Friday's Best NHL Bets
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers (-150, 5.5)
The Habs are hanging on to the final postseason ticket in the Eastern Conference with white knuckles. Montreal is sitting in eighth with just two points separating it from the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Canadiens have lost back-to-back games heading into Friday and have only one win in their past six games. Montreal’s offense has fallen flat in that stretch, scoring fewer than two goals per game. The Habs already have one of the worst scoring attacks in the NHL, ranked 24th in goals and 26th in shots per game.
"The guillotine's tightening," goaltender Carey Price told the Montreal Gazette. "It's a crunch time. Five games (to play). This is what makes it fun. It's always more fun to be in a race than to be sitting and watching this position."
It seems total bettors are the only ones having fun during this slump. Montreal’s offensive woes have led the team to play under the betting total in five of those six games. The Canadiens are 32-41 over/under this season.
Pick: Under
Chicago Blackhawks at New Jersey Devils (-130, 5.5)
The Blackhawks were hoping to be picking up momentum at this time in the schedule – not snapping losing streaks.
Chicago put an end to a three-game slide with a 4-0 road win against the Minnesota Wild Wednesday night. That victory was just the team’s third win in the past 10 games, dropping the Stanley Cup sleeper to second in the Western Conference. If the young Blackhawks can build off this latest win, they can still make a run at the San Jose Sharks, who lead them by three points in the standings.
'We just got to continue to work,'' defenseman Brent Seabrook told the Chicago Sun-Times. ''I don't think we want to worry about a turning point or that things are going to be easy now. We just got to continue to work and continue to play hard and do the little things.''
Chicago owns back-to-back victories over the Devils, winning their first meeting of the season 5-1 back in December.
Pick: Blackhawks
Hot Teams
-- Rangers won three of their last four games.
-- Sharks won four of their last five games.
Cold Teams
-- Blackhawks lost three of last four games. New Jersey lost five of its last seven games.
-- Canadiens lost five of their last six games. Flyers lost six of seven.
-- Lightning lost four of their last five home games.
-- Minnesota lost 12 of its last 18 games.
-- Dallas is 2-11 in game following its last thirteen wins. Oilers lost last three games, all by one goal.
-- Avalanche lost six of their last seven games. Flames lost three of their last four road games.
Totals
-- Six of last nine Chicago games went over the total.
-- Six of last seven Montreal games stayed under the total. Three of last four Philly games went over.
-- Four of last five Lightning home games stayed under the total.
-- Last three Minnesota home games stayed under the total. Last three San Jose games all went over.
-- Five of last six Dallas games stayed under the total.
-- Last six Colorado games went over the total. Four of last five Calgary games stayed under the total.
Playing second of back-to-back nights
-- Flyers are 1-4 if they lost the night before.
Series Records
-- Canadiens won three of last four games against the Flyers.
-- Rangers won five of last six games against Tampa Bay, winning 8-2 in last meeting Jan 19.
-- Sharks won their last four games against Minnesota.
-- Oilers lost five of last six visits to Dallas.
-- Flames lost five of last six games against Colorado.
CHICAGO vs. NEW JERSEY
Chicago is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games when playing Chicago
New Jersey10-2-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing Chicago
MONTREAL vs. PHILADELPHIA
Montreal is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Montreal's last 13 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Philadelphia's last 13 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing at home against Montreal
NY RANGERS vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games at home
Tampa Bay is 5-14 SU in its last 19 games
SAN JOSE vs. MINNESOTA
San Jose is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 7 games
Minnesota is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games when playing San Jose
Minnesota is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against San Jose
EDMONTON vs. DALLAS
Edmonton is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Edmonton is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing at home against Edmonton
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Edmonton
CALGARY vs. COLORADO
Calgary is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Colorado
Calgary is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 5 games
Colorado is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
VANCOUVER vs. ANAHEIM
Vancouver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Vancouver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Anaheim's last 7 games when playing Vancouver
Anaheim is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Vancouver
CHICAGO (47-22-0-7, 101 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (44-26-0-6, 94 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NEW JERSEY is 19-9 ATS (+6.7 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
CHICAGO is 122-128 ATS (+279.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
CHICAGO is 66-35 ATS (+19.2 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 72-56 ATS (+12.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 16-21 ATS (+16.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 2-1 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 2-1-0 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)
MONTREAL (37-32-0-8, 82 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (38-33-0-6, 82 pts.) - 4/2/2010, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MONTREAL is 21-15 ATS (+39.3 Units) in road games revenging a home loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
MONTREAL is 21-17 ATS (+41.3 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 39-39 ATS (-4.8 Units) in all games this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 9-14 ATS (-9.8 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 9-7 (+0.5 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 9-7-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
10 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.4 Units)
NY RANGERS (34-32-0-10, 78 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (31-34-0-12, 74 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 34-42 ATS (-12.5 Units) in all games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 55-102 ATS (-98.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 27-46 ATS (+86.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 20-40 ATS (+61.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 8-3 (+3.8 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 8-3-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.1 Units, Under=-0.5 Units)
SAN JOSE (47-20-0-10, 104 pts.) at MINNESOTA (37-34-0-6, 80 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 9-2 (+4.6 Units) against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 9-2-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.8 Units)
EDMONTON (24-45-0-7, 55 pts.) at DALLAS (34-29-0-14, 82 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 23-51 ATS (+97.6 Units) in all games this season.
EDMONTON is 1-16 ATS (+35.9 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 12-34 ATS (+63.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
EDMONTON is 9-26 ATS (+47.1 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
EDMONTON is 12-5 ATS (+18.2 Units) on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 3-14 ATS (+18.9 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
DALLAS is 7-18 ATS (-11.8 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
DALLAS is 29-45 ATS (-22.3 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 7-4 (+2.3 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 7-4-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.0 Units)
CALGARY (39-29-0-9, 87 pts.) at COLORADO (41-28-0-7, 89 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 41-35 ATS (+78.0 Units) in all games this season.
COLORADO is 13-4 ATS (+8.4 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
COLORADO is 28-27 ATS (+61.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 107-104 ATS (-53.1 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less since 1996.
COLORADO is 1-7 ATS (-6.4 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs this season.
COLORADO is 78-77 ATS (-23.1 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
COLORADO is 11-8 (+4.8 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
COLORADO is 11-8-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
14 of 19 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+8.7 Units)
VANCOUVER (46-27-0-4, 96 pts.) at ANAHEIM (37-32-0-7, 81 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 6-5 (+0.4 Units) against the spread versus ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 6-5-0 straight up against ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.1 Units)
CHICAGO at NEW JERSEY
CHICAGO: 1-3 SU when playing their 3rd road game in 4 days
NEW JERSEY: 9-2 SU off a home loss
MONTREAL at PHILADELPHIA
MONTREAL: 12-8 SU as a road underdog of +100 to +150
PHILADELPHIA: 5-13 SU when playing their 8th game in 14 days
NY RANGERS at TAMPA BAY
NY RANGERS: 10-1 SU off a road division win
TAMPA BAY: 55-102 SU in all games
SAN JOSE at MINNESOTA
SAN JOSE: N/A
MINNESOTA: N/A
EDMONTON at DALLAS
EDMONTON: 12-5 SU on Friday
DALLAS: 0-9 SU off a division win
CALGARY at COLORADO
CALGARY: 17-8 SU Away when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days
COLORADO: 1-7 SU after 3+ consecutive overs
VANCOUVER at ANAHEIM
VANCOUVER: N/A
ANAHEIM: N/A