Eastern Conference playoff preview: Betting cheat sheet
By Ari Baum-Cohen
The Eastern Conference may not have teams of the same caliber as the West, but it does boast many of the NHL’s brightest young stars. Who and what should you be watching?
Higher seed with the worst opening round matchup: New Jersey Devils
The Carolina Hurricanes have been playing well down the stretch, closing the season 18-6-2, including a nine-game win streak. New Jersey has been going in the opposite direction with Martin Brodeur struggling to find his form. The Devils had lost six in a row before winning four of five to close the season. Even worse Jersey is 1-3-0 against Carolina this year.
Playoff matchup with most lopsided season series: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
Last year, the surprising first place Habs won all eight games against the Bruins en route to a first round playoff victory. This year the first-place Bruins are 5-0-1 against the Habs. Will the Baby Bears continue to dominate Montreal?
Highest-scoring series: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Penguins and Flyers both excel at putting the puck in the back of the net, ranking third and fourth in the Conference respectively in goals scored. Of the East squads in the playoffs, only the Canadiens and Washington Capitals have allowed more goals. In six games this season the Pens and Flyers combined for 42 goals. Playoffs usually produce tight-checking, low-scoring games, so don’t expect seven goals per game. This series should include the most offensive fireworks of all the first round battles.
Best sleeper pick to win the East: Carolina Hurricanes
The ‘Canes (+2500 to win the Cup) are the hottest club in the East going into the playoffs and are only two points behind Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The Pens, however, are +1200 to win the Cup and the Flyers are +2000. The Hurricanes play a struggling Devils team while Pittsburgh and Philadelphia must face off in a rematch of last year’s Conference finals.
Best player to pick for your playoff hockey pool: Alex Ovechkin
The obvious selection is Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin led the league in goals and had three less points than Evgeni Malkin. The Caps have one of the easier playoff opponents, playing the Rangers in the first round. The main drawback to picking Ovie is that the Rangers are a defensive-oriented team.
Other options: Marc Savard, leading scorer for the Bruins and Zach Parise of the Devils.
Savard made the playoffs last year for the first time in his career. The Bruins offense could put up big numbers as heavy favorites against the Habs. Parise had a breakout season for New Jersey posting 94 points in 82 games. Oh yeah…don’t forget about a couple of guys on the Pittsburgh named Crosby and Malkin.
Goalie(s) that could steal a series: Tim Thomas and Cam Ward
Tim Thomas won’t have to steal a playoff series in the first round but he could step up big in the later rounds. Thomas, formerly the NHL’s Rodney Dangerfield, is finally getting some respect. The two-time All-Star led the NHL this year in goals against average (2.10) and save percentage (.933) by a large margin.
Ward is playing his best hockey of the season. Before a poor start against Buffalo, Ward had gone seven consecutive games allowing two goals or less. Carolina plays a struggling Devils team in the first round, but this is the most offensively talented NJ team since the 2000-01 club that lost in the Stanley Cup finals.
Martin Brodeur can always steal a series, but is, by his own admission, not playing his best hockey.
NHL Playoff Betting Preview – Eastern Conference
By Doug Upstone
The NHL Stanley Cup tournament is set, now we just need the games to begin. Before we arrive at that point starting Wednesday evening, it is time to breakdown what should happen and we will start in the Eastern Conference, where a lower seed has pulled at least one upset each of the last two years.
Boston vs Montreal
For Boston Bruins fans this is an uncomfortable matchup. Are the Bruins better, yes, they have hardnosed players and though not having a scorer in the top 11 in the league, they finished second in the NHL in scoring. Boston’s top three lines all can score, making them dangerous across the board and they do not allow opposing netminders like Montreal’s Casey Price to catch his breath often. The Bruins slumped for about a month, from the first part of February to the mid-point of March, mostly due to injury. Nearly all the injured players have returned and they closed 8-2.
Montreal can play with the Bruins, despite the disparity in seeding. The Canadiens have the physiological edge having won 24 of 31 playoff series and in 2002 and 2004 they beat Boston as the lower seed, just like this time. If the referees allow more physical play, Montreal will be at a serious disadvantage, since they are in hockey terms “soft”. After having the best power play each of the last two years, the Habs fell to 13th, while Boston’s improved to fourth.
There is no compelling argument to make for Montreal with goalie Casey registering five wins in last 18 games between the pipes, however it’s the Bruins and Canadiens and anything is possible. Boston needs to jump on Montreal at home and they were 29-12 on home ice this season with the Canadiens having lost 15 or last 20 road games.
