Friday's Best NHL Bets
Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins (-260, 5.5)
In a series that features stars on both sides of the ice, the Ottawa Senators turned to their role players for a lift in Wednesday’s 5-4 Game 1 victory in Pittsburgh.
Tough guys Chris Neil, Jarkko Ruutu, Chris Kelly and Peter Regin all found the back of the net for the Senators while defenseman Erik Karlsson also scored in the opening win.
"We're trying to do it by committee, we're trying to do it as a team, we're trying to get in shooting lanes, we're trying to block shots, we're trying to have numbers at the bluelines," Ottawa coach Cory Clouson told CBC Sports.
As much as Clouson is happy those skaters contributed, he knows not to count on those goals in Game 2 Friday. He would much rather see stars like Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza stepping up. Those two had an assist each but Alfredsson failed to register a shot on goal while Spezza managed just three shots on goal.
On the other hand, Pittsburgh’s studs were walking tall. Evgeni Malkin scored twice and added a helper while Sidney Crosby picked up three assists. Those two combined for six shots on goal in the loss and will be aiming to tie this series at 1-1 before making the move to Ottawa for Game 3 Sunday.
"We want to have our best effort each and every shift, but you're playing good teams in the playoffs, and there's going to be swings in momentum," Crosby told reporters. "It's a matter of adjusting, it's a matter of executing when you get chances."
Pick: Pittsburgh
Detroit Red Wings at Phoenix Coyotes (115, 5)
Phoenix has been a team of opportunity all season.
The Coyotes made the most of a down year in the Pacific Division, jumped on a hot goalie in Ilya Bryzgalov and took advantage of Detroit’s penalties in Wednesday’s 3-2 Game 1 victory at home.
Phoenix scored all three of its goals with the man advantage, finishing the game 3-for-4 on the power play. The Coyotes weren’t that opportunistic during the regular season, ranking 28th in the NHL in power-play efficiency.
Those man advantages helped Phoenix dig itself out of a 2-1 first period lead. The Coyotes were a little anxious in their first period and a half of playoff hockey since 2002.
“We might have had too much emotion at the beginning,” Coyotes’ captain Shane Doan told the media. “But that’s okay, it’s been too long for a lot of us.”
Expect those postseason jitters to be calmed by the time the puck drops Friday night.
Pick: Phoenix
NASHVILLE (47-29-0-6, 100 pts.) at CHICAGO (52-22-0-8, 112 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 75-57 ATS (+1.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 15-5 ATS (+6.6 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 46-35 ATS (+81.1 Units) in all games this season.
NASHVILLE is 25-12 ATS (+37.6 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NASHVILLE is 20-18 ATS (+42.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
NASHVILLE is 15-8 ATS (+6.6 Units) after a division game this season.
CHICAGO is 37-54 ATS (-30.5 Units) in home games on Friday nights since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 12-8 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 12-8-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
11 of 19 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.4 Units)
OTTAWA (45-32-0-6, 96 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (47-29-0-7, 101 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 41-15 ATS (+20.3 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 43-20 ATS (+18.1 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 45-38 ATS (+3.2 Units) in all games this season.
OTTAWA is 10-3 ATS (+13.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
OTTAWA is 47-42 ATS (-0.2 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 0-4 ATS (-7.9 Units) in home games revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
PITTSBURGH is 12-19 ATS (-21.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PITTSBURGH is 4-10 ATS (-8.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
PITTSBURGH is 21-21 ATS (-20.8 Units) second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 9-8 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
OTTAWA is 9-8-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
9 of 17 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.6 Units)
PHILADELPHIA (42-35-0-6, 90 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (48-28-0-7, 103 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 43-41 ATS (-12.8 Units) in all games this season.
NEW JERSEY is 22-11 ATS (+8.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NEW JERSEY is 13-4 ATS (+7.8 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 20-24 ATS (-18.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 11-10 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 11-10-0 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
12 of 20 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.5 Units)
DETROIT (44-25-0-14, 102 pts.) at PHOENIX (51-25-0-7, 109 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 7-13 ATS (-9.1 Units) in road games revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
DETROIT is 7-13 ATS (-16.3 Units) after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 51-32 ATS (+51.0 Units) in all games this season.
PHOENIX is 14-6 ATS (+6.1 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PHOENIX is 12-5 ATS (+17.2 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 26-15 ATS (+7.6 Units) second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 9-4 (+2.7 Units) against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 9-4-0 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.8 Units)
COLORADO (44-30-0-9, 97 pts.) at SAN JOSE (51-21-0-11, 113 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 3-14 ATS (+20.6 Units) in road games on Friday nights over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 44-39 ATS (+84.3 Units) in all games this season.
COLORADO is 31-30 ATS (+68.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 5-13 ATS (-25.1 Units) in home games revenging a home loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 52-41 ATS (-17.9 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 8-5-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.7 Units)
OTTAWA vs. PITTSBURGH
Ottawa is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Pittsburgh
Ottawa is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing Ottawa
PHILADELPHIA vs. NEW JERSEY
Philadelphia is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing New Jersey
New Jersey is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing Philadelphia
New Jersey is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
NASHVILLE vs. CHICAGO
Nashville is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Chicago
Nashville is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games when playing at home against Nashville
DETROIT vs. PHOENIX
Detroit is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
Detroit is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games on the road
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games at home
COLORADO vs. SAN JOSE
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Colorado's last 8 games when playing on the road against San Jose
Colorado is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of San Jose's last 12 games when playing Colorado
San Jose is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
Western Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game One (Series Tied 0-0)
NASHVILLE at CHICAGO
NASHVILLE: 21-12 SU after winning 2 of their last 3 games
CHICAGO: 5-0 Under at home off a home loss
Eastern Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Two (Ottawa Leads, 1-0)
OTTAWA at PITTSBURGH
OTTAWA: 2-7 SU away after scoring and allowing 3+ goals
PITTSBURGH: 35-14 SU off a home loss
Eastern Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Two (Philadelphia Leads, 1-0)
PHILADELPHIA at NEW JERSEY
PHILADELPHIA: 2-8 SU off BB games allowing 1 or 0 goals
NEW JERSEY: 6-0 SU off 3+ home games
Western Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Two (Phoenix Leads, 1-0)
DETROIT at PHOENIX
DETROIT: 12-5 SU revenging a road loss
PHOENIX: 31-11 Under off a win
Western Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Two (Coloardo Leads, 1-0)
COLORADO at SAN JOSE
COLORADO: 7-0 Under off BB games with a combined score of 4 goals or less
SAN JOSE: 16-4 SU off 3+ games allowing 2 goals or less