NHL betting trends, odds and predictions for Thursday, April 27th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
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Ottawa won three of its last four games with the Rangers; teams split last four gams played in this building. Under is 8-2 in last ten series games. Rangers won five of last seven games but are 2-3 in last five road tilts. Under is 7-1-1 in their last nine games overall. Ottawa won four of its last five games- four of those games went to OT. Over is 3-2-2 in their last seven games. New York won three of its last four series in this round; in its franchise history, Ottawa is 2-4 in this round- last time they won second round series was 2007, when they made the Cup Finals.
Home team won last eight Penguin-Cap games; Pittsburgh lost its last three games in this building by a combined score of 15-4. Over is 4-0-1 in last five series games. Penguins lost three of last four road games but just beat Columbus in five games. Washington split its last four home games; last three went to OT- five of their six games vs Toronto in last round went OT. Penguins won Stanley Cup LY; they’re 5-2 in last seven second round series. Pittsburgh Washington is 0-5 in its last five second round series; last time they to past this point was 1998, when they lost Cup final to Detroit.
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New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators (-105, 5)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (52-29-3-4, 41-40 O/U): It speaks to the depth of New York that it eliminated Montreal despite getting one assist each from two of its leading goal scorers - Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller, while Zibanejad's four points represented a team high. One positive was the late arrival of leading overall scorer Mats Zuccarello, who scored twice in the Game 6 clinching win over Montreal. Still, the Rangers will pin their hopes on goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who bounced back superbly after surrendering seven goals in back-to-back losses to the Canadiens. "Hank has been through this before," Vigneault told reporters. "I think he's really thriving on the pressure and the opportunity. ... He wants to be a difference-maker and he's looking forward to this series."
ABOUT THE SENATORS (48-29-7-4, 34-49 O/U): Karlsson made a surprising revelation following the series with Boston that he was playing with two hairline fractures in his left heel, but it certainly did not appear to hinder the star defenseman, who collected six assists against the Bruins and played nearly 42 minutes in Game 5. Forward Bobby Ryan followed up a 13-goal regular season by scoring four times against the Bruins, and with Clarke MacArthur back in the lineup after missing most of the past two seasons due to concussions, Ottawa can counter New York's outstanding balance with four solid lines of its down. Craig Anderson allowed three goals in half of the six games against Boston but won both starts versus New York this season, yielding one goal.
LINE HISTORY: Game 1 of this series in Ottawa opened as a Pick 'Em but by Wednesday night the moneyline edged in the Rangers' direction to -115. The total hit the betting board at 5.
INJURY REPORT:
Rangers - RW R. Nash (Probable, undisclosed).
Senators - D E. Karlsson (Probable, foot), LW T. Pyatt (Questionable, lower body), D M. Borowiecki (Out, lower body).
TRENDS:
* Rangers are 3-10 in their last 13 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Senators are 4-1 in their last 5 overall.
* Under is 3-0-1 in Rangers last 4 overall.
* Under is 17-4-1 in Senators last 22 Thursday games.
* Home team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals (-145, 5.5)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (54-22-6-5, 50-32 O/U): While the Capitals posted a 2-0-2 mark in the season series, Pittsburgh traditionally has gotten the better of its division rival in the playoffs - most notably in both 2009 and 2016 on its way to hoisting the Stanley Cup at the end of those tournaments. Evgeni Malkin had an NHL-best 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the first round and six (five goals, one assist) versus Washington this season while linemate Phil Kessel added eight (two goals, six assists) and four (one goal, three assists), respectively. While plenty is expected from those proven names, rookie Jake Guentzel (NHL-best five goals) and Bryan Rust (four goals) also made their presence known in the first round. Coach Mike Sullivan has gone as far to label Rust "a high-stakes player" after the 24-year-old recorded 10 goals in 28 career playoff games, including eight in his past 13.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (59-19-5-5, 39-34 O/U): While the clubs are set to open their Eastern Conference second-round series Thursday in Washington, Ovechkin was quick to insist that there's more on the line than just one-on-one bragging rights. "We respect each other," Washington's three-time Hart Trophy winner said of his rival, who has received the honor on two occasions. "That battle between me and him, it's great. I think me and him enjoy it, (the media) enjoy it, fans enjoy it. But right now it's not about me and him. It's about (the Capitals) and Penguins." T.J. Oshie matched Ovechkin in goals this season with a club high-tying 33 and was knotted with the Russian Olympian as well as Justin Williams and Tom Wilson with three in the first round. Oshie erupted for six points (five goals, one assist) in last year's Eastern semifinal loss to Pittsburgh and 10 (three goals, seven assists) in four regular-season encounters, a total that was eclipsed by Nicklas Backstrom's 12 (four goals, eight assists). "It's a perfect scenario," the 29-year-old Backstrom said of the upcoming series versus the Penguins. "Even if we finish first in the regular season, they're the Stanley Cup champs, so we're the underdogs. It's perfect for us."
