Alright baby, we’ve got a great slate of action to pick from today both on the ice and at the track. We have put the man hours in, done the research, cracked the code, and whittled down our choices. Now sitting here, we are confident. We are assured. We are ready to win. We are ready to cash these tickets. Let’s do it!

Thursday, March 18

Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Islanders, 7 p.m. ET at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

This figures to be a matchup of two very unhappy teams, both looking to punish the other and wash a bad taste out of their collective mouths.

The New York Islanders had been one of the hottest teams in all of hockey heading into their game against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Unfortunately for them, they lost 3-1. Make no mistake though, the Islanders are still an excellent hockey team that has won nine of their last 10 games. And they will have a little additional motivation as fans will be welcomed back to the Coliseum for the first time in a long time. It’ll be a small number, but they will be loud.

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, but that really is not doing the game any justice. It was as thorough an undressing of a professional team as I have ever seen. The Rangers obliterated the Flyers 9-0. NINE goals! That is wild and unheard of, even in today’s NHL. The Flyers are now on the second leg of a back-to-back after getting crushed.

I know some people may be tempted to back the Flyers as a bounce back spot, but the Islanders are not the team to do it against. They play stifling defense and their offense has been quite good this year as well. I think the Flyers leave New York with two losses and trying to figure out what the heck happened.

NHL Pick: Islanders ML (-135)

Thursday, March 18

Early Pick 4 at Sam Houston Race Park

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Race Two: This race is a single for me. When you break this thing down, I simply don’t see anyone that can hang with (5) Singing Aces for Steve Asmussen. The horse is on the all-important third start off the layoff and is taking a massive class plunge. This should do the trick.

Race Three: Because we singled the first leg, it opens things up for us in the second leg and I am going to take full advantage of it, by hitting the ALL button here. I think you can make a colorable case for any of these horses, so we just roll with all of ’em and hope to beat the favorite.

Race Four: I think this race boils down to a three-horse race and the angles on all three of them are comparable to me in terms of their legitimacy. I think my top choice here is the (6) Aura with Reylu Gutierrez aboard for Steve Asmussen, but you absolutely also have to use the (1) Unexplainable and (5) Back in Charge.

Race Five: The final leg of the early Pick 4 at Sam Houston is this one, and my top choice would be the (1) Badgeri Candy for trainer Karl Broberg. The lines on this one fit perfectly here, but it’s definitely not a single. I’m also using the (5) Cypress Point and (7) Delicious Pursuit, and hoping Lane Luzzi can bring in a bomb with the (10) Gazing as well.

BlackJack’s Sam Houston Early Pick 4: 6/ALL/1,5,6/1,5,7,10—$36 for .50 cents