Sports Handicapper Scott Rickenbach's Picks & Predictions

Money Line Mauling - Rickenbach NHL Monday 8* Philadelphia Flyers Money Line -130 vs Seattle Kraken @ 7:08 ET - The Flyers fell short in the shootout in their lone game so far this NHL season. The Kraken have already played 3 games. I feel this works in Philadelphia's advantage here and I love fading the line move. Philly is the more rested team and this line has gone from the -160 range to the -130 range and the Flyers on home ice are offering excellent line value as a result. Since Alain Vigneault took over as head coach Philly has a very strong home ice record and goalie Carter Hart is known for being very successful on home ice too. Hart and the Flyers should bounce back here after dropping their season opener at home to the Canucks. The Kraken have another game at New Jersey tomorrow night and their early season busy schedule catches up with them here as this is part of a stretch of 4 games in 6 nights for Seattle. The money line on this one is a bargain price. 8* PHILADELPHIA -130

NHL Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Monday 10* Top Play OVER 6 goals in Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers @ 7:08 ET - I know these teams have trended under so far this season but the Maple Leafs get Auston Matthews back tonight for his first game of the season. The center will help lead the way to a higher-scoring game here as the Rangers also have plenty of talent up front that has been a bit bottled up early this season. New York is off a 3-1 win and will build off that here but they are not going to shut down the Leafs in their own building either. Each team off a game in which they scored 3 goals and I expect the same thing here which would mean this match has to end up 4-3 at a minimum and that cashes our ticket in this one. 10* OVER 6 in Toronto

ACTION on the pitchers: TV Blowout - Rickenbach MLB 8* Boston Red Sox Money Line -115 vs Houston Astros @ 8:08 ET - I do not care who pitches here. This is a team-based play. The stats below are from the regular season action. The Red Sox finished 17 games over .500 in home games this season. The Astros were only 7 games above .500 in road games this season. Boston was 18 games above .500 versus right-handed starters this season and Jose Urquidy expected to start for the Astros in this one. Houston only 6 games above .500 versus lefties this season and Eduardo Rodriguez expected to start for Boston in this one. Again, not concerned with the pitchers as like the Red Sox no matter what but Rodriguez was solid in the 2nd half of the season plus off a strong start versus the Rays at Fenway Park last week. Urquidy had his start versus the White Sox last week canceled by rain and he could be rusty here as he finally makes a playoff appearance after two weeks of no game activity. 8* BOSTON -115

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Monday 10* Top Play OVER 9 runs in Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros @ 8:08 ET - The Red Sox and Astros both continue to score runs like crazy. The over trending likely to continue even though it will be a chilly evening at Fenway Park for this one. Boston averaging 7.8 runs per game last 5 games. Houston averaging 6.8 runs per game last 6 games. Expected pitching match-up here is Jose Urquidy versus Eduardo Rodriguez but I am not concerned with who the pitchers are. Both lineups red hot and the runs keep piling up. Going to continue to ride the over trend as long as it keeps going for these teams. I do not see that changing here. 10* OVER 9 in Boston

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL Monday 10* Top Play Tennessee Titans +6  vs Buffalo Bills @ 8:15 ET - The Bills are a great team. They also have revenge on their minds here and a bye week on deck. However, lets not forget that Buffalo is off a huge playoff revenge win over Kansas City last week. Also, lets not forget that the Titans are a quality team and at home and catching as many 6.5 points here after opening as a 3.5 point dog. Buffalo is simply over-priced here especially when you consider that Tennessee is getting healthier. The Titans should have WR Julio Jones back for this game and could have WR AJ Brown back as well. Tennessee has a strong ground game and has won 3 of 4 games since an embarrassing opening week loss to a Cardinals team that remains undefeated on the season. The Titans lone loss since then was by 3 points in overtime. I see them hanging tough in this game throughout. I have a ton of respect for the Bills but the value is with the underdog here especially a home dog like this in a primetime game. As a home dog in a non-divisional match-up, the Titans have covered 6 of 8. Buffalo has been on an ATS tear dating back to last season too so they are becoming over-valued by the betting markets. Wish we could get the full +7 here but we are not quite there yet and, even so, great value with this current number at +6 as the revenge factor is being overplayed on this one. 10* TENNESSEE +6

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach EPL Monday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 goals in Arsenal vs Crystal Palace @ 3 ET - I know Arsenal has been playing much better in the defensive zone for quite some time now. However, they are still a very strong club on the attack too when they want to be and Arsenal enters this match off a scoreless draw. After that 0-0 final with Brighton & Hove two weeks ago, I look for Arsenal to be very aggressive on the attack in this one on their home pitch. Prior to that low-scoring match, Arsenal - across all competitions - had scored 3 goals in each of their prior two matches. Also, 4 of Crystal Palace's last 5 matches have totaled 3 or more goals. Crystal Palace is known for giving Arsenal some trouble so I do not see a clean sheet being delivered in this match. Look for this to be a very competitive match that ends with at least 3 goals (perhaps a 2-1 final) Monday afternoon. 10* OVER 2.5 goals in Arsenal

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Monday Free Pick Crystal Palace +1 goal -135 @ Arsenal @ 3 PM ET - Crystal Palace has a knack for being tough on Arsenal. In fact, Arsenal's 3-1 win in the most recent meeting was the first victory in the last six matches between these two London rivals. That said, the ability to get +1 goal here is a value I will not pass up on with this one. I know Crystal Palace has struggled away from home this season and that Arsenal has been the hotter club of late. However, the hosts in this one have a tendency of overlooking the visitors and then these matches almost always end up tight. The most recent meeting was a rare exception. Also, in 7 matches this season, Arsenal has only one victory by more than a 1-goal margin. As for Crystal Palace, they only have one defeat in last 5 matches. Free Pick CRYSTAL PALACE +1 goal -135