Pick- Boston (-325) in six
Washington vs N.Y. Rangers
If one has a hockey preference towards end to end action and scoring or prefers tight low scoring hockey, both will be in evidence in this series. The Capitals scored 272 goals, the third highest total in the league. They are led by Alex Ovechkin, who finished second in points scored and they have a whole stable of forwards that can all bury the puck in the net, with the likes Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Washington isn’t going to scare anybody with its defense that ranked 19th in goals surrendered. Goalie Jose Theodore is a wild card of sorts and has to prove he can be consistent, which is not his trademark.
The Rangers are as comfortable as any team in the league with a 1-0 lead, since they were sixth in defensive scoring and dowdy 28th in putting the puck in the net. Though Henrik Lundqvist didn’t have his usual glimmering numbers in net, he’s capable of turning into a brick wall at any time. The matchup of the Rangers number one penalty kill unit and the Caps second ranked power play will be key. Even with the Blueshirts having offensive issue, they still have seasoned playoff vets like Scott Gomez and Chris Drury who can light the lamp and Sean Avery could get Theodore off his game with his antics.
Washington won three of four meetings this season, but didn’t dominate as 14-11 total score shows. If the Capitals receive a better than average effort from Theodore, they will pepper the net to wear down New York. The Caps are 37-14 on home ice, but don’t have a ton of experience in Stanley Cup action. If the Rangers can take advantage of Washington being up ice and capitalize a few times, they can lock up the net against Ovechkin and company. The Rangers are 8-1 in this playoff round the last two years.
Pick- Washington (-215) in seven
New Jersey vs Carolina
For fans that don’t watch or follow the NHL until the playoff chase begins, seeing New Jersey and Carolina colliding is like putting on your favorite most comfortable shirt. This will be the fourth postseason matchup between these teams over the last eight years. Carolina lost two meaningless games to close the season and was on 12-3 roll prior to that. Goalie Cam Ward put the clamps down on opposing snipers, giving the Hurricanes much needed confidence. The return of forward Erik Cole gave Carolina three complete lines and Eric Staal and Ray Whitney have made the Hurricanes exceedingly dangerous.
New Jersey isn’t the same boring team that played the neutral zone trap; this team actually tries to score as opposed to just picking spots. The return of future Hall of Famer Martin Broduer was welcomed, though he finished just 4-7 and hasn’t been nearly as effective in the postseason in years. Zach Parise has become an elite point producer for the Devils; however he will be marked man, as Carolina will try to find out if New Jersey has any secondary scorers.
New Jersey first has to stop Staal, since Carolina is 22-5 when he scores. The Devils have to win home games and won 24 of last 32 contests at the Prudential Center. These teams are very similar and goaltending will be tantamount and a piece of evidence could make the difference in this series. The Hurricanes blue-liners have outscored their New Jersey counterparts by better than 2 to 1 on the season. If that continues, Carolina will advance.
Pick- Carolina (+120) in six
Pittsburgh vs (Philadelphia
Sometimes announcers will trot out clichés like, “These two teams don’t like each other” and the fact is it just isn’t true. However, when it is true, that just leads to a heighten sense of excitement for a best of seven series. This is the Keystone State clash and these teams went toe to toe in the East Finals a year ago. Both teams are different from 2008, but how either could win is still pretty much the same. How Philadelphia handles players named Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal will help determine their fate. All three are as healthy as they have been all season and why replacement coach Dan Bylsma was able to steer the Penguins from 10th in the East to fourth with 18-3-4 finish.
Philadelphia can bring a little offense to the party as well, having six players that totaled 20 or more goals, including four like Jeff Carter who broke the 30-goal barrier. The Flyers blew last game of the season to lose home ice advantage in this series, which places added pressure on goalie Martin Biron to perform at high level, something he has struggled over stretches of games.
To say these teams are evenly matched is an understatement. They finished the regular season with 99 points each and scored the exact same number of goals on the season at 264. Neither is stellar in there own end and they are separated by a one in goals allowed. Pittsburgh prefers to dazzle opponents with its array of stars and scorers, which means Philly has to hit, to slow down Penguins. Whatever team that can win the special team’s battle with gain an edge and it is more incumbent on the Flyers to do so, since Pittsburgh is better five on five.
