In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were plenty of model predictions to go around yesterday across the NHL, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 1-0 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model’s performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 6-2

Over/Under Predictions: 4-4

Puck Line Predictions: 5-3

Featured Matchup: 1-0

Five NHL games are scheduled to take place today. Our model’s predictions for all 12 matchups can be found below.

Philadelphia Flyers @ Chicago Blackhawks

Model Predicts- Flyers ML, OVER 5.5, Blackhawks +1.5

The Philadelphia Flyers will end a three-game road trip on Tuesday night, with the final stop coming in Chicago, Illinois to take on the Blackhawks.

Philadelphia has found very little success thus far on its road trip, tallying losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils last Thursday and Saturday. However, Chicago hasn’t had much success recently either, most recently losing to the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 6-3 and posting a 1-8-1 record over the last ten games.

Our model gives the Flyers a significant edge in tonight’s matchup, but we are more focused on the total here. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Philadelphia Flyers

• Enter tonight on two-game losing streak

  • Losses to Maple Leafs and Devils

  • -4 goal differential in that span

• Defense has struggled during losing streak

  • Allowed 10 goals in the last two games

  • xGA/60 in 5-on-5 situations sits at 3.43- third highest in NHL in that time

• Expected goalie- Samuel Ersson

  • .904 Save % in 5-on-5 situations. Ranks 33rd in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) with +2.7

Chicago Blackhawks

• Fresh off loss to Hurricanes

  • Lost game 6-3. Were out-shot 42-17 by Carolina

• 1-8-1 record across the last 10 games

  • Only win came against the Senators

  • Allowing far too much pressure on net- 16.18 High-Danger Scoring Chances allowed per 60 minutes (HDCA/60) in 5-on-5

  • Own 3.01 xGA/60 in 5-on-5 in that stretch

• Expected goalie- Petr Mrazek

  • .919 Save % in 5-on-5. Ranks 21st in GSAx (+6.4)

What’s the Play?

Neither Philadelphia nor Chicago have managed to hold its ground on the defensive end as of late, and as a result we agree with our model that this is a good spot to back the over at 5.5 goals.

Chicago’s inability to slow down opposing pressure is leading to tons of scoring opportunities for its opponents, leading to those opponents scoring 3.4 goal per game across the last ten matchups. That is a great sign for the Flyers here, a team that has scored at least three goals in five consecutive games.

Philadelphia should have no problems finding the back of the net tonight, but we think Chicago is also positioned to sneak a puck or two past Ersson, who owns a .865 Save % over the last two games. Back the over here.

The Play: Over 5.5 (-130)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Philadelphia Flyers- 29-20-7 overall this season, 15-8-5 as the away team

• Boston Bruins- 33-12-11 overall this season, 16-12-0 as the away team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Buffalo Sabres- Under is 30-23-2 this season with average total of 6.02

• Columbus Blue Jackets- Over is 27-24-3 this season with average total of 6.67

Puck Line Trends ➕➖

• Arizona Coyotes- Puck line is 29-26 this season

💪 Avalanche take down Canucks at home. Ryan Johansen ended his scoring drought with two goals, one from a lucky bounce off the boards and the other deflected off a player, helping the Colorado Avalanche defeat the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks 3-1. Johansen expressed relief at finding the net again, leading to a boost in confidence that gave Vancouver its first three-game losing streak of the season. Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves for the Avalanche, and Nathan MacKinnon extended his home-point streak to 27 games, tying a league record.

⭐️ Shesterkin shines in Rangers’ win over Stars. Igor Shesterkin's 41 saves led the New York Rangers to an 8th consecutive win, defeating the Dallas Stars 3-1. Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, and Vincent Trocheck contributed goals for the Rangers, while the Stars, who lost their third straight game, got on the board with a goal from Miro Heiskanen. The victory marks the Rangers' 9-1-1 record in their last 11 games, with Shesterkin boasting a 23-12-1 record and allowing two or fewer goals in 17 of his wins.

Today’s trivia requires you to dig into multiple pockets of your brain, testing your knowledge of recent events as well as those that happened decades ago.

See how many of the below questions you can get correct. Answers are provided at the end of the newsletter.

Question #1- The Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and what other franchise have won three Stanley Cups since the 1999-2000 season?

Question #2- Who led the MLB in home runs in the 2011 season, hitting 43 total?

Question #3- Troy Polamalu and what other player from the 2003 NFL Draft are currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Anyone know what has happened on February 21st throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On February 21st…

1969- MLB legend Ted Williams signs a five-year contract to manage the Washington Senators. Williams's best season as a manager was 1969 when he led the expansion Senators to an 86–76 record, the team's only winning season in Washington. However, Williams would later admit that he became impatient with ordinary athlete’s abilities and attitudes, leading to his departure from the franchise in 1972.

1983- The San Diego Clippers begin a 29-game road losing streak. The losing streak is one of the longest in NBA history, with only four other teams surpassing the 29 road loss mark. Luckily, the streak did eventually come to an end, with the Clippers taking down the Houston Rockets by a final score of 110-95.

1993- The 43rd NBA All-Star game is played in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game was a rather competitive one, with the Western Conference defeating the Eastern Conference 135-132 in overtime. Utah Jazz stars John Stockton and Karl Malone were named MVPs of the game.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Jose Bautista

3. Andre Johnson