NHL betting trends, odds and predictions for Tuesday, April 18th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NHL Knowledge
Rangers have now lost six home playoff games in row after 3-1 loss in Game 3— they were outshot 29-21, were 0-3 on power play (are 0-10 in series). Montreal won seven of last ten games with the Rangers; road team won seven of those 10 games. New York is 4-6 in its last ten games overall; five of their last six games stayed under total. Canadiens are 8-3 in their last 11 games; under is 9-3-1 in their last 13. Montreal outshot NY 87-59 in last two games. Rangers won last four first round series; they need win here to avoid going to Montreal down 3-1.
Penguins won first three games of series at home; they were -9 in blocked shots in OT win in Game 3, after being +10 in blocked shots in Games 1-2. Pittsburgh has now won seven of its last nine games, with five of last eight staying under total. Blue Jackets have now lost nine of their last ten games- they scored total of 25 goals in their last 13 games. Three of last four Columbus games stayed under the total. Home side won eight of last ten Columbus-Pittsburgh games; under is 7-4 in last 11 series games.
San Jose hasn’t scored vs Oilers since OT game-winner in Game 1. Edmonton won five of its last seven road games, ten of last 12 games overall; they blanked the Sharks in last two games, holding them to total of 39 shots on goal. San Jose won three of its last five home games; under is 5-1-1 in their last seven games overall. Oilers are in playoffs for first time since 2006, when they lost Cup final; they’ve lost four of last five first round series. San Jose lost Stanley Cup final LY; they’re 9-3 in last 12 first round series. Oilers won five of last six games with San Jose.
Armadillosports.com
Tuesday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview
Covers.com
Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers (-110, 5)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (49-27-7-2, 30-40 O/U): Montreal was within 18 seconds of dropping into an 0-2 series hole at home and now stand within two wins of advancing to the next round. Alexander Radulov returned to the NHL after spending the previous four seasons in Russia and provided Montreal plenty of bang for its buck. After collecting 18 goals and 54 points in the regular season, Radulov has emerged as the star of the series with five points in the last two contests, setting up the tying goal in Game 2 and adding a highlight-reel tally in Game 3 with Kevin Hayes draped all over him. “He wants to win and he doesn’t care about anything but winning," coach Claude Julien said. "He’s hard on himself because he wants to help us win."
ABOUT THE RANGERS (49-29-3-4, 41-38 O/U): After earning a split in Montreal, New York went down meekly 3-1 before the home fans in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series and is winless in the playoffs at Madison Square Garden since a Game 7 win in the conference semifinals in May 2015. Coach Alain Vigneault shuffled his lines for the final 20 minutes in Game 3 after New York managed a combined 12 shots over the first two periods, and he tinkered some more at Monday's practice, giving rookie Pavel Buchnevich time on a struggling power-play unit that has failed in all 10 chances. “I’m looking at all our options right now,” Vigneault said. "Some of our problems have come a lot on our puck management. We need to do a better job.” Chris Kreider, who scored a team-high 28 goals this season, has yet to register a point in the series.
LINE HISTORY: The moneyline for Game 4 opened as a Pick 'Em and the total hit the board at 5 at most books (4.5 at some).
INJURY REPORT:
Canadiens- D A. Emelin (Questionable, lower body).
Rangers - No injuries to report.
TRENDS:
* Canadiens are 6-1 in their last 7 road games.
* Rangers are 2-9 in their last 11 home games.
* Under is 9-2-3 in Canadiens last 14 vs. Metropolitan.
* Under is 5-1 in Rangers last 6 overall.
* Canadiens are 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in New York.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets (-110, 5.5)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (53-21-6-5, 48-32 O/U): Jake Guentzel speaks with a soft voice and is generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 167 pounds, but the 22-year-old rookie has provided loud performances while standing tall in each contest of the Pittsburgh Penguins' opening-round set versus the Columbus Blue Jackets. After completing a hat trick at 13:10 of overtime to give the Penguins a 3-0 series lead, Guentzel looks to give the reigning Stanley Cup champions the final push on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena. Bryan Rust continues to make his presence felt in the NHL's second season, scoring twice in Game 3 to give him seven goals in his past 11 playoff games and five tallies in his last eight contests overall. Fellow forward Evgeni Malkin recorded his 14th career three-point performance by scoring in his second straight game and adding two assists to increase his point total to six (two goals, four assists) in the series. Not to be outdone, captain Sidney Crosby has set up two goals in back-to-back contests after being held off the scoresheet in the series opener.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (50-26-7-2, 33-46 O/U): The Blue Jackets have been pushed to the brink despite Brandon Dubinsky adding an offensive presence (one goal, one assist) in Game 3 to the physical one he has demonstrated all series (19 hits). Zach Werenski's season came to a close after the rookie defenseman sustained a ghastly facial fracture following taking a puck under his right eye on Sunday. The 19-year-old initially returned to the contest in the third period with a full-face shield before he was forced to exit as his vision was impacted by the swelling around his eye. "It (stinks) for him. I just met with him in the office (Monday) and that's the first thing that comes out of his mouth; he's upset that he can't play," coach John Tortorella said of Werenski, who had one goal in the series and was first in NHL scoring among rookie defensemen with 47 points (11 goals, 36 assists).