Pick- Pittsburgh (-155) in six
1st Round NHL Series Previews
By Scott Rickenbach
(1) Boston vs (8) Montreal – The Canadiens hold a 24-7 lead in the playoff history. So, do the Habs really have a shot here? Not really! They might be able to give Boston a few scares early in the series but we just don’t see the Bruins faltering in this one. Of course they have revenge from falling to the Canadiens last season in seven games. This season, the B’s are the much stronger team whereas last season the opposite was true. Boston goalie Tim Thomas has come a long way this season. The Canadiens have really struggled late this season and goalie Cary Price may not have the help he needs in front of him. The defense of the Habs is a question mark with Schneider and Markov. Are they healthy? As for the Bruins, Chara is capable of being, literally, a big force in this series! Up front, Boston has very balanced scoring while the Canadiens rely heavily on a few key players. Depth is an edge for the Bruins here. The rivalry adds to the probability of a few Canadiens victories in this series but, ultimately, the Bruins should prevail.
(2) Washington vs (7) NY Rangers – First off, note that the Atlantic Division has four of the playoff teams. The Southeast Division has just two. The gap has been closed but one key point we want to make here is that we still feel there is an overall divisional edge here to a club that comes from the Atlantic Division. Keep in mind we saw the Capitals bow out of the playoffs to the Flyers last season. At a comeback price of +185, the Rangers could be worth a look here in the series. Note that Jose Theodore has the highest goals against average of any goalie for a playoff team in the East. The Rangers definitely have the edge between the pipes with Henrik Lundqvist. The question is whether the rest of this Rangers club can step up to support him. The Capitals, with guys like Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Fleischmann, and Laich being so strong on the offensive end. Also note that defenseman Mike Green scored thirty goals! That’s the first time a defenseman has scored 30 goals in 16 years! The Rangers are definitely the weaker team offensively but they did have the league’s best penalty kill in the regular season. Coach Tortorella has already made a difference in the Big Apple and he will have his club fired up and well-prepared. Another thing to like about the Rangers is that road play becomes critical in the post-season and the Capitals only recorded four more road wins than the Rangers did in the regular season. This series is going to be much tougher for the Capitals than many are expecting and we would not be surprised if the Rangers find a way to get by here!
(3) New Jersey vs (6) Carolina – The Hurricanes are hot coming into the post-season. They went 13-3-2 in their last 18 games. Note that Carolina went 33-19-5 under Paul Maurice and they have improved defensively in Maurice’s system as the season has gone on. They could absolutely challenge New Jersey here. The Devils were shaky late in the season. Martin Brodeur should be fresher than ever for the playoffs since he missed so much time during the regular season. However, he was a little inconsistent late in the season. That makes this a very tough call to make in terms of a series price. This is one of those series that is likely to have “ebbs and flows” throughout it and the reality is that it has the makings of a seven game series. Cam Ward has been very strong down the stretch run so he could legitimately “match” Brodeur in this series. Carolina’s team speed will give the Devils some problems and, this will especially become an issue for New Jersey if they give too many power plays to the Canes! Carolina was a solid 19-16-6 on the road so they can compete here by stealing a game or two in New Jersey. The Hurricanes momentum is huge as they head into the post-season! As usual, the Devils are “built” for the playoffs and they also grew some this season during the lengthy period of time they proved that they could win without Marty between the pipes. Still, we like the way Carolina forces team to play at their tempo and we also like the way Ward has been dominating in goal. This one should be monitored game to game but the Canes might be worth a look as a dog in this series.
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Philadelphia – Like the Canes and Devils, this should be another fantastic series that could see seven games. Of course the Flyers have revenge from last season’s playoff ouster in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Penguins seem to be a revitalized team under coach Dan Bylsma. Let’s not forget that the Pens went 18-3-4 after he took over! That is simply amazing. To a man, the Penguins simply seem much more confident in Bylsma’s system and that has shown up in the way they’ve carried themselves on the ice. Also, can the Flyers really trust Martin Biron between the pipes. Marc Andre Fleury certainly appears ready for the Penguins on the other end of the ice. Of course the key for the Flyers here is that they do have a lot of experience with the Penguins as Atlantic Division rivals and they need to use some of that familiarity to find what few holes the Pens have. The Flyers do have a special teams edge as their counterattack short-handed is very impressive. They also were in the top six both in penalty killing and on the power play in the regular season. This is another one that is going to be better judged on a game by game basis. We see the strength of the Penguins with Crosby, Malkin, and Staal plus solid additions like Guerin and Kunitz being key at playoff time. However, we also see a Flyers team has a league high six 25-goals scorers. The Flyers Mike Richards has 46 goals and 7 have come short-handed. If Biron is on his game in this series, don’t be surprised if the Flyers get their playoff revenge from last season and their comeback price is around a +140. As you can see, the game by game approach to gauge Biron, etc. may be the best way to go with this Keystone State battle!