It's an ice time to bet some pucks

Did you catch up on sleep like we recommended? The under last night cashed with ease. While we feel refreshed, it's time to look to the ice to bet on something a bit more exciting.

Penguins and Devils in a great position to pour on goals

With nine games in the NHL and three for the NBA, our attention turns toward some puck plays, and two teams are in an awesome spot.

We're referring of course to Pittsburgh and New Jersey, who draw some of the worst teams the league has to offer in the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks. We're looking at a clear intersection here of explosive offenses getting vulnerable defenses, with history against each team pushing our selections over the edge.

The Penguins are averaging 38.7 shots per game at home to go along with 3.7 goals per contest, both some of the best marks in the NHL. Opposite them is a Columbus team allowing 38.9 shots per game and 4.0 goals per game on the road. That's about as clear as a matchup can possibly be that shots and goals should be coming aplenty for Pittsburgh tonight. The Pens have notched 5+ goals in four of the last five meetings against the Blue Jackets, which includes a game in October.

New Jersey shouldn't have much trouble with Chicago tonight. They're averaging 5.3 goals per game in their last three games against the Blackhawks, and Chicago is allowing nearly 37 shots per game and 3.4 goals per road game, along with one of the league's worst penalty-killing units. The Devils shoot and score at a consistent rate and have been one of the best teams in the NHL this season.

With our belief established that both teams score with ease tonight, we're approaching it by loading up a few team totals into a parlay on DraftKings. While guys like Bryan Rust and Jack Hughes catch our eye for goals, sometimes it's best to worry not about who is involved and just be happy when each goal is scored.

The play: Penguins & Devils over 3.5 goals each (+170 DK)

In the news ...

World Cup quarterfinals to be finalized today — The final two Round of 16 games hit the pitch today, with Morocco-Spain earlier this morning and Portugal-Switzerland this afternoon. The winners of these two matches will meet in the quarterfinals. The other matchups are already set. We've got Netherlands-Argentina and Croatia-Brazil on Friday, with England-France scheduled for Saturday. Brazil is +180 to win, followed by France at +450 and Argentina at +550. 

Plenty of player movement in the MLB — ICYMI, former Mets ace Jacob deGrom joined the Rangers last Friday on a five-year contract. It's a serious move for the Rangers, who currently have the seventh-best odds to win the AL now at +1500. The Mets have replaced deGrom with Justin Verlander, the 2022 Cy Young winner from the Astros. New York has the second-highest odds to win the NL at +450, behind the Dodgers. Sticking in the NL East, the Phillies added another bat to their lineup, signing shortstop Trea Turner to a monster $300-million deal. Philadelphia is +600 to win the National League for the second year in a row.

Heisman finalists announced — The Heisman trophy will be presented on Saturday night, and we have four quarterbacks vying for the honor. Three of the four finalists are leading their team in the CFP, as Georgia's Stetson Bennett, TCU's Max Duggan, and Ohio State's CJ Stroud have all been invited to the trophy presentation. However, there's really not much to wonder about here.  The award will be won by USC quarterback Caleb Williams. We're just listening to the odds. Heisman futures have been taken off the board on DraftKings, but on MGM, Williams is -2500 to win the award, which quantifies to a 96.15% probability that Williams wins. Duggan is next at +2000, followed by Bennett (+3000) and Stroud (+5000).

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll