At half-time for both games featured in yesterday’s multi-game parlay, the 76ers were up by FOUR points, while the Memphis Grizzlies were leading over a road-worn Toronto Raptors. At half-time, our hopes for ending our daily parlay losing streak were high, and we were very optimistic.

And then the NBA did what the NBA tends to do and demolished our hopes and dreams. The 76ers ended up losing to the New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors pulled off the upset and defeated the Memphis Grizzlies. In one half of basketball, we went from looking as if our parlay would hit to posting an 0-3 record to start the week and being on the wrong side of six different underdog bets winning.

Yeah, our streak of futility continues despite following trends and odds to make our picks. Today, the NHL returns for its laughable All-Star festivities, giving us more options to play with to finally end our losing streak.

Let’s see what we can cook up from Monday’s sports schedule for a hopefully winning parlay.

Tampa Bay Lightning over Florida Panthers (-125)

The Tampa Bay Lighting might be third in the Atlantic division, but their 32-15-1 record has them as the sixth-ranked team in the NHL. The Lightning has quietly put together another great season in the Atlantic Division. Boston and Toronto have taken the spotlight.

Just a reminder, most of this Lighting roster has won the Eastern Conference three years in a row and has two Stanley Cups to speak to their success.

Tampa Bay entered the All-Star break on a three-game winning streak and has won eight of the last ten games. On the other hand, Florida ended a three-game losing streak before the break and has a 5-5 record in the last ten.

Florida needs every win possible in its fight for one of the final playoff spots in the East. Things would have to completely come off the rails for Toronto or Tampa Bay for Florida to climb into the top-three seeds in the Atlantic Divison.

Tampa Bay is the better team and has won the first two head-to-head matchups between these teams.

Take the Lighting to win on the moneyline and continue their quiet campaign of excellence in the Eastern Conference.

San Antonio Spurs +10.5 over Chicago Bulls (-110)

Hello, San Antonio, our old friend. If you go back into the archives for this blog, you’ll find we are 2-0 when picking the San Antonio Spurs to cover a double-digit spread. Maybe we’re looking for some past fortune to shine on our daily parlay, or maybe a double-digit spread is difficult to cover.

While the answer is a little of columns A and B, we’re taking the Spurs to cover a +10.5 point spread. San Antonio is 23-30 ATS this season and 2-8 ATS in the last ten games. These records don’t look great, especially considering the Spurs did not cover the spread in the two games.They faced a double-digit spread in the last ten games.

San Antonio has a 6-5 ATS record when facing a spread line of 10 points or higher this season, while Chicago has not been favored by double-digits on the spread this season.

The Bulls should win this game on the moneyline, but we’re taking the Spurs to cover the double-digit spread but ultimately lose the game.

New York Islanders over Philadelphia Flyers (-130)

We’re taking the New York Islanders on the moneyline over the Philadelphia Flyers.

While both teams have similar records, the Islanders will be playing their first game with newly-acquired Bo Horvat, who should add much-needed scoring to the Islanders’ lineup, ranked 25th in the NHL.

The Islanders won their last two games before the All-Star break, while Philly won its last game. Both teams are 2-3 in the last five games, but the Islanders are 3-7 in the last ten compared to the Flyers’ 5-5 record.

However, that was before the All-Star break, and the Islanders added Horvat, who is having a career year, to the lineup. We’ll take the Islanders to start the Bo Horavat era on a winning note and extend the winning streak to three games.

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.