1) Hockey is a very physical game and players get injured all the times, so it is important to keep up on the injured lists for every team. Some players will play injured especially near the end of the season. If a team has some of its starting players on the injured list or has injured players playing the team is not going to play at its full strength.



2) Several new expansion teams have been stared in recent years. This means there are many tams without a large player budget. These tams wind up being mostly rookies playing for them. These teams have a tendency for at least their first season or two to not play well. This is from a lack f experience that older teams don't have to worry about.

3) Many teams start off strong in October just to fizzle out half way into the season. I have watched teams start so strong in October, but as the long season wears on, the players are hurting from being hit into the boards every night and all the traveling as well also takes its toll. A team that has had a day or 2 off and is playing at home will almost always do better then a team who has been on the road for several games with no break

4) Hockey is a very sporadic game, and just like any other team hockey teams will go through slumps and hot streaks, and sometimes a team may play better without their starters, but with their third string players on the ice. Check to see the teams starting lineup for that nights game and see how they usually do with that lineup.

5) How the community the team plays for feels about the team or a single player can affect the way they play. If a player is beloved by his home crowed he will feel more relaxed and at ease during the game, but if he is hated and is being heckled he will have a hard time during the game. So if a player gets a lot of bad press or has recently been in some trouble then there is a good chance he will play poorly and can screw up the entire team.

6) One of my favorite team fired the best manager they have ever had. The new manager came in and destroyed the entire team. Remember that it is not only the p[layers that can cause the team to play bad, the coaching has a large effect on how the team players.

7) Teams with the most money do not always win championships. Many times these teams will have several big name players with big egos. When a team has too many egos on it the team breaks down, because these players are more worried about their personal stats and not on the team.

After you have read this guide several times you will stat to understand that these are just 7 factors that once studied leafs you a little more informed about the teams playing so you can make a more educated guess. and as time goes by, you will begin to fell and understand more and more of these variables that I did not list here and then send them to me for another article on how to and odds.