Line deployment is important, but it is also important to not overestimate it. Just because someone is playing on the checking line (cough cough, thanks a lot for blessing us with that great checking line deployment of Cole Caufield, Marty St. Louis!), doesn't mean they won't score (also like Caufield, for what it's worth). While we were correct about Barzal last night doing nothing with Cal Clutterbuck glued to the top line (why on earth are we still doing this experiment), we were done in by a point on the power play. It happens. While I would have loved to go 4-1 yesterday, we'll settle with 3-2 and another profitable day. In the last day of our betting week, we enter at 9-10. We'll keep at player props, mostly for now.

Tage Thompson o0.5 points @ Montreal (-145)

Just in case you were wondering, Montreal seems hard to read with St. Louis coaching but it's only been two games. I can't really understand this hiring because the guy has virtually zero coaching experience. I honestly thought Luke Richardson did a decent job filling in for Ducharme during their Stanley Cup run and I would have gone that route, personally. This isn't the first time that Montreal did something with their head coach decisions that left us scratching our heads though. And the deployment Marty has been using is very strange. Cole Caufield was skating on the 4th line during warmups yesterday with Joel Armia and some guy named Poehling. Even he will not save Caufield it seems this year. Brendan Gallagher has also been a victim of the "coaching blender". But I digress, this is not meant to be a rant about Montreal. Tage Thompson is playing a team that is struggling to find their identity and he has 9 points in his last 7 games and is getting top line and top power-play deployment. Fire at will here.

Jeff Carter u0.5 points @ New Jersey (-120)

Old Man Jeff has filled in nicely when either Malkin or Crosby, or both, are out of the lineup. However, Malkin is almost certainly back from his time on the Covid-19 list today. He was ready earlier in the week against Ottawa, but could not partake due to Canada's restrictions. This will relegate Carter back to the 3rd line with Rodgriues and Danton Heinen. He is also playing on the 2nd powerplay and there really isn't a ton of firepower there. There's still a shot that Jeff picks up an apple or smokes a beaut snipe past the starting Jersey goalie, but I see this game being a sneaky defensive game for both teams. However, the first line has been on a such a tear, that it's a little too scary to bet the unders on the game or for shot totals on Guentzel or Rust at 3.5, although I am tempted with the under on shots for those two with that high of a line set. Watching the Penguins games a lot, I seem to remember the Devils giving an upset to the Penguins frequently in the past few years. This game is not as easy as it looks today.

Jamie Benn u0.5 points VS Colorado (-135)

Darcy Kuemper is likely to play again and has been very good. Benn also likes to go on his own hot streaks, and is sort of in the middle of one with 5 points in the last 4 games. However, against Colorado he has been snake-bitten with 0 points in their last 6 battles and his timing seems a little off recently despite the points. He missed a wide open net against Winnipeg on Friday. It was a pretty brutal miss. He had enough time to dust it off, point at the net and pick his spot, wait 4 seconds, wind up and fire a slap shot and still would have time to score on Hellebuyck before he made it back over. He also completely whiffed on a pass on the power-play, and then later he would log his score with the greasiest of tip-ins on the same shift. Benn's ice time has been idling around 16 minutes a night in the past few games and he is off the first line and power-play. I just don't think his game, which has morphed into more of a power forward game, is well suited for tonight's match-up against Colorado.

BONUS FLEX PLAY* Daily special on Draftkings

Highest Scoring Team of the day (4 games, dead heat): Buffalo Sabres (+750)

I won't include this in the picks of the week, but it is something to keep an eye on. Montreal just traded for Andrew Hammond (aka "the Hamburglar") for some reason and he has not played any NHL action since the 2017-18 season. He is probably most known for the run he had in Ottawa during the 2014-15 season with a 20-1-2 record. However, he fell apart in seasons after and has been playing in the AHL and beer leagues in the last 4 years. A small bet to be taken is not a bad idea here in the hopes that he gets confirmed as the starter. The other games today could be mostly defensive battles and this boosts the chances of Buffalo being the highest scoring team of the day if they score 4 or 5 goals. A small bet of $4.20 is enough for Stat Glitchers!