Premier Lacrosse League Betting Odds & Prediction: PLL Bets for Chrome vs. Waterdogs & Atlas vs. Whipsnakes

The 2022 Premier Lacrosse League season continues this weekend with a visit to Long Island, beginning with two games on Friday. The Chrome and Waterdogs kick off the weekend with Chrome looking to remain undefeated and Waterdogs looking for their first win. The later matchup features two more undefeated teams as the Atlas and Whipsnakes face off on Friday night. Let’s take a look at each matchup and find where the betting edge lies.

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Chrome (-1.5) vs. Waterdogs

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Chrome were underdogs in their first two games of the season, but enter this week as 1.5-point favorites for the first time since August 1, 2021. On the flip side, the Waterdogs are looking for their first straight up win after covering as 1.5-point underdogs in an 11-10 overtime loss to the Whipsnakes last week. The total is currently set at 22.5 across all sportsbooks.

During the past two seasons in which betting has been available on the PLL, the Chrome have been favored just four times and have failed to cover any of those games. What's more, they lost three of the four straight up. However, this is not the Chrome team of old. A team once defined by its veteran presence is now one of the younger teams in the league and the youthful energy has been a big bright spot through two weeks. 

Chrome looks like a complete team at every position. The Chrome’s trio of Dylan Molloy, Brendan Nichtern and Logan Wisnauaskas has combined for 18 points, which ranks third behind only the Atlas and Archers for starting attack lines. Even more impressive has been the play of the Chrome defense, which boasts a league-best 6.5 scores against average through two games. Ultimately though, the x-factor in this matchup will be Connor Farrell, who’s had two straight faceoff performances of 61% and 67%. He’ll have a favorable matchup on Friday as Waterdogs starting faceoff athlete Jake Withers is out with injury.

Withers is arguably the most impactful injury for the Waterdogs this week, but he’s not the only significant player who will be sidelined for the Dogs. Andy Copelan’s squad will also be without starting attackman Michael Sowers, top short-stick defensive middie Steve DeNapoli and defender Chris Sabia. Additionally, starting goaltender Dillon Ward will miss one more week as the National Lacrosse League Finals wrap up Saturday. 

Prior to the injury report, I thought the Waterdogs matched up well against the Chrome. Their defense hasn’t played to its potential the past two games, but when at the top of their game, they’re one of the top defensive units in the league. I think their starting three of Ben Randall, Liam Byrnes and Eli Gobrecht could stifle the Chrome offense a bit, but the problem is they’ll likely have to spend a lot more time on their defensive end than in week two. With Withers out, Farrell should have a much easier time against Zach Currier or rookie Zac Tucci and will likely be able to generate more offensive possessions for Chrome. The absence of Sabia will also leave Ryland Rees as the only other long-pole on the active roster. While rookie long stick midfielder Matt Hossack could be called upon, he has yet to appear in a PLL game. 

Additionally, while the Waterdogs had success at points last season with Sowers out of the lineup, his presence draws the attention of opposing defenses even when he’s not scoring. His absence will allow Chrome to have more favorable matchups and deploy their LSM and short-stick defensive middies more strategically. Ultimately, I think the injuries will be too much for the Waterdogs to overcome and think a possession advantage allows Chrome to win and cover the 1.5-point spread. Some of the value on Chrome has dried up since the injury announcement, but you can get Chrome -1.5 at +100 on DraftKings and I think it's still worth laying the juice down to -110.

Pick: Chrome -1.5

Atlas (-1.5) vs. Whipsnakes

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Atlas enters Friday’s matchup favored again, but this time as only 1.5-point favorites. While Atlas have won by an average of seven goals in their first two victories, the Whipsnakes have squeaked out two close wins to remain undefeated. The total is set at 24.5 on most sportsbooks, with Caesars Sportsbook offering a 23.5.

The Atlas offense delivered yet another dominant performance in their 16-8 win over the Cannons. The attack line of Jeff Teat, Chris Gray and Eric Law is responsible for 28 of the team’s league-high 33 scores. They have picked apart opposing defenses in a variety of ways and have the ability to go on multi-goal scoring runs thanks to Trevor Baptiste’s presence at the faceoff. 

Speaking of Baptiste, he’s currently second in faceoff percentage at 73% and has been impactful on offense as well, contributing to the Atlas’ league-high 52.4% offensive efficiency in transition. The Whipsnakes certainly have the defenders to slow down the Atlas a bit, but this offense will find the back of the net one way or another.

On the other end, the Whipsnakes offense is sorely missing Zed Williams, who will be out one more week due to the NLL Finals. Williams is not only a top-goal scorer, he’s effective at drawing the attention of team’s top defenders and open up matchups for his teammates. 

The Whipsnakes’ biggest contributor in week two was Jay Carlson, who’s perfected the art of scoring off rebounds and loose balls in front of the net. He had five goals in the team’s comeback victory, with the majority of his goals coming around the crease. Unfortunately for him, he’ll face Atlas goaltender Jack Concannon, who’s one of the top netminders within close range. Through two weeks, the Whipsnakes have struggled to generate quality scoring opportunities and have been saved by a possession advantage thanks to faceoff athlete Joe Nardella. While Nardella has faced off well against  Baptiste in the past, he won’t be averaging 76% at the stripe like in the past two games.

While I do think this Whipsnakes defense will give Atlas a better test than previous weeks, the Atlas offense is simply too efficient to not put up points and I don’t see the Whipsnakes offense being able to match their production — especially if Baptiste dominates or even goes 50-50 with Nardella. I recommend taking Atlas to cover the 1.5-point spread on Friday night, even at its current juice of -130.

Pick: Atlas -1.5