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Let's start with the fact that Calgary were victorious twice against Arizona this season in two head-to-head matches, and last time was only a few days ago when they left them goalless on their own ice Calgary have shown a lot more than Arizona who can't seem to find their game at the bottom of the Western Conference. Calgary are one of the dark horses this season; the team are flying high, they're confident and stable, with great goalies and I trust them in this situation. Arizona played yesterday and today they're playing a second day in a row, and despite their yesterday's victory, that didn't scare me. They managed to beat the weak Edmonton who have ten defeats in a row and seem to be straight out of the AHL. Calgary have five more wins, they're better for half a goal on average and both in the offense and defense, they have a better goalie, they didn't receive a single goal in the last two matches and the shape is on their side. Another plus is that yesterday Arizona's forward Murphy got injured and he won't be playing today. Calgary are, above all, more rested, and know how to defeat Arizona this season: both times it was convincing and I don't see why it shouldn't be the same today. Details

There are lots of important arguments on Dinamo Riga's side today, and this bet has to be taken. In the last six games, Dinamo's game got immensely better. They have five wins out of those six games, they defeated a club like SKA in the away game, and that was no accident. They're a talented and fast team who needed time to assemble. They have to catch up for the relegation zone which will be a big motive, and they'll go for three points. They couldn't wish for a better opponent. Novokuznetsk are in a bad form, with five defeats in a row, and taking the bottom o the East conference, which is weaker than the West one. Besides, they lost eight out of the last ten games in the regular time, so it's obvious what state they're in. Altogether, they got nine points less than Riga this season. Riga are better, they are motivated, and the arena will be full so they have big support. Novokuznetsk did defeated Riga earlier this month, but I don't think that's relevant because Riga haven't been in this form yet, and that was a very bad day, which won't happen today. Details

Detroit have been doing better this season and deserve my trust. I think they will win this game. New Jersey are a disappointment this season - currently aren't even in the play-off zone and their performances prove they are not play-off material. Only three wins in the last 10 games and only 3 wins in the last 8 home games only go to prove that. New Jersey are a team made up of mediocre players, unlike their talented opponents from Detroit, who already have one h2h win this season (in Detroit) and 3 out of 4 games last season. This matcup suits them, they have been in fine form lately, having won 5 out of the last 7 games. They're more talented, faster and better, and have a better goalie to count on. I think that will be enough for the win today. Weiss and Datsyuk are back are Detroit are complete, while the Devils have to do without their captain Clow. Detroit's win is available at quite good odds. Details

Ugra went to Sochi without two key forwards Kaspar and Maxwell, who recorded most point this year. Kaspar is still suspended (this is the last game), Maxwell is injured, and to make things ever worse, forward Rajala left the team recently. Brust from Madvescak joined only to get injured immediately, forcing Ugra to play with bad goal keepers. They are on a 4-game losing run since the forward duo is out. They are bottom-table in the East and haven't been doing anything good throughout this season. Interestingly, Sochi have 2 points more than Ugra despite having played 4 games less. Sochi are currently bottom table in the West, but that is only because they played less games than any other team. For example, Medvescak had 6 games more so far. Sochi have gotten better recently, they have 5 wins in the last 8 games. They beat Jokerit home, gave SKA a hard time and managed to get a point against Barys, which was followed by a convincing win over Traktor last round. They got a boost of confidence and I think they are set to win here. They have the form, great fan support home, they've been doing better than the ailing Ugra this season. Also, the opponents are tired after 4 consecutive away games. Details

KAC remain bottom table, unlike their opponents from Graz. The home team are better in every segment of the game, more consistent and have already beaten KAC (away). Furthermore, these two teams resumed the season in completely different fashions - Graz with two wins, KAC with two disastrous home games (conceded 12 goals combined). On top of it all, KAC will be without three forwards today, even though KAC's main problem lately isn't offense but horrible defense performances. Graz are among the better teams when it comes to offense. Form, overall quality, fan support - Graz are better at all of those today, which makes the odds for this bet quite acceptable. Details

I don't see why Vityaz are underestimated like this, they're a better team than Medvešćak this season. If a win against the unstable Atlant convinced anyone that this Medvešćak are a favorite against this Vityaz, ok, but I'm not convinced. The guests have three points more than Medvešćak in four games less, which tells you all there is. Their offense is better, they have bigger names, and are in a better form. In the last 12 games, they celebrated eight times, and lost only to stronger teams and teams from the top. Besides, they're good guests with nine wins in 15 games, and with three consecutive away games. Lately, they've been playing evened out games against teams stronger than the Bears who have three wins in a row, but I definitely don't see them as favorites here. I think this is a 50-50 game, the Bears are the home team, but Vityaz showed that they're not in form so bad this season, that the home team's win should be expected. This sounds like an evened out game much more, that they would split the points in the regular part, or even that the guests could win, that wouldn't surprise me at all. It surely doesn't sound like a game the Bears could win, they're not a stable team. The odds offered for this situation are not equalized with the real situation, I think. Details

Montreal are on a four-game winning run, having played the last three home against very tough opponents. I think their winning streak will continue today. They are the leading team of the Eastern Conference, have 7 wins home (9 games) and have the best goalie in the league Price. He's been having great performances lately. Montreal now face Philadellphia, a team that lost to ailing Colombus yesterday. Phildelphia are horrible this season, and on top of that, they're one of the worst visitors in the league, with two wins in six games. Montreal are the most successful home team in the East and already beat Philadelphia once this season (away). Besides, Philadelphia played a very tough game last night and have to play with their second choice goalie Emery. Philadelphia now can't count on MacDonald and Schenn, and first line forward Raffle who scored a goal in the first game with Montreal. I think that's enough reason to go with Montreal today. Details

Ottawa are a grateful team for playing an under, and that was confirmed the other day when we were looking for them in the under against Winnipeg. Today they're meeting a team who have lately been playing on a small number of points. For the Canucks the last 6/8 stayed under today's margin. They're playing a defensive game, but of course an over occurs from time to time when they make a difference at the very start when the game opens, but I don't expect the same thing to happen here. I don't expect it because the teams are equal and have a similar game style. Ottawa are huge defensive players, they went into an over only five times in 14 matches so far and have one of the better defenses in the league. Neither of them are not crazy and don't play high-scoring games, and the very important thing for this bet is the absence of two Canucks' very important players: Vrbata and Kassian without whom it will be hard, since Vrbata is the second shot of the team. Both teams announced their primary goalies, Miller with the hosts and Anderson with Ottawa, and that's another big plus for the bet since we're talking about one of the best goalies of the league this season. All in all, this looks like a nice opportunity to play an under with the standard margin, and I think this is a really good pick. Details

Ottawa and Winipeg are two very defense-oriented games that rarely play overs. 10 out of the last 14 games for Jets were unders at this margin, Ottawa's 8 out of 12. Ottawa conceded only one goal in the last two home games on account of goalie Anderson's brilliant performances. He is one of the best goalies in the league once again. The Jets can't count on great offense but they do have defense that gets them the wins, just like Ottawa. I think this is a nice chance to go with an under. Only three goals were scored in their last head-to-head late last season. The odds are acceptable for this margin given the fact it's a clash of two great defenses. Details

Carolina are the worst performing teams in the league as expected, not having recorded a single win in the first 6 rounds. The bad streak was caused by numerous injuries affecting their players so Carolna can't count on the Staal brothers, Gerbe and Dywer are out as well, and the situation on the team is not good. Calgary improved their game this season with 4 wins in 8 games only making the progress more obvious, especially when it comes to defense, which I expect to be their main weapon in the attempt to beat Carolina. The first eight games force me to trust them, with the tough defense, reliable goalies and young and fast attack being their advantage today. The last round meeting with Tampa should have been a win for Calgary but Tampa did the final moments of the game better to win. Just to compare, Tampa are at least a level above this Carolina team. Calgary beat Carolina both times last season and I trust it they will do the same today. They're not a top table team and cannot afford to be relaxed about losing a game here and there. After a good start, every point counts and these kind of games simply need to be won. Details

I can't agree with the bookmakers on this game. I think Lada have more chance of winning today as they started doing better in the last five games (Barys, Omsk and Magnitka home) and a draw with Kazan can't be a coincidence. Their game got better, and since Fedorov joined for CSKA they currently seem much better than Traktor. This will be the fourth away game, and they have not won any of the last 6 games. Lada had two days off more, but more importantly, the home team can't count on goalie Garnett, defenseman Vasilchenko, and one of their top forwards Glinkin. I think Lada are the favorite here because they have all it takes to be one. I think opting for their win is a good choice. Details

