Game of the Month - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #48 Thursday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Jets Money Line (+) vs Washington Capitals @ 8:05 ET - The Capitals opened up as a -135 favorite here and the line is all the way up to as high as a -160. While Washington certainly is a high-quality team, the Jets aren't exactly doormats and they are offering great value here as a sizable underdog on home ice. Winnipeg rallied from a 3-0 deficit to force OT in DC on Tuesday. They did end up on the wrong end of a 4-3 overtime result but the comeback gives the Jets a ton of confidence heading into this rematch. Keep in mind, Winnipeg is still very much alive in the post-season race and is fighting hard for a playoff spot. The Jets are now back on home ice where they have won two straight and 4 of their last 6. Overall, Winnipeg has had just 2 losses in regulation in its last 8 home games. While the Jets are starting #1 goalie Connor Hellebuyck here, the Capitals are expected to go with back-up Ilya Samsonov. The Caps back-up netminder is 0-3 in his last 3 starts and having a very rough February with an ugly .855 save percentage. Washington is a great team but very over-priced here and the situation is ideal for a home dog upset in this one. 10* WINNIPEG

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #35 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Florida Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs @ 7:05 ET - I know this total is unusual considering it is a 7 which is very rare. However, it is justified for many reasons. The Panthers are off an unusual low-scoring win at Arizona Tuesday. Yes, Sergei Bobrovsky had a great game between the pipes but he is very inconsistent and is likely to now get pummeled by the high-scoring Maple Leafs tonight. Bobrovsky has allowed an average of nearly 5 goals per game the last 4 times he entered a start off a game in which he allowed 1 goal or less. Indeed he often gets hammered in the very next start and he did allow at least 4 goals in all 4 of those starts! As for the Maple Leafs, Frederik Andersen had a fantastic shutout win recently against the Penguins. However, other than that, Toronto has given up 19 goals in the other 4 games which Andersen has started the past two weeks. Given the above situational factors for the goaltending as well as the fact that these are two of the highest scoring teams in the league, I am rolling with the over in this one. The total is big but you can see that, per the above, it would not be a surprise to see each team give 4 goals here and that means we're talking about at least a 5-4 final. Look for a wild one in this divisional match-up. 10* OVER the total in Florida

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #37 Thursday Free Pick New York Rangers Money Line (+) @ Montreal Canadiens @ 7:05 ET - As per usual, the Canadiens are on a late season fade and feeling the pressure at home. The fact is that the Habs have been better on the road than at home for an extended stretch. Under the extreme pressure of playing home games in hockey-mad Montreal, the Canadiens continue to "squeeze the sticks" too tight and are off an OT loss. The Rangers, on the other hand, are off an OT win and their red hot run continues. Officially on a late-season surge now, New York has won 4 straight games and 8 of its last 9. Conversely, the Canadiens have lost 6 of their last 8 games. Montreal has lost 17 of its last 25 home games so, while home ice is of course priced into this line, the Canadiens have proven time and time again that they have no home ice edge! The Rangers have won 8 straight road games! That means New York has as many road wins in their last 8 road games as the Canadiens have home wins in their last 25 home games! Free Pick NEW YORK RANGERS

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #520 Thursday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs New York Knicks @ 7:05 ET - I am well aware of the injury situation for the Sixers. I faded them last night with Cleveland partially because Ben Simmons was out but also because the Cavaliers have been hot since they made some roster moves. The 76ers then proceeded to lose Joel Embiid to injury in that game. So they are really hurting now but they are also back home where they are 27-2 this season. Also, instead of facing a surging Cavs team they are facing a slumping New York team. The Knicks have lost 5 straight games and, just like Philly, New York is in the 2nd night of a back to back here. The Knicks last 6 losses have come by an average margin of 11.5 points per game and I am projecting a double digit loss here for New York. The 76ers last 7 wins have all come by 7 or more points and this line has plummeted to as low as a -6 as of early this morning after opening up at -8 this morning after the injury news was ALREADY out about Embiid. I feel we're getting solid value with a Sixers team that is angry off a loss and will have other players step up at home in this one to make up for the injury absences. Philly has 2 days off after this game and then will be on a West Coast road trip. The 76ers aren't going to be denied tonight at home given this situation. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Total of the Week - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #615 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Purdue Boilermakers vs Indiana Hoosiers @ 7 ET - These teams have played some ugly games in recent meetings but that has led to this total being kept to low by the betting markets. There are plenty of signs pointing to this game getting well into the 130s and yet this total has dipped into the 120s in early market activity. The Boilermakers are on a 4-game losing streak but 2 of those defeats came on the road. Purdue has continued to score well in home games. Prior to being held to 63 points at home against Michigan, the Boilermakers averaged scoring 76.6 points per game in their 5 preceding home games. Speaking of hot scoring, Indiana is "feeling it" right now. The Hoosiers have won 3 of their last 4 games and scored an average of 75 points in those 3 wins. Indiana has allowed an average of 70.6 points per game their last 8 games. The Boilermakers have allowed an average of 74 points per game their last 4 games. Given all of the above, you can see why this game getting into the 140s would certainly not be a total shock. That is why I certainly expect this game to get well into the 130s and that makes this one a very strong play given the line value we're getting here. 10* OVER the total in Purdue

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #601 Thursday 10* Top Play Delaware Fightin Blue Hens (+) @ College of Charleston Cougars @ 6 ET - The Cougars have won 8 straight meetings between these teams. The College of Charleston is also at home for this game. In typical contrarian fashion, I am on Delaware in this one! But certainly it is not without reason. The Fightin Blue Hens are the better team this season and they have plenty of motivation here. Delaware blew a 6 point home lead against the Cougars in late December for their 8th straight loss in this series. The key to the value in the rematch is that the College of Charleston has lost 4 straight games both SU and ATS. Additionally, the Cougars have failed to cover 9 of their last 13 games. They're simply not playing well and not faring well at the betting window either. As for Delaware, they do enter this game off a loss but the Fightin Blue Hens had won 8 of 9 SU and 6 of 8 ATS prior to the home loss to Hofstra. Off that ugly loss by a double digit margin and having not forgotten their ugly loss by a double digit margin at home against the Cougars, look for the Hens to roll on the road in this one! The last 3 times when the Fightin Blue Hens were off an ATS loss they have gone a perfect 3-0 ATS in their next game. Look for them to again thrive in that role in this one. 10* DELAWARE