Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Friday, April 16
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh (7 p.m. EDT). Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia 4-1 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series.
STARS
Thursday
— Martin Havlat, Blackhawks, scored 12 seconds into overtime to give Chicago a 3-2 victory over Calgary in Game 1 of the Western Conference series. Havlat also scored the tying goal with 5:33 left in regulation.
— Jonas Hiller and Ryan Getzlaf, Ducks. Hiller made 35 saves in a sparkling playoff debut, and Getzlaf had a goal and an assist in the third period in eighth-seeded Anaheim’s 2-0, Game 1 victory over top-seeded San Jose.
— Phil Kessel and Zdeno Chara, Bruins. Kessel had two goals and an assist, and Chara scored with 8:45 left to break a third-period tie in Boston’s 4-2 win over Montreal in Game 1.
— Chris Osgood, Red Wings, made 20 saves in Detroit’s 4-1 series opening victory over Columbus.
SHORT OVERTIME
Martin Havlat’s goal at 12 seconds of overtime in Chicago’s 3-2 victory over Calgary on Thursday night matched the third-fastest overtime goal in NHL playoff history. Havlat was 3 seconds off the NHL record of 9 seconds set by Brian Skrudland for Montreal in 3-2 victory over Calgary on May 18, 1986, in the Stanley Cup finals. J.P. Parise of the Islanders scored in 11 seconds of OT against the Rangers in 1975, and Chicago’s Pit Martin also scored at 12 seconds in 1972 against Pittsburgh.
STATUS
Doug Risebrough was fired as general manager of the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, five days after coach Jacques Lemaire resigned. Risebrough and Lemaire had been with the team since it entered the NHL in 2000. Assistant general manager Tom Lynn will take over as general manager until a replacement is hired.
SUSPENDED
Philadelphia left winger Daniel Carcillo was suspended for one game and coach John Stevens was fined $10,000 by the NHL on Thursday, a day after Carcillo hit Pittsburgh’s Maxime Talbot in the head in the playoff opener. With 7 seconds left in the third period in the Penguins’ 4-1 victory Wednesday night, Carcillo delivered a blow to Talbot’s head directly off a faceoff. Carcillo wasn’t penalized for the hit.
SURGERY
Minnesota left winger Andrew Brunette had surgery on his right knee Thursday. Brunette signed a three-year, $7 million contract to return to the Wild in the offseason. He had 22 goals and 28 assists in 80 games.
SPEAKING
“We felt like we (controlled) the majority of the play, but that’s just hockey. We’ve got to keep people in front of the net, keep getting shots, and it’ll work for us. … We’ve got a good veteran club here, and last year we lost Game 1 against Calgary. We’ve got to think about this for 5 minutes, and then we’ll move on.”—San Jose star Joe Thornton after the top-seeded Sharks’ 2-0 loss to Anaheim on Thursday night.
PHILADELPHIA (44-28-0-11, 99 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (46-28-0-9, 101 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 31-10 ATS (+18.7 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 68-42 ATS (+10.6 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 27-8 ATS (+13.6 Units) in home games vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 16-8 ATS (+7.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 6-1 ATS (+7.1 Units) in road games on Friday nights this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 25-15 ATS (+43.4 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 20-8 (+11.2 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 20-8-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
18 of 26 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+8.9 Units)
CAROLINA (45-31-0-7, 97 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (52-27-0-4, 108 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NEW JERSEY is 52-31 ATS (+87.7 Units) in all games this season.
NEW JERSEY is 12-2 ATS (+9.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
NEW JERSEY is 9-1 ATS (+7.4 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders this season.
NEW JERSEY is 20-6 ATS (+20.0 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
NEW JERSEY is 47-26 ATS (+9.8 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 15-6 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
NEW JERSEY is 10-2 ATS (+7.4 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
CAROLINA is 43-31 ATS (+7.3 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 11-6 ATS (+17.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 8-5 (+2.1 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY is 8-5-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.5 Units)
ST LOUIS (41-32-0-10, 92 pts.) at VANCOUVER (46-27-0-10, 102 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 41-42 ATS (+94.8 Units) in all games this season.
ST LOUIS is 27-19 ATS (+50.2 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 8-3 ATS (+11.6 Units) on Friday nights this season.
ST LOUIS is 21-20 ATS (+49.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
ST LOUIS is 12-7 ATS (+21.1 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game this season.
ST LOUIS is 13-8 ATS (+24.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
VANCOUVER is 18-32 ATS (-30.8 Units) in home games in April games since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 43-44 ATS (-21.0 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 23-22 ATS (-7.2 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 9-4 (+2.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 9-4-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.7 Units)
PHILADELPHIA vs. PITTSBURGH
Philadelphia is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 10 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
CAROLINA vs. NEW JERSEY
Carolina is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
Carolina is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing New Jersey
New Jersey is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
New Jersey is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Carolina
ST. LOUIS vs. VANCOUVER
St. Louis is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
St. Louis is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Vancouver
Vancouver is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Vancouver is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing St. Louis
NHL Playoffs
Flyers are 4-7 in last eleven games, 2-6 in last eight games vs Pittsburgh, 1-9 in their last ten in this building. Penguins scored four goals in Game 1 despite going just 1-9 on power play (10:34 with man advantage)- they won ten of last thirteen games, winning last five at home by a combined score of 22-6. Flyers were 1-4 on power play in Game 1 (6:31).
Carolina won nine of last twelve games, but lost Game 1 here 4-1, just their second loss in last games against the Devils. Five of last six series games stayed under the total. Home team won seven of last eight games in series, with Carolina 2-6 in last seven visits to Garden State. Devils won five of last five games- they outshot Carolina 39-19 in Game 1.
St Louis won nine of last twelve games, allowing four goals in last four games, but their 2-1 loss in Game 1 was sixth loss in last seven visits to this building. Over is 5-2-1 in last eight series games. Canucks are 24-9 in last 33 games, winning last three games by combined score of 4-1- their last five games stayed under the total.
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
18-6 SU off a loss of 3+ goals
6-1 SU AWAY on Friday
Pittsburgh
1-11 SU off a win by 3+ goals over a division opponent
13-25 SU off a division win
Carolina at New Jersey
Carolina
0-7 SU revenging a road loss of 3+ goals
0-6 SU AWAY when the total is 5 or less
New Jersey
12-2 SU at home when the total is 5 or less
15-5 SU at home when the money line is -100 to -150
St. Louis at Vancouver
St Louis
27-19 SU in the second hlaf of the season
12-7 SU after scoring 1 goal or less
Vancouver
0-5 SU after four straight wins
20-29 SU at home in April