but with so much public backing nearly every time they take the ice, picking your spots to go against the Pens can be very profitable.

Tonight is one of those spots as the Leafs are playing some good hockey at the moment, winning three in a row and scoring 5+ goals in each of the wins. You need to be able to score multiple times if you’re going to beat the Penguins and with the way Toronto’s offense is clicking right now they’ve got a great chance. Toronto is 4-0 SU in their last four at home and 7-2 SU in their last nine vs. a team with a winning percentage of .600 or greater. When you can up your level of play against the league’s best teams you are always a live home dog and that’s part of the reason I’m taking Toronto here.

The other factor is the fact that Pittsburgh was shutout by the Rangers (5-0) earlier this week and they go home after tonight to have their rematch with New York tomorrow. The Penguins have owned the Leafs for so long (5-1 SU last six) that there’s a good chance to take this game a little lightly with one eye on tomorrow’s rematch with a division rival. The Penguins were embarrassed with how they played vs. New York and will be looking for blood tomorrow. That makes tonight a tough sandwich spot for the Penguins and I have no problem fading the masses and backing the home dog.

NBA Free Play

LA Lakers +8.5 (bought 0.5) (-115) $345 to win $300

LA is another home dog in a good spot tonight as they have started to get things together offensively. L.A has covered the spread in three straight and is 2-0-1 ATS in their last three at home. Kobe and company will be looking to step up there game to another level as they host the champs who enter tonight after two impressive wins vs. the Clippers and Warriors.

San Antonio is known to rest guys on back-to-backs and with a trip to Sacramento tomorrow night, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Popovich limit some minutes tonight. Everyone knows the Lakers are a bad team this year and more often than not the Spurs simply have to show up to beat them. But San Antonio played championship caliber basketball in their last two games and because of that it’s nearly impossible for them not to have a bit of a letdown tonight against L.A.