Sean Murphy

Monday NHL Free play. My selection is on Dallas over St. Louis at 8:05 pm et on Monday.

The Stars took the play to the Avalanche most of the game but ultimately fell by a 4-1 score in Denver on Saturday. Here, we'll back them to rebound as they stay on the road to face the Blues in St. Louis. The home side snapped a two-game skid with a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Panthers in Sunrise on Saturday. While the Blues are 5-4 on home ice this season, they actually haven't managed to outscore the opposition in terms of scoring average (3.6 to 3.6). Meanwhile, the Stars are an even 6-6 on the road but have outscored opponents by 0.7 goals on average. I simply feel the case can be made for Dallas being the superior side in this matchup and having dropped three straight meetings in this series, look for the revenge-minded Stars to prevail on Monday. Take Dallas.

My selection is on Orlando plus the points over Brooklyn at 7:40 pm et on Monday.

With Brooklyn 'fat and happy' off last night's 14-point win over Portland and Orlando looking to bounce back from four straight losses SU and three in a row ATS, I'll confidently grab the generous helping of points with the underdog Magic on Monday. Note that Orlando have Brooklyn all it could handle in two matchups on this floor last season, losing by a bucket and winning by seven. While Orlando is 1-8 on the road this season, only three of those losses came by more than 10 points. I still feel that the Nets have a fairly small margin for error as they've gotten off 83 or fewer field goal attempts in eight of their last nine games. They've been shooting the lights out for the better part of the last two weeks but here they're asked to lay double-digits for the first time since October 29th against Indiana (a game they lost outright 125-116). We know the Magic can limit the opposition's scoring opportunities as they've held their last three opponents to 86, 82 and 77 FG attempts. Last night, the 76ers simply couldn't miss, knocking down a ridiculous 64.9% of their shots. Noting that the Magic are 18-8 ATS the last 26 times they've come off consecutive ATS losses, we'll grab all of those points on Monday. Take Orlando (8*).

My selection is on Uruguay +0.5 goals over Portugal at 2 pm et on Monday.

I can't help but feel Portugal will be hard-pressed to pick up a full six points in its first two matches of this tournament as it faces the prospect of a cagey affair against Uruguay on Monday. Portugal impressed in its opener and ultimately prevailed thanks in part to a somewhat questionable Cristiano Ronaldo penalty. If there was something negative to say about that overall performance, it was its form on the back line with Cancelo, Dias, Pereira and Guerreiro looking less than air-tight in defense. Keeper Diogo Costa rated out poorly in that 3-2 victory over Ghana as well. We won with the 'under' in Uruguay's tournament-opening 0-0 draw against South Korea. I do expect Uruguay to break the seal and find the back of the net for the first time in this tournament on Monday. However, this does project as a relatively low-scoring affair with the total set at 2.0. Depending on the earlier result between South Korea and Ghana, a draw should suit both Portugal and Uruguay just fine here. Noting that four of Uruguay's last five matches across all competitions have stayed 'under' 2.5 total goals, we'll confidently back it plus the half-goal here. Take Uruguay +0.5 goals (8*).

Division Game of the Month. My selection is on New Jersey over New York at 7:05 pm et on Monday.

The Devils just keep rolling along and I like their chances of stacking up another victory as they head to Manhattan to face the struggling Rangers on Monday night. New York has lost seven of its last 11 games, including Saturday's stunning 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Oilers in a game they led 3-0 in the third period (we won with the underdog Oilers in that game). There's no comparison between these two teams statistically this season. The 'due factor' and the fact that New York has owned this series for years is really the only thing it has going for it in this matchup. That's not enough to warrant the pk'em price in my opinion. Noting that the Devils have outscored the opposition by 2.0 goals on average on the road this season while the Rangers have been outscored by an average margin of 0.6 goals at home, we'll confidently back New Jersey here. Take New Jersey (10*).