LINE HISTORY: The Blue Jackets, for some reason, opened as -115 favorites despite losing the first three games of their series against the Penguins and by Tuesday morning that moneyline was back to a Pick 'Em. The total hit the board at 5.5.
INJURY REPORT:
Penguins - D C. Ruhwedel (Questionable, upper body), G M. Murray (Questionable, lower body), LW C. Kunitz (Out Indefinitely, lower body), D K. Letang (Out For Season, neck), LW C. Hagelin (Late April, lower body).
Blue Jackets - D Z. Werenski (Out For Season, face), LW L. Sedlak (Out Indefinitely, upper body), D R. Murray (Late April, hand), RW D. Clarkson (Out Indefinitely, back).
TRENDS:
* Penguins are 6-0 in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Blue Jackets are 1-9 in their last 10 overall.
* Over is 4-1 in Penguins last 5 road games.
* Under is 6-1-1 in Blue Jackets last 8 vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Home team is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings.
Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks (-120, 5)
ABOUT THE OILERS (49-26-5-5, 32-44 O/U): Zack Kassian, who scored seven goals in 79 games during the regular season and none in the first nine playoff contests of his career, recorded the game-winner in each of the Oilers' victories - including a short-handed tally in Game 2. Captain Connor McDavid was kept off the scoresheet in Game 3, ending his 16-game point streak that began on March 14. Edmonton finally displayed some discipline in Game 3, taking only two penalties after being whistled for six in each of the first two contests. Despite being short-handed a league-high 14 times entering Monday's action, the Oilers have allowed just one power play goal (92.8 percent) to rank third among the 16 playoff teams. Defenseman Oscar Klefbom showed no ill effects from the bone bruise in his left foot he suffered in the previous contest as he saw a team-high 24 minutes, 44 seconds of ice time in Game 3.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (47-31-6-1, 22-39 O/U): Logan Couture was back in the Sharks' lineup for the series opener after missing the final seven regular-season games with a facial injury and Joe Thornton returned for Game 3 after sitting out a total of five contests with a knee ailment, but neither has recorded a point in the matchup. Thornton, who wore a brace on his knee, spent 16:27 on the ice in his first game since April 2 - recording two shots and blocking one while losing both of his faceoffs. "He's our emotional leader," coach Peter DeBoer told reporters. "Gutsy effort by him. There was just no keeping him out (of the lineup). I think he came out and had a great game for us for not playing in a while." San Jose was extremely physical in Game 3, registering 58 hits - including 32 in the first period, which was five shy of Edmonton's total for the entire contest.
LINE HISTORY: The Sharks opened as -120 favorites and the total hit the board at 5.
INJURY REPORT:
Oilers - D A. Ference (Out For Season, hip), RW T. Pitlick (Out For Season, knee).
Sharks - No injuries to report.
TRENDS:
* Oilers are 14-3 in their last 17 overall.
* Sharks are 2-8 in their last 10 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
* Under is 9-2-2 in Oilers last 13 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Under is 3-0-1 in Sharks last 4 overall.
* Oilers are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
MONTREAL (49-27-0-9, 107 pts.) at NY RANGERS (49-29-0-7, 105 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 9-3 (+6.2 Units) against the spread versus NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 9-3-0 straight up against NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.8 Units, Under=-0.3 Units)
PITTSBURGH (53-21-0-11, 117 pts.) at COLUMBUS (50-26-0-9, 109 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
COLUMBUS is 7-8 (+0.7 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 8-7-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.8 Units, Under=-1.1 Units)
EDMONTON (49-26-0-10, 108 pts.) at SAN JOSE (47-31-0-7, 101 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
EDMONTON is 9-8 (+3.8 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
EDMONTON is 9-8-0 straight up against SAN JOSE 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)
MONTREAL vs. NY RANGERS
Montreal is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 5 games on the road
NY Rangers are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games
NY Rangers are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing Montreal
PITTSBURGH vs. COLUMBUS
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Columbus
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Columbus
Columbus is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Columbus's last 13 games
EDMONTON vs. SAN JOSE
Edmonton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Edmonton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against San Jose
San Jose is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Edmonton
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Jose's last 7 games
Montreal at NY Rangers
Montreal: 2-6 SU off a road win by 2 goals or more
New York: 14-4 SU revenging a loss vs opponent as a home favorite
Pittsburgh at Columbus
Pittsburgh: 10-17 SU in road games after having won 4 or 5 of their last 6
Columbus: COLUMBUS is 12-4 SU revenging a home loss versus opponent
Edmonton at San Jose
Edmonton: 13-6 SU in road games after having won 2 of their last 3
San Jose: 7-14 SU after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game