Friday's Best NHL Bets
Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals (-340, 6)
The Capitals have the Habs on the ropes after a 6-3 Game 4 beat down Wednesday night. All Washington needs to do now is land the knockout punch.
That punch comes in the form of superstar forward Alex Ovechkin, who has erupted for eight points in the Capitals’ last three games, including scoring two goals and an assist Wednesday night.
Ovechkin caught a lot of flack after failing to register a shot in a Game 1 loss, but has since answered those calls with his brilliant and dominating play.
"I just got into shape," Ovechkin joked with reporters about his much-improved performance. "I feel pretty good. Our line today, the first couple of periods, tried to find a way to do things better because they play a different game every game. We find a way."
Washington has buried Montreal under a pile of pucks in the last three games, outscoring its opponent 17-9 in that span while playing over the total in two of those wins and pushing with the number in another.
Pick: Over
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks (-185, 5.5)
Die-hard hockey fans would have caught this bit of crowd interaction late after Wednesday’s 6-3 win for the Canucks in Game 4.
As Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo left the ice surface and slapped five with Canucks fans that made the trip to L.A., one Kings supporter managed to knock Luongo’s mask from the top of his head. The goaltender stopped, said nothing and shot the fan an icy stare that simply said, “It’s F-ing on”.
Luongo hasn’t been at his finest this postseason and honestly hasn’t been the same player since the Olympics. This series, he’s posted a 3.41 GAA and a save percentage of just .871.
Those struggles might be the only thing keeping Los Angeles in this series. However, something as simple as having his lid flipped by some drunken ass could spark the competitive fires inside Luongo, who, is the best in the game when he's hot.
With home ice Friday and the series tied at 2-2, expect the old Luongo to start showing his face.
Pick: Vancouver
Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres
The fans at HSBC Arena will be treated to a game between the Boston Bruins and the Buffalo Sabres when they take their seats on Friday.
Miroslav Satan took a Michael Ryder pass and shovelled it past Ryan Miller as the Bruins defeated the Sabres 3-2 in a double OT thriller in Game 4 on Wednesday. The Bruins won that game as -125 favorites, while the five goals went as a PUSH against the posted over/under (5).
David Krejci scored on the power play, while Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who now lead 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Tim Kennedy and Steve Montador tallied for the Sabres, while Ryan Miller made 36 saves in the loss.
Team records:
Boston: 39-30-13
Buffalo: 45-27-10
Boston most recently:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing Ottawa are 3-7
After playing Buffalo are 9-1
After a win are 5-5
Buffalo most recently:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Colorado are 7-3
After playing Boston are 4-6
After a loss are 5-5
A few trends to consider:
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Boston's last 13 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
Boston is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games at home
Buffalo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Buffalo's last 13 games when playing at home against Boston
Buffalo is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing at home against Boston
Next up:
Buffalo at Boston, Monday, April 26
Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
The Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at Verizon Center.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice in leading the Capitals to a 6-3 win over the Canadiens Wednesday night in Game 4, and now lead the best-of-seven first-round series 3-1. The Capitals won the game as -190 favorites, and the nine goals sailed OVER the posted over/under (6) set by sportsbooks.
Mike Knuble also scored a pair for the Capitals, while Jason Chimera and Nicklas Backstrom added singles. Semyon Varlamov stopped 36 shots for the win.
Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, and Dominic Moore scored for the Canadiens, who were +170 underdogs in that game.
Team records:
Montreal: 39-33-10
Washington: 54-15-13
Montreal most recently:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Washington are 4-6
After playing Washington are 1-9
After a loss are 3-7
Washington most recently:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Calgary are 4-6
After playing Montreal are 6-4
After a win are 7-3
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Montreal's last 7 games
Montreal is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Montreal is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Washington
Montreal is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
Washington is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 7 games
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Montreal
Next up:
Washington at Montreal, Monday, April 26
Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks
The Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks will both be trying to pick up a win on Friday when they battle at General Motors Place.
The Canucks scored four goals in the third period and rallied for a 6-4 win over the Kings on Wednesday, tying the best-of-seven first-round series at two games apiece. The Canucks won Game 4 as -125 favorites, while the 10 goals sailed OVER the night?s posted over/under (5).
