NHL Knowledge
Detroit-Tampa Bay
Home side won last six Detroit-Tampa Bay games; under is 4-1-1 in last six series games. Red Wings lost five of last games in Tampa, outscored 19-10. Detroit lost five of its last six games on road; over is 5-2-4 in their last 11 games. Lightning lost three of last five games; they are 5-2 in last seven home tilts. Over is 3-0-2 in their last five games. Teams combined to go 0-9 on power play in Game 1; Lightning scored a goal in all three periods- they scored game-winner at 8:52 of third period.
NY Rangers-Pittsburgh
Rangers lost last four games with Pittsburgh in series where road team won six of last nine series tilts. New York won four of last six visits here; they've won three of last five games overall. Over is 7-0-4 in their last 11 games. Pittsburgh won nine of its last ten games, winning last four at home; six of its last eight games went over the total. Both teams went 1-5 on power play in Game 1; Penguins scored twice in a 2:31 span in third period to put Game 1 away.
St Louis-Chicago
Blues won Game 1 at 9:04 of OT, their third straight win over Chicago, all in OT/SO; under is 3-0-1 in last four series games. Chicago lost its last three games, all in OT; they outshot St Louis 35-18 in Game 1, 15-4 in third period/OT, but Elliott shut them out. Four of last six Chicago games went over total. Blues won eight of their last ten games, splitting last four at home; four of their last six games went over the total. Teams combined to go 0-9 on power play in Game 1.
Nashville-Anaheim
Ducks won seven of last ten games with Nashville (over 9-0-1); Predators lost four of last five visits to Anaheim. Home side won last four series games. Nashville lost five of its last seven games, losing three in row on road; three of its last four games stayed under. Anaheim won six of its last nine games, but lost two of last three at home- four of its last five games stayed under. Anaheim won six of its last nine first round series- this is third year in row they got 100+ points. Nashville is 2-6 in its history in first round series, with last series win back in 2012.
Armadillosports.com
NASHVILLE (41-27-0-14, 96 pts.) at ANAHEIM (46-25-0-11, 103 pts.) - 4/15/2016, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NASHVILLE is 41-41 ATS (-16.6 Units) in all games this season.
NASHVILLE is 0-5 ATS (-6.1 Units) on Friday nights this season.
NASHVILLE is 12-28 ATS (+48.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 17-31 ATS (+48.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 169-106 ATS (+275.8 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 34-14 ATS (+14.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 69-36 ATS (+9.3 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 21-10 ATS (+7.4 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
ANAHEIM is 219-165 ATS (+395.8 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent since 1996.
ANAHEIM is 22-8 ATS (+10.0 Units) after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 6-3 (+2.3 Units) against the spread versus NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 6-3-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
8 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+8.8 Units)
DETROIT (41-31-0-11, 93 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (47-31-0-5, 99 pts.) - 4/15/2016, 7:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 14-7 (+5.1 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 14-7-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
13 of 19 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+6.7 Units)
NY ISLANDERS (45-27-0-10, 100 pts.) at FLORIDA (47-26-0-9, 103 pts.) - 4/15/2016, 7:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 6-3 (+5.3 Units) against the spread versus NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
FLORIDA is 6-3-0 straight up against NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.1 Units)
CHICAGO (47-26-0-10, 104 pts.) at ST LOUIS (50-24-0-9, 109 pts.) - 4/15/2016, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 12-10 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
ST LOUIS is 12-10-0 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
9 of 18 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-1.1 Units, Under=-0.5 Units)
DETROIT vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Detroit is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 17-6 SU in its last 23 games at home
Tampa Bay is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Detroit
NY ISLANDERS vs. FLORIDA
NY Islanders are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the NY Islanders last 6 games when playing on the road against Florida
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Florida's last 6 games when playing at home against NY Islanders
Florida is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
CHICAGO vs. ST. LOUIS
Chicago is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
Chicago is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing St. Louis
St. Louis is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home
St. Louis is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Chicago
NASHVILLE vs. ANAHEIM
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Nashville's last 10 games when playing Anaheim
Nashville is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Anaheim is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games
Nashville at Anaheim
Nashville: 0-5 SU on Friday nights
Anaheim: 24-7 SU off a road win by 2 goals or more
Detroit at Tampa Bay
Detroit: 13-5 SU in road games after having lost 3 of their last 4
Tampa Bay: 4-10 SU off a close win by 1 goal over a division rival
NY Islanders at Florida
New York: 10-2 SU off a road win by 1 goal
Florida: 41-63 SU after having won 5 or 6 of their last 7
Chicago at St Louis
Chicago: 2-7 SU after losing their previous game in overtime
St Louis: 21-7 SU after scoring 2 goals or less in 2 straight games
Friday's NHL Betting Previews
By Covers.com
No. 5 Detroit Red Wings at No. 4 Tampa Bay Lightning (A:+140, H:-160, O/U: 5)
The Detroit Red Wings can draw plenty of positives from the series opener and hope to build off them to avoid a 2-0 hole when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. Detroit rallied to take the lead in the second period, drew five power plays and produced 36 shots on goal in a 3-2 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday.
