Saturday's Playoff Sheet
By Judd Hall
If Thursday night’s play is any indication, then we’re going to be in for a hell of a Saturday of playoff hockey.
Philly backers got to tear their tickets up with tears welling in their eyes after falling in overtime to the Habs.
Then the Avalanche saw Jose Theodore into…well…Jose Theodore right there on the ice at Detroit earlier this week.
Are we going to see the ‘dogs come through before heading home?
Colorado Avalanche at Detroit Red Wings
Colorado sure looked like it was still riding a high when it took a 1-0 lead over the Red Wings in the series opener. Then the wheels suddenly fell off the Avalanche wagon as Theodore gave up four soft goals on the first 16 shots he faced.
Enter Peter Budaj who helped the Avs hold tough by snaring all 20 shots on goal. Budaj’s netminding allowed John-Michael Liles and Milan Hejduk to score a pair of lamp lighters that pulled Colorado within one.
Detroit surged out to a quick lead thanks to Johan Franzen lighting the lamp for the third and fourth time of the postseason. Henrik Zetterberg also put in his first goal since Game 1 against the Predators on April 10.
The Wings are listed as $2.00 home favorites (risk $200 to win $100). That number is high, but justified when you take into account that they’re 13-2 SU since March 1 at Joe Louis Arena.
Instead, give Colorado a hard look on the puck line at minus-180. The Avs are listed 7-2 when they’re an underdog, but keep the closing margin at just one goal in their past nine road contests. It’s a little more than most bettors would like, but it’s a better risk than taking them on the money line as a $1.70 ‘dog.
This match will be on NBC starting at 3:00 pm EDT.
Philadelphia Flyers at Montreal Canadiens
The Flyers appeared to be the fresher of the two squads at the Bell Centre on Thursday, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead after the first period. That lead was largely in part to Montreal goaltender Carey Price looking every bit the 20-year old he is on the ice.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, it fell prey to its usual issues of Martin Biron giving up bad goals and the defense looking soft. No play typified this more than when Alex Kovalev scored the game-tying power play goal with 29 seconds remaining in regulation.
This is a perfect spot for an ‘over’ play given the recent history for both clubs. Montreal has seen the ‘over’ go 3-0-1 in its last four games, while the Flyers have seen it go 4-2 in their past six playoff matches.
If you really want to back Philly as a $1.50 road underdog, I’ll give you a little ray of hope as to why they can win. Les Habitants has gone just 13-10 in their next home contest after winning the last time in the Bell Centre. Those aren’t exactly Earth shattering numbers to keep you away from the Flyers…Besides, Philadelphia beat the Capitals in Game 2 of the first round after collapsing in the openers.
The puck will drop in this fixture at 7:00 pm EDT on Versus.
vegasinsider.com
Avs' Wolski out, Forsberg questionable, Theodore probable
April 25, 2008
DETROIT (AP) -Colorado Avalanche forward Wojtek Wolski will not play in Game 2 against the Detroit Red Wings and likely will miss the rest of the second-round series because of an upper-body injury.
Wolski was hurt in Detroit's 4-3 win Thursday night.
Star forward Peter Forsberg, who was scratched from the series opener with a groin injury, is questionable for Game 2.
Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville expects Jose Theodore to play Saturday after being pulled and sent to the hotel during Game 1 because he was sick.
NHL LONG SHEET
Saturday, April 26
COLORADO (48-32-0-9, 105 pts.) at DETROIT (59-23-0-7, 125 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 27-22 ATS (+52.4 Units) in road games second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 45-38 ATS (+83.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 11-2 (+8.1 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 11-2-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 13 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.4 Units)
PHILADELPHIA (46-32-0-12, 104 pts.) at MONTREAL (52-27-0-11, 115 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 30-69 ATS (+110.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 11-5 ATS (+17.1 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
MONTREAL is 22-32 ATS (-16.1 Units) on Saturday games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 11-2 (+9.6 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 11-2-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.3 Units, Under=-0.7 Units)
NHL SHORT SHEET
Saturday, April 26th
Second Round
Game Two
Detroit Leads, 1-0
Colorado at Detroit, 3:05 ET
Colorado
11-18 SU when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days
13-19 SU as an underdog
Detroit
19-3 SU off BB home games
26-4 SU at home after covering 3 of their last 4
Second Round
Game Two
Montreal Leads, 1-0
Philadelphia at Montreal, 7:05 ET
Philadelphia
11-5 SU on road allowing 4+ goals
16-7 SU after losing 2 of their last 3
Montreal
3-8 SU at home off home win scoring 4+ goals
5-13 SU after a close win by 1 goal
NHL Trend Sheet
3:00 PM COLORADO vs. DETROIT
Colorado is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games
Colorado is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Detroit is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Colorado
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Colorado
7:00 PM PHILADELPHIA vs. MONTREAL
Philadelphia is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Montreal
Philadelphia is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Montreal
Montreal is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games
Montreal is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home