Christian Ehrhoff, Pavol Demitra, Mikael Samuelsson, Sami Salo, Henrik Sedin, and Ryan Kesler tallied for the Canucks.
Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Wayne Simmonds answered for the Kings in the loss.
Team records:
Los Angeles: 46-27-9
Vancouver: 49-28-5
Los Angeles most recently:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Dallas are 3-7
After playing Vancouver are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5
Vancouver most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing San Jose are 6-4
After playing Los Angeles are 5-5
After a win are 3-7
A few trends to consider:
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 7 games on the road
Los Angeles is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing Vancouver
Vancouver is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Vancouver's last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Vancouver is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games at home
Next up:
Vancouver at Los Angeles, Sunday, April 25
Detroit Red Wings vs. Phoenix Coyotes
The fans at Jobing.com Arena will be treated to a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Phoenix Coyotes when they take their seats on Friday.
Jimmy Howard stopped all 29 shots he faced to earn the shutout, as the Red Wings dumped the Coyotes 3-0 to even their Western Conference quarterfinals series at two games apiece on Tuesday night.
Detroit won as -230 home favorites, while the teams played UNDER the 5-goal total set by oddsmakers.
Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, who also got a marker from Pavel Datsyuk in the win.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 32 saves in a losing effort for Phoenix.
Team records:
Detroit: 44-24-14
Phoenix: 50-25-7
Detroit most recently:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Edmonton are 8-2
After playing Phoenix are 4-6
After a win are 7-3
Phoenix most recently:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Chicago are 5-5
After playing Detroit are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Detroit is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games
Detroit is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games when playing Phoenix
Detroit is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Detroit is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Phoenix is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 7 games at home
Phoenix is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games
Phoenix is 5-15 SU in its last 20 games when playing Detroit
Next up:
Phoenix at Detroit, Sunday, April 25
BOSTON (42-31-0-13, 97 pts.) at BUFFALO (46-30-0-10, 102 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 13-11 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 13-11-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
15 of 22 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+6.8 Units)
MONTREAL (40-35-0-11, 91 pts.) at WASHINGTON (57-16-0-13, 127 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 10-6 (+0.5 Units) against the spread versus MONTREAL over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 10-6-0 straight up against MONTREAL over the last 3 seasons
9 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.4 Units)
LOS ANGELES (48-28-0-10, 106 pts.) at VANCOUVER (51-29-0-6, 108 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 7-9 (+0.6 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 9-7-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
8 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.0 Units)
DETROIT (46-26-0-14, 106 pts.) at PHOENIX (52-27-0-7, 111 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 11-5 (+2.7 Units) against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 11-5-0 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.4 Units)
BOSTON vs. BUFFALO
Boston is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 7 games on the road
Buffalo is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games at home
MONTREAL vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Montreal's last 7 games
Montreal is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Washington
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Montreal
Washington is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
DETROIT vs. PHOENIX
Detroit is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games
Detroit is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games
Phoenix is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
LOS ANGELES vs. VANCOUVER
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Los Angeles is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Eastern Conference Playoffs - First Round - Best of 7 - Game 5 - BOS 3-1
BOSTON at BUFFALO
BOSTON: 15-3 SU after BB division games
BUFFALO: 4-13 SU after allowing 2+ goals in the third period
Eastern Conference Playoffs - First Round - Best of 7 - Game 5 - WAS 3-1
MONTREAL at WASHINGTON
MONTREAL: 14-3 SU after having lost 5 or 6 of their last 7
WASHINGTON: 8-14 SU at home in the first round of the playoffs
Western Conference Playoffs - First Round - Best of 7 - Game 5 - Tied 2-2
LOS ANGELES at VANCOUVER
LOS ANGELES: 7-0 SU after allowing 6+ goals
VANCOUVER: 1-6 SU in the 5th game of a playoff series
Western Conference Playoffs - First Round - Best of 7 - Game 5 - Tied 2-2
DETROIT at PHOENIX
DETROIT: 1-6 SU Away when playing with 2 days rest
PHOENIX: 8-1 SU as a home underdog