“I thought we did a good job in a lot of areas,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told reporters. “I don’t like the result, but from a process standpoint, we did good things. I was happy with most of our guys, but I also think there’s another level.” Detroit will have to find an answer for the line of Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, who combined for three goals and four assists with captain Steven Stamkos (blood clot) and top-pair defenseman Anton Stralman out indefinitely. “You can’t sulk in it,” Johnson, who suffered an upper-body injury in the final regular-season game, told reporters. “Detroit isn’t doing us any favors. We’ve got to play our game, and guys have to step up like they did (Wednesday).” The Lightning won Game 2 in all four series last season, including the first round against the Red Wings.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (41-31-11, 31-52 ATS, 31-36 O/U): Detroit still needs to get captain Henrik Zetterberg going after he was held to one shot on goal in Game 1 and has managed one goal in his last 25 games. His linemates Pavel Datsyuk (seven shots) and Justin Abdelkader (goal) each contributed and defenseman Mike Green had the other goal for the Red Wings. Rookie forward Dylan Larkin, who primarily played with Darren Helm and Brad Richards, did not have a shot on goal in his playoff debut.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (47-31-5, 34-49 ATS, 34-39 O/U): Jonathan Drouin, who had asked for a trade before leaving the team and getting suspended for almost two months, played 18:09 in the series opener - second-most among forwards. Drouin had three shots, two hits, two takeaways and teamed with linemates Valtteri Filppula and Ondrej Palat to create several opportunities while helping shut out Zetterberg and Datsyuk. Defenseman Victor Hedman led all players in ice time with 28:56.
TRENDS:
* Red Wings are 1-5 in their last 6 road games.
* Lightning are 0-4 in their last 4 games following a win.
* Over is 5-0-4 in Red Wings last 9 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Over is 7-1-1 in Lightning last 9 games following a win.
* Red Wings are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in Tampa Bay.
No. 6 Chicago Blackhawks at No. 3 St. Louis Blues (A:+104, H:-125, O/U: 5)
St. Louis Blues captain David Backes isn't going to apologize for scoring an aesthetically unappealing goal. After his pinball tally in overtime gave the Blues a series-opening victory, Backes' Blues look to put the defending Stanley Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks in an early hole when the Central Division rivals reconvene in the Gateway City for Game 2 on Friday.
"That's an ugly goal," Backes told reporters after his attempted centering feed banked off the skate of Chicago defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and between the pads of Corey Crawford at 9:04 of overtime in the Blues' 1-0 win on Wednesday. "I specialize in those and rightfully so. ... (Our team) put this in perspective. It's one game, start 0-0 again on Friday and do it all over again." The Blackhawks will welcome back a familiar face on Friday as reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith returns from his six-game suspension for high sticking Minnesota's Charlie Coyle on March 29. "You want to be out there helping the guys to try and win the hockey game. That in itself is frustrating especially it being as big a game as it was," Keith told CSN Chicago. "But I'm excited to get back and play again and try to do everything I can to help get a win."
