The Setup
First, I just looked at the standings. You know, the basics. Where do these teams rank? Are they on a winning streak or a losing skid? Both teams are pretty good, obviously, so that didn't give me a huge edge either way.
Diving a Lrepeeittle Deeper
Then I started looking at recent games. Did either team play last night? A team on the second night of a back-to-back is usually a bit tired, so that's a factor. I tried to see how they've performed against each other this season. Head-to-head records can sometimes tell you something, even if it's just a little psychological edge.
I also checked for any news about injuries. Is a key player out? That can make a BIG difference. A star goalie being sidelined? Yeah, that'll sway my prediction for sure.
My "Gut Feeling" (aka Guesswork)
After looking at all that stuff, I still kinda just went with my gut. I've watched a bunch of Stars and Leafs games this year, so I tried to picture how the game would play out. Would it be high-scoring? Would it be a tight, defensive battle? Who has the home-ice advantage, cause that matters.
The Result?
- I Won't Spoil it!
I wrote down my prediction, score and all. The point is, I went through a process, even if it's not foolproof. It's more fun than just randomly picking a team, right? I'm trying to learn from each game, see what factors seem to matter most, and hopefully, get a little better at this whole prediction thing. So basically I am learning and making some improvements from doing this.
