NHL Betting Picks for October 18, 2010

NHL hockey betting is heating up and we've got a pair of underdog plays on Monday night's card. Oddsbay's handicapping professionals have you covered no matter the season or sport!
COLORADO AVALANCHE AT NEW YORK RANGERS--OCTOBER 18, 2010 4:00 PM PACIFIC
False favorite in this game and we'll gladly go with the better team getting 'plus money'. Rangers have a ton of injuries (more about that in a moment) and have been horrible on the defensive end. They've done OK scoring goals with 13 in 3 games for a 4.33 goals per game average. On the other hand, they've also allowed 13 goals in 3 games for a 4.33 goals against per game. Obviously that won't work in the long haul. The Rangers have the best goals per game for in the NHL at the moment--and the worst goals against per game. Their offensive numbers are somewhat misleading as 6 of their 13 goals came in their opening against the Sabres. New York also ranks 24th in shots on goal against at 35.3 per game. Their injury situation is pretty bad at the moment and particularly on offense--Vaclav Prospal was already on the injured list and over the weekend they lost forwards Marian Gabornik and Chris Drury to injury. The Rangers did catch a break as Sean Avery won't be suspended for a two handed slashing incident against Toronto on Friday night.
New York has had a very favorable schedule in the early going having played only three games but this may have hurt their continuity on offense, particularly given the need to make adjustments due to injuries. With the Rangers' 'body count' rising and their poor defense we can't make a case for playing on them at this time. The Avs are in a position to make this long road trip a winning one with a victory here and they've dominated New York at the Garden in recent meetings with a 6-3-1 record.
PLAY COLORADO AVALANCHE +105 OVER NEW YORK RANGERS
DALLAS STARS AT TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING OCTOBER 18, 2010 4:30 PM PACIFIC
The Lightning may have opened the season 3-1 but we're not sold on them in the least. They may have shown their 'true colors' in a non-competitive 6-0 loss to Florida over the weekend. Of greatest concern they were completely outworked and outhustled by the pesky Panthers. Dallas may lack the big superstar names of their recent years, but they play a similar style of hard working, gritty hockey that the Panthers used to destroy Tampa. They're getting good goaltending from former Atlanta Thrasher Kari Lehtonen while Tampa has yet to settle on a top goaltender with Dan Ellis and Mike Smith splitting time in net.
Tampa Bay has been one of the worst betting investments in hockey since 2008 costing their financial backers a whopping -29.6 units. They've been particularly bad against teams with winning record with a record of 23-50 for -14.6 units in the past 3 years. Additionally, Dallas has dominated in head to head play against the Lightning. Dallas is on a 13-4 run in the series overall and has won 7 of the last 8 meetings in Florida. Dallas is still 'under the radar' as far as the public is concerned while Tampa Bay be overvalued. Look for the Stars to take care of Tampa Bay and continue their winning start to the season.
PLAY DALLAS STARS +110 OVER TAMPA BAY LIGHTING