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (38-33-11, 39-43 ATS, 29-35 O/U): Patrick Kane didn't appear fazed after Chicago found itself on the receiving end of a physical performance by St. Louis, which enjoyed a lopsided 41-24 edge in hits on Wednesday. "Ninety percent of the games we’ll be outhit because we have the puck," the NHL's leader in points (106) told CSN Chicago. "We'll focus on what we do best." Kane, who became the first American-born player to win the league scoring title this season, saw his best chance go by the boards on Wednesday when he was denied by Brian Elliott on a 2-on-1 rush early in the second period.
ABOUT THE BLUES (50-23-9, 41-41 ATS, 45-36 O/U): Elliott continued his scintillating play as he followed his 11-1-0 stretch to end the regular season with a 35-save performance in his first playoff start in three years. The 31-year-old denied Jonathan Toews' bid on a breakaway at 6:58 of the second and thwarted the captain and Kane on solid chances overtime. "I think he's comfortable in that element now, which, to me, is a big change for Brian," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Because he's comfortable in this setting now: You see his athleticism come out now. You see his confidence come out now."
TRENDS:
* Blackhawks are 2-10 in their last 12 vs. Central.
* Blues are 7-0 in their last 7 vs. Central.
* Over is 10-2-5 in Blackhawks last 17 games playing on 1 days rest.
* Over is 8-0-1 in Blues last 9 games playing on 1 days rest.
* Blackhawks are 3-9 in the last 12 meetings in St. Louis.
No. 7 Nashville Predators at No. 2 Anaheim Ducks (A:+145, H:-165, O/U: 5)
The Anaheim Ducks did not secure the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference until the final day of the regular season and, in doing so, avoid a first-round matchup against Pacific Division rivals Los Angeles and San Jose. Nonetheless, Anaheim is bracing for a rugged test when it hosts the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.
The Ducks overcame a ugly start - losing nine of their first 10 games (1-7-2) - before regrouping with a huge stretch run to earn their fourth consecutive Pacific title. Anahaeim lost two of the three matchups to the seventh-seeded Predators, but the teams haven't played since Nov. 17. "It’s been 60-something games since we played them," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Can we trust anything we see on the tape?" Nashville, which lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago in the first round a year ago, navigated a series of ups and downs before putting together a franchise-record 14-game point streak to earn its ninth postseason berth in 12 seasons.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (41-27-14, 34-48 ATS, 33-33 O/U): Filip Forsberg scored 33 times and James Neal was right behind with 31 tallies, marking the second time in franchise history that Nashville has had a pair of 30-goal scorers, but the Predators also tied for the league lead with 203 points from their defense. “It’s been a big part of who we are all year,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think you need contributions from everybody. But our guys have done a good job back there playing our system and being involved when they can.” Pekka Rinne had the most second-most regulation losses (21) one of of the highest goals-against averages (2.48) in his career, but he's 12-5-4 lifetime versus Anaheim.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (46-25-11, 34-48 ATS, 32-34 O/U): Reinforcements could be on the way for Anaheim, with forwards Rickard Rakell (appendix) and David Perron (shoulder) and defenseman Kevin Bieksa (upper body) all back at practice and looming as game-time decisions for the series opener. “We’re anxious, excited and ready to get going,” said forward Corey Perry, who led the Ducks for 34 goals. “We’ve had some good practices. Yesterday, there was a lot of skating, but today, we worked on a little bit of what they like to do and what we want to do against it.” Boudreau still has to decide on a starting netminder between the Jennings Trophy-winning tandem of John Gibson and Frederik Anderson, who combined for 43 victories.
TRENDS:
* Predators are 0-4 in their last 4 road games.
* Ducks are 6-0 in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Under is 4-0-1 in Predators last 5 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Under is 5-1-1 in Ducks last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
* Over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in Anaheim.
* Predators are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in Anaheim.