Scott Rickenbach

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Game #3 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New York Islanders vs Anaheim Ducks @ 3:05 ET - I am well aware of the fact that both these hockey clubs have been trending under of late but that has led to situational value here with this total posted at just 5.5 goals. The Ducks are off back to back wins and have scored 3 goals in each victory but are in a back to back here. That means a rusty Chad Johnson is likely to get the start between the pipes. Johnson hasn't started since mid-December and in his last 4 appearances (2 starts) he has a poor .875 save percentage. As for the Islanders, they are off a huge emotional win at Washington in head coach Barry Trotz first visit back to DC since leading the Capitals to the Stanley Cup in June. While I expect the Isles to enjoy success against a rusty Johnson, I also expect the Islanders to be a little sluggish and less intense on defense after their huge effort against the Caps. As a result, the Ducks (surging with confidence after back to back wins) should get some very high-quality scoring chances in this one. Anaheim is 26-13 to the over in Sunday games (including 7-3 to the over this season). New York is on a 15-7 run to the over in Sunday games plus 7-3 to the over when they are off a shutout win. 10* OVER the total in the New York Islanders game

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Game #1 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Chicago Blackhawks vs Washington Capitals @ 12:35 ET - The Capitals are in bounce back mode after a 2-0 home loss to the Islanders on Friday. The Blackhawks are likely to be the perfect host for Washington to bounce back against in terms of getting their offensive production going again. Chicago has gone over the total in 6 straight games and they've allowed an average of 4.3 goals per game their last 8 games. The last 6 games between the Blackhawks and Caps have resulted in 0 unders. Yes this is a big total for Sunday's match-up but, in addition to giving up goals in bunches, Chicago has been solid in the offensive zone as they've averaged 3.7 goals per game their last 6 games. The Capitals have been struggling to score goals but they've faced a tough slate of opponents. On Sunday, Washington will take advantage of facing a weaker foe and the Caps get back on track but look for the Blackhawks to match them goal for goal. I would not be surprised to see a 4-4 type game that is decided in OT or the shootout. Worst case scenario should be a 3-3 type game which, of course, would result in a winning ticket (4-3 final) as well. 8* OVER the total in Chicago

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #817 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Boston College Eagles vs Florida State Seminoles @ Noon ET - The over is a perfect 3-0 in the last 3 meetings between these teams. I also like having the lesser team, Boston College, at home in a situation like this. The Eagles should be able to score well since they're on their home floor but they have very little chance of slowing down the Seminoles in this one. That's because Boston College is a weak team defensively and Florida State enters this game off a loss and looking for a breakout game offensively. The Noles have faced tough match-ups recently at Pittsburgh, versus Duke, and at Virginia. Now the Seminoles can take advantage of facing a weaker foe with weaker defense. The over is 4-1 in Boston College's last 5 games. Also, the Eagles are 12-3 to the over when they enter game on a losing streak of 3 or more games. Overall, BC is on a long-term run of 25-10 to the over in home games. Florida State found it tough to score this season in only 3 games: at Pittsburgh, at Virginia, and on a neutral floor versus Villanova. In their other 14 games this season the Seminoles have averaged 82 points per game this season. They are a 7 point favorite. In other words if FSU scores like they normally do and the odds makers is right about the spread you have yourself an 82-75 type game which means this one should fly over by double digits. I'll take it. 10* OVER the total in Boston College 

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NBA Game #503 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Timberwolves vs Phoenix Suns @ 7:05 ET - The Timberwolves are playing this game with revenge and that is a situation that has seen the over go 15-7 this season. The Suns are in a tough back to back spot as they were at Charlotte yesterday where they got crushed and allowed 135 points. This is nothing new as it has been a miserable season for Phoenix and they've allowed 121 points per game in their last 6 road games. The Wolves need a huge win to bounce back after back to back losses and with the Suns putting up little resistance, Minnesota can essentially name the score here. It will be a high-scoring win (likely by double digits as you can see with the big line posted on this game) for the Wolves in a run and gun type game. The over is 14-2 in the Timberwolves last 16 games and I expect another one here. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NFL Game #313 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Kansas City Chiefs vs New England Patriots @ 6:40 ET - Original talk about the weather for this game was temperatures near 0 degrees. However, the strength of the arctic surge of air stayed further east and north. As a result the game time temperature could be near 25 degrees for this one and may only drop to 20 during the game. Chilly? Yes. Unusually cold for football? No. Also, the biggest impact on a total is wind and that is not expected to be an issue here and there is no precipitation in the forecast either. All signs point to both the Tom Brady Patriots and Patrick Mahomes Chiefs being able to fully open up the playbooks in this one. Also, unlike last week these defenses are facing much bigger challenges this week. Last week the Patriots faced the Chargers playing the 2nd of back to back road games and the game was at New England. Likewise the Chiefs were at home off a bye week too and got to face a worn out Colts team playing the 2nd of back to back road games. Look for the offenses to prevail in this one as the over is 6-1 in the Patriots last 7 playoff games. The Chiefs were 4-0 to the over their last 4 games against teams with a winning record prior to last week's game against the Colts staying under the total. In other words, normalcy resumes this week in KC and you're likely to see a shootout in this one. 8* OVER the total in Kansas City

