Art Aronson

This is a 10* on NYI -1.5

We know who the four playoff teams from the East Division will be (Capitals, Penguins, Bruins, Islanders). This is arguably the toughest division in this year’s realigned NHL. The Islanders have spent a lot of time in first place, so for them to be currently fourth has to be disappointing. Since clinching a playoff spot, they’ve lost two in a row to last place Buffalo. But there's still only a five point gap between them and first and a win today could vault them ahead of Boston (who hosts the Rangers) into third. Beating the Devils shouldn’t be hard. After all, they’ve won five of this season’s six meetings including all four that took place in March. They’ve won 10 of their last 12 against New Jersey. This game is in Uniondale and nobody has suffered fewer losses on home ice than the Isles. They’ve been beaten just six times at home all season, only three of those coming in regulation. Both those numbers are tied for league bests. The Devils are out of it and had lost 10 in a row before winning four of the last five. They are 8-21 against teams with a winning record and 4-10 after a game with four or more goals. Not only will the Islanders win tonight, they’ll do so by at least two goals. Play on NY ISLANDERS (-1.5)

AAA

This is a 10* on the LAKERS

Betting either the Lakers or the Clippers recently has been hazardous to one’s bankroll. The Lakers are just 1-7 ATS their last eight games, though they did just upset Denver - as a 3.5 point underdog - on Monday. They did so without the services of LeBron James. James returned on 4/30 against the Kings and also played on 5/2 vs Toronto, but those were both Lakers’ losses. They are 2-6 SU those last eight games and have fallen into a tie with Dallas for 5th in the West. Seventh place Portland is lurking just a half game back, so there’s a chance the defending NBA champs could end up in the play-in round. James is not playing tonight, but we’ll still take the points with the Lakers as the league’s “other LA team” has not covered in five straight and should not be laying so many points. The Clippers have lost three of the last five games outright and the two wins - both of which were against non-playoff teams - were by just five points each. They trailed much of the way against Toronto in their last game. Remember the Lakers still have Anthony Davis and are #1 in the league in points allowed per possession. Play on LA LAKERS

AAA

This is a 9* on OVER

The Braves are looking to complete a three-game sweep this afternoon in the Nation’s Capital. This series is obviously going a lot better than the weekend did vs. Toronto where they lost three times. Unfortunately, it’s tough to be confident in Drew Smyly to get the job done. Smyly, who gets the nod Thursday for Atlanta, has an 0-4 team start record to go along with an 8.05 ERA. A 1.526 WHIP isn’t good either and these numbers are only getting worse with Smyly allowing five or more runs in each of his last three starts. It’s certainly fair to say that the southpaw is a major reason why Atlanta is one of six teams to be allowing at least 5.0 runs/game this year. While Washington hasn’t been putting a ton of runs on the board lately, they are hitting .263 the last seven games. They were 0 for 6 with RISP and left seven men on base yesterday. Jon Lester gets his second start for the Nationals after being a part of the team’s COVID-19 outbreak at the start of the season. He didn’t give up any runs his first time out, but also only had one strikeout in five innings. Look for him to struggle some here. Smyly has allowed eight home runs in the last three starts. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on MILWAUKEE

Milwaukee is looking to avoid the sweep today as they have lost three straight one run games here in Philadelphia. Losing three in a row is always going to be frustrating, but when you outhit the opponent in all three games and still go 0-3, that’s REALLY frustrating. Such is the case here for the Brewers, who have 25 hits to the Phillies’ 18 in the three games. They actually doubled them up in hits Wednesday, 8-4, but one of Philly’s hits was a grand slam and that held up in a 5-4 triumph. Milwaukee has now lost four in a row overall, but we like who they are sending out today as Brandon Woodruff has a 1.80 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in six starts. He’s 2-0 while the team is 5-1 in those six starts. The last five have all been quality and seen Woodruff allow only three total runs in 31 innings of work. Four times he’s allowed three hits or less while going six or more innings. This is a red hot pitcher we’re getting at a really short price. Even better is that Woodruff is 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA in three previous turns against the Phillies. We look for Milwaukee to improve upon its awful 7 of 33 hitting with runners in scoring position this series. Zack Wheeler gets the start for the Phillies and only has a 2-4 TSR and there have been some starts where he’s given up plenty of hits. Play on MILWAUKEE

AAA