Stavanger can only go for a win here if they want a chance for a pass which exist in some scenarios. Bern, on the other hand, have no chance to pass; this game is of no importance to them and they are only coming here to give a chance to some of their younger players. So, the hosts definitely have a motive; they are announcing the most important match of the season, but what's more important is the fact that Stavanger have already been victorious against Bern, and quite recently, in an away game. Stavanger are in good shape this season and in home league they have a total of five victories in a row, with a great motive against the weak and unmotivated Bern - I definitely see them as a team who are closer to victory. Details

KHL management decided to work on making the league more exciting this year. In order to do so, they decided that officiating will be more strict, and the blue lines have been moved closer to the center, which is so far been producing more goals than last season. Ufa has done three matches so far, all three well above this margin. Two of those games ended with 8 goals score, and one with 7. The home team are not doing well in defense, but the offense is quite good. Admiral also did three matches so far. Bad defense performances caused two of the games to end as overs (6 and 9 goals) Ufa's games were more efficient than any other teams' games so far, but the visiting team aren't too focused on defense either, and that makes this a good bet to opt for. Details

I think that today, we still have a chance to use Medvescak's not being ready and this new team playing against a Russian team for the first time. Next week, they'll probably have the two toughest away matches in the league, and the odds won't be near the ones today. The match in Bratislava was as expected, lots of mistakes, bad game in the powerplay, so I don't think they can get a point in the four initial away matches. Avtomobilist, on the other hand, remained the same, kept the coach, the entire defense and one of the league's better goalies, Jakub Kovar, so that part of the team remained intact. On the other side, there were some departures from the offense, but also some big names came, so they look stronger on paper this year, and they proved it in the preparatory games. Two days ago, they were defeated against Bars on a tough away game, but they also played really well on one of the most difficult away matches of the league, against the pretender for the title, and they were really close to getting overtime. Their offense is lead by big names like Petruzalek, Bumagin and the legend Kozlov who brought experience to the talented team, so the home team have advantage there. Medvescak are far from the real form or team cohesion, so to be honest, I don't expect them to do anything against the Russian team. Avtomobilist are too firm and too good of a team to make a blunder against Medvescak in their state, and in the first home match. A smaller stake again because the season is just beginning, but the odds are still really good. We should mention that Avto are a stronger team than Slovan, and have much more on their side than Slovan had against the team from Zagreb, who said themselves that they're still adjusting to KHL. Details

Even though Slovan are slight favorites in this game and this is the start of the season, I think it's worth going for home team's win. Medveščak have changed their entire squad and coaching staff and they're now a completely different team from last year, probably weaker. They didn't get any noteworthy results in pre-season and they didn't play against KHL teams, unlike Slovan who played tight games against Vityaz and CSKA. Last year's Medveščak made lots of mistakes and it took them some time to get organized while they'll need even more time this year. Slovan have brought several class players who will make them stronger, they even got two of Medveščak's former players, only one of which will play today. Even though several good players left Slovan, they brought in more than adequate reinforcements, primarily from Slovakia which means they won't need too much time to get accustomed to the team. Their coach has remained the same and so will their style, and that will be one of their biggest advantages today. Slovan's fans are very passionate and this is a very difficult away game to play, which could be an added bonus for the home team. Medveščak's Krog, Trotter and Segal are doubtful and if just one player doesn't participate, they could be in trouble. A lower stake as it's the start of the season, but Slovan have some crucial factors working for them and they're worth betting on. Details

Even though this is the seventh, deciding match of the series, I don't see why under is so favored. Defenses aren't up to their levels in this series, and five of six matches (the first one) ended in over, a big one, at that: 8,7, 7, 8, 7. The offenses were really in the mood, clearly both teams like that kind of a game, and as important as those matches were, they went to a big over. Neither teams have injured forwards, everyone's ready and in a great mood, while the defenses and the goalies aren't brilliant. Margin of 4.5 is too low after everything we've seen in this series because both matches five and six were super important, and still went far over this margin, and I see the same happening today. The odds are really great for this kind of a margin, and there's plenty of material to take a middle stake, and the braver ones can also take over 5.5 with bigger odds. Details