LINE HISTORY: The Capitals opened as -135 monetline favorites at home for Game 1 and by Wednesday night that number was up to -145. The total hit the betting board at 5.5 and has not moved.
INJURY REPORT:
Penguins - LW C. Kunitz (Probable, lower body), D C. Ruhwedel (Questionable, upper body), G M. Murray (Doubful, lower body), LW C. Hagelin (Doubful, lower body), D C. Letang (Out For Season, neck).
Capitals - RW T. Wilson (Probable, foot), C L. Eller (Probable, undisclosed), D N. Schmidt (Probable, lower body), D K. Alzner (Out, upper body).
TRENDS:
* Penguins are 4-0 in their last 4 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Capitals are 14-3 in their last 17 vs. Metropolitan.
* Over is 5-1 in Penguins last 6 road games.
* Under is 6-1 in Capitals last 7 home games.
* Home team is 8-0 in the last 8 meetings.
NY RANGERS (52-29-0-7, 111 pts.) at OTTAWA (48-30-0-10, 106 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 16-29 ATS (+45.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 4-10 ATS (-9.4 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 95-108 ATS (-50.3 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
OTTAWA is 48-40 ATS (+90.3 Units) in all games this season.
OTTAWA is 28-24 ATS (+53.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
OTTAWA is 21-14 ATS (+38.9 Units) after a division game this season.
OTTAWA is 24-15 ATS (+24.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OTTAWA is 12-8 ATS (+21.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 52-36 ATS (+5.7 Units) in all games this season.
NY RANGERS are 16-9 ATS (+26.1 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 25-12 ATS (+10.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NY RANGERS are 25-19 ATS (+48.1 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 5-4-0 straight up against OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.9 Units)
PITTSBURGH (54-22-0-11, 119 pts.) at WASHINGTON (59-20-0-9, 127 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 28-39 ATS (-23.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 78-97 ATS (-46.8 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 59-29 ATS (+24.2 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 38-15 ATS (+11.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 71-37 ATS (+109.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 25-11 ATS (+4.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PITTSBURGH is 118-75 ATS (+5.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 16-6 ATS (+8.3 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 75-43 ATS (+11.5 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 51-25 ATS (+15.4 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 1-6 ATS (-9.7 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 10-9 (+0.4 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 10-9-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.5 Units)
NY RANGERS vs. OTTAWA
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the NY Rangers last 7 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Rangers last 7 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Ottawa's last 7 games when playing NY Rangers
Ottawa is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
PITTSBURGH vs. WASHINGTON
Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games
Washington is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games at home
NY Rangers at Ottawa
New York: 17-6 SU revenging a loss vs opponent of 2 goals or more
Ottawa: 0-8 SU in home games after having won 4 of their last 5
Pittsburgh at Washington
Pittsburgh: 28-39 SU in a road game w
NY Rangers at Ottawa
New York: 17-6 SU revenging a loss vs opponent of 2 goals or more
Ottawa: 0-8 SU in home games after having won 4 of their last 5
Pittsburgh at Washington
Pittsburgh: 28-39 SU in a road game where where the total is 5.5
Washington: 34-10 SU in home games