[InTheHole]

TORONTO -½ +1.31 over Ottawa (REG) Pinnacle
I gave up three goals in the first — he had to try something," Vesa Toskala said of being pulled in the eventual 6-4 defeat to Washington. "I feel good (overall), but I have to help the team more." Of course he feels good. If I were making $3M a year I’d feel good too. Ron Wilson will not reveal who is in net tonight but my money says it won’t be Toskala and his .800 save percentage in two games. He’s a huge downer and the Maple Leafs need a lift. Toronto was supposed to be bigger, faster and a whole lot better this year and you know what, they are. This is a very decent team that is going to be tough to beat because of three rock-solid lines and a defense that is young but can move the puck and create chances. The Leafs are a lot more physical and they’re a lot more determined too. The Sens actually played a decent game on Saturday despite losing 5-2 to the Rangers. However, this team is going to have a lot of lousy nights this season. In fact, they just might be the most flawed team in the business. All aspects of the game, (goaltending, defense, depth, toughness and scoring) are all in question and as the Canucks showed us last night it’s going to be very difficult to win in this league when only one line is contributing. Leafs absolutely dominated the Canadiens on Thursday and they’re the much better team again tonight. Play: Toronto -½ +1.31 (Risking 2 units).

CALGARY -½ -1.06 over Montreal (REG) Pinnacle
The Habs are 2-0 not because of its strong play but because of the goaltending of Carey Price. In fact, in two games in Toronto and Buffalo the Habs were outshot 81-44. They’ve been badly outplayed in every single period and things aren’t going to get any better anytime soon. They’re not better than they were last season and in fact, all they really did was replace three guys that can rack up points (Tanguay, Kovalev and Soiku) with three other guys that can rack up points (Cammalleri, Gomez and Gionta). Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek on defense look about as mobile as two orange cones out there. So, while Spacek and Gill look like Abbot and Costello, the Flames will come out with Phanuef and Boumeester. It’s almost not fair. Calgary is loaded with a slew of talented and rugged D-men and if the Habs had trouble creating chances against Buffalo and Toronto, they might not get out of its own end tonight. Calgary is loaded offensively as well. Despite being a misleading 2-0, Montreal is outmatched here by a huge margin and no way do they fluke out three wins in a row. Get on this one early because you might be laying -½ -1.20 by game time. Play: Calgary -½ -1.06 (Risking 2.12 units to win 2).

Tampa Bay +1.35 over CAROLINA Pinnacle
The Canes made a huge run at the end of last season to grab a playoff spot and subsequently won two playoff rounds over New Jersey and Boston before getting clobbered by the Penguins in the third round. That was about as unlikely a run as any team has ever made and if you think that’ll carry over to this season, think again. The Canes did very little to improve and will still rely heavily on a bunch of players (Whitney, Brind’Amour, Scott Walker, Aaron Ward and Stephane Yelle) that are all 35 or older. Are you kidding me? They added nothing significant but lost Frantisek Kaberle and they also lost Erik Cole to an injury last game. Man, on paper this team looks bad indeed and they looked worse on the ice in Boston on Saturday night when they never had a chance. The Lightning lost also, 6-3 in Atlanta, but don’t put too much weight on that. Unlike the Canes, the Bolts have greatly improved with the additions of Mattias Ohlund, Alex Tanguay, and Kurtis Foster (although he’s out tonight). Throw in the talents of Vincent LeCavalier, Marty St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and you can instantly see that the Lightning are a much-better team. The second overall pick, Victor Hedman looks as good as advertised and he, too, makes the Bolts a better team. So, until the Canes show us something dramatically better than its two losses, I’ll play against them when they’re the chalk, end of story. Play: Tampa Bay +1.35 (Risking 2 units).

Washington +1.11 over PHILADELPHIA Pinnacle
Goaltending could be the only issue in Washington this season but they have the offense to compensate for the odd bad goal. Besides, it’s not like the Flyers are great in goal either and they, too, will see a number of soft goals and this is not the team to play when goaltending is questionable. What we all know is that the Caps are the greatest show on ice and can beat you in so many different ways. They went into Boston on opening night and it wasn’t close. They opened at home on Saturday against the Leafs and it was 3-0 before the popcorn had popped and it was 6-1 after two. This team is loaded and while they likely won’t go 82-0, they also won’t be a pooch more than about 8-10 times this season and when they are, I’m on it with no questions asked. The Flyers are also 2-0 but have played the Canes and Devils and will take a big step up in class tonight. More on the Flyers later because this one is all about taking back a tag on the Caps. Play Washington +1.11 (Risking 2 units).