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Game #311 Sunday 8* Los Angeles Rams (+) @ New Orleans Saints @ 3:05 ET - The Saints just beat the defending Super Bowl champs last week. Not only is that a big win to come down from in terms of the emotional high, New Orleans was quite fortunate to win that game. When the Eagles were up 14-0 and driving again a very ill-advised play call and poorly thrown ball by Philadelphia QB Nick Foles led to an interception that turned that game around. After the Saints locker room was blaring Meek Mill in the locker room after the game and making light of the Eagles Super Bowl win last year and that they've now "taken over", don't be surprised when they get knocked off their pedestal after just one week. I am well aware of home team's recent dominance in conference championship games. However, the Rams have won and covered 3 straight games and going on the road here actually helps Los Angeles remain focused and not over-confident. As for the Saints, they are on an 0-4 ATS run and over-confident here already talking Super Bowl, etc as New Orleans already beat the Rams here in the regular season as well. Lets not forget the Saints have not been as impressive down the stretch and the Rams get their revenge as they're firing on all cylinders at the right time. 8* LOS ANGELES RAMS

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NFL Game #314 Sunday 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (-) vs New England Patriots @ 6:40 ET - The Patriots are off a completely dominating win against the Chargers last week. However, that game was set up perfect for them. They were at home playing with an extra week of rest and facing a Chargers team traveling to the East Coast for a second straight week. Now the situation is much different as the Pats are on the road and facing a Chiefs team that will be playing a home game for the 5th time in their last 6 games! Only one time since an early December game at Oakland have the Chiefs had to leave Kansas City! The Chiefs lost at New England earlier this season but remember they won at New England the prior season and now they're finally getting the Patriots in Kansas City. That is certainly significant as the Chiefs were 8-1 SU at home this season and all 8 wins came by at least 3 points (the current line on this game as of Thursday night). New England went only 3-5 SU on the road this season and 4 of the 5 losses were by a margin of at least 7 points. The Patriots went 1-4 SU and ATS in games played on grass this season. Also, in road games with posted total of 49.5 points or more, the Pats went 0-3 SU and ATS this season! New England benefited this season, as usual, from playing in the weak AFC East and, in my mind, the Patriots dynasty ended when the Eagles got the best of them in the Super Bowl last season. This year, the Pats won't even get to the Super Bowl. It is the Chiefs turn! 10* KANSAS CITY

Playoff Total of the Year - Rickenbach NFL Game #311 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in New Orleans Saints vs Los Angeles Rams @ 3:05 ET - The Saints did next to nothing in the first quarter against the Eagles on Sunday. That said, they essentially gained all of their 420 yards of offense in the final three quarters of that game. Of course that projects out to 560 yards over four quarters. The point is that New Orleans is "feeling it" again on offense and I look for this game to turn into another massive shootout between these teams. The last two times these teams have met in New Orleans the average total points scored is 75. Keep in mind the Rams have scored 29 points or more in 14 of their 17 games this season. Los Angeles is averaging 32.8 points per game on the season and do you really think the Saints aren't going to match the Rams score for score here? The points is that both teams are likely to get into the mid-30s here and that is why, though this total may seem very large, the odds makers were fully justified in setting this total in the mid-50s. There will not be many stops in this game. The Rams will be forced to the air because the Saints run defense has been solid. The Saints love going to the air against LA as they've had 346 passing yards each of the past two times they've hosted LA. The point is that both teams will be airing it out early, often, and throughout this game. Of course plenty of passing is great for an over and the Eagles Foles location last week was off on key passes or the Eagles would have scored a ton. Don't look for the Rams Jared Goff to miss those opportunities. I was not impressed with the Saints secondary. At the same time, New Orleans has proven time and time again they can throw on the Rams. Los Angeles enters this game having gone over the total in each of their two prior games with an average of 66 points scored per game. The Saints are on a 12-4 run to the over in playoff games even with last week's game versus the Eagles staying under the total. The high-scoring trend resumes here as the Saints gameplan will be much different than it was against the Eagles defense. This is an entirely different match-up and both offenses will be attacking downfield early and often. 10* OVER the total in New Orleans