In a direct duel for passing the group, Finland are my favorite for a few reasons. The first one is their form is getting better - they have three consecutive wins, and will probably have the fourth today. Pick on them yesterday unluckily failed, but I don't think there was anything wrong with it, so I'll bet on Finland again. They're a better team than USA. They showed better games, the Americans conceded six goals against Russia and Latvia, they struggled against Kazahstan, and USA's lineup calls for no respect at the moment. Even if the Americans were complete, I'd bet against them. But, they're without their captain and the most experienced player Abdelkalder today, who got suspended, and without one of the main defenders, Trouba, who got injured. He was the main defender with 23 minutes per match here, with two goals, which influenced their game a lot. Those two not playing is a big handicap, and it gives these odds an even bigger value because the Finnish are better than this young and inexperienced USA team anyway. The Finnish have the world class in their lineup, Kontiola and Rinne on the goal, the young Haula, and they're close to winning than the odds would suggest here. They're far more experienced, and showed a better game here, they have a better goalie, more toughness, and the Americans are without their captain and the main defender here, so the story is clear, and Finland's win should definitely be taken today. Details

Belarus have their work cut out for them here and I think they are even bigger favorites than the odds suggest. First of all, they have their best squad here and their best players while Germany are nowhere near that situation as they brought a rejuvenated team without their real star players. Belarus have all their KHL players here, including Kostitsyn and Grabovski, which Germany doesn't have. Belarus have shown more, despite the fact that both teams have 2 wins. Germany struggled against Kazakhstan, whom Belarus beat with ease. Germany was defeated by Switzerland, whom Belarus beat. Germany was crushed by Finland, while Belarus played a really tight game against them, limiting them to only 15 shots. That last game against Finland was the best that Belarus played on this tournament, even though they didn't score a goal. They showed great desire and competitive spirit and are much closer to the win today. They are playing at home in front of their 15,000 fans, they have a much more experienced team and a more cohesive team. Finally, this is a huge chance for them to get the points for the quarter-finals as they have a chance to make something of this generation and I think they will get the win here. Details

Realistically speaking, this Finland is one level above Switzerland and there's no denying it. The Swiss have shown nothing as the only team they have beaten is weak Germany in a very tight game. In comparison, Finland beat that very same Germany by 4-0 with a much better performance. The Finns didn't have an ideal start but they got into the groove and have not conceded a goal in two games thanks to great defense and excellent Rinne on goal, while the Swiss don't have much firepower to penetrate him. Kontiola is playing great, he's a good leader and now he will be joined by young NHL player Haula who came to Minsk after Minnesota were eliminated from the playoffs. He will give his team the additional speed and energy in offense, while their defense is already at a top level. The Swiss have come here without 11 players that took part in the Olympics three months ago and it's clear there's no comparing these two teams. Even before they came, it was clear they will fight to avoid relegation and I think they will decide their status with Kazakhstan. I don't think they have a chance as the Finns are better and have to win if they want to reach the quarter-finals. Details

If there are teams in this World Championship that have shown to have a leaky defense, while at the same time having a solid offense, both Kazakhstan and USA fit the bill. The Americans scored five goals yesterday, but that was still no enough to win as they conceded six to Latvia. The Americans had the same defense against the Russians where they conceded six, while once again being impressive on offense against Belarus where they scored six. The Kazakhs on the other hand have the style of Barys Astana, only with very, very poor defense. They conceded four to Belarus, five to Latvia while scoring four, and seven against the Russians, scoring two there. They showed they are capable on offense, there are some Barys stars among them, but defense is not their forte, just like for the young Americans who make too many mistakes on defense and whose goalie Thomas has been doing very poorly so far here. We might even see one of the two young goalies with no NHL or international experience manning the goal, which would be a chance for Kazakhstan to use their offensive arsenal, keeping in mind the drafty defense of course. Six goals is a minimum I'm expecting here, but I'm pretty confident that both sides will get torpedoed, as their performance so far works in favor of this bet. Fast play-style, goals, defensive mistakes, goals with an extra player: those are all things to be expected today, and the viewers will enjoy this. Details