Monday's Best NHL Bets
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins (-135, 5)
What happens when an offensively challenged club loses its top sniper? The Buffalo Sabres are about to find out.
Buffalo winger Thomas Vanek left in the first period of Game 2 against the Bruins after he took a slash to his leg and crashed into the boards.
The Sabres aren’t giving any details about the extent of the injury but if you were watching the game you didn’t need a doctor’s diagnosis. Vanek struggled to put any weight on the leg and crumbled while trying to get to the bench.
"Our key offensive guys without Thomas there are going to have to be the guys to make the big plays," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff told the Buffalo News. "You have to have some depth to that scoring but at the same time, the key guys have to make a difference."
Well, that’s great and all but you can’t ask skill-less hacks like Mike Grier to start cashing in at the offensive end. (Grier replaced Vanek’s spot on Buffalo’s No. 1 line).
No, the best bet is on a low-scoring game like the one bettors saw in Game 1. Sure the Bruins scored five goals on Saturday, but two of those goals came from a defenseman and two others came from underachiever Michael Ryder.
Expect Ryan Miller to bounce back with a big effort and Buffalo to execute a conservative game plan.
Pick: Under
Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings (+100, 5)
The Los Angeles Kings have scored five goals in the first two games in their opening round playoff series against the Canucks. Four of those markers came with a man advantage, including Game 2’s overtime winner.
“It was the wrong call,” Canucks bench boss Alain Vigneault told the Vancouver Sun after the loss.
Vigneault’s boys were called for too many men on the ice because the puck hit a Vancouver player heading for the bench. It wasn’t any fluke either. Los Angeles defenseman Scuderi took advantage of the opportunity.
“That's a veteran player who's been through the playoffs and he recognized the situation," Kings coach Terry Murray said. "The puck was on his stick, he knew there were too many men and he puts it right back to their bench. That's as good a read that was made maybe all night long by anybody on the ice.”
Even if the Canucks have a beef with the cheeky overtime call, they can’t defend all the other stupid penalties they’ve taken in this series.
“It's inexcusable,” Vancouver forward Ryan Kesler told reporters after the game. “We're taking a lot of undisciplined penalties. If we're going to win this series, we're going to have to stay out of the box.”
A tiger doesn’t change its stripes. Vancouver was one of the most penalized team during the regular season.
Pick: Over
Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens
The Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens will both be trying to pick up a win on Monday when they battle at Bell Centre.
Nicklas Backstrom scored 31 seconds into overtime as the Capitals came back from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Canadiens 6-5 on Saturday in overtime and even the Eastern Conference best-of-seven at a game apiece. The Capitals won that game as -330 favorites, while the 11 goals sailed OVER the posted over/under (6) set by sportsbooks.
Backstrom finished with a hat trick, while singles came from Alexander Ovechkin, Eric Fehr, and John Carlson.
Andrei Kostitsyn potted a hat trick for the Canadiens, while Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec added singles in the loss.
Team records:
Washington: 54-15-13
Montreal: 39-33-10
Washington most recently:
When playing on Monday are 7-3
Before playing Calgary are 4-6
After playing Montreal are 4-6
After a win are 6-4
Montreal most recently:
When playing on Monday are 3-7
Before playing Washington are 4-6
After playing Washington are 3-7
After a loss are 5-5
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
Washington is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
Washington is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Washington's last 18 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Montreal's last 6 games at home
Montreal is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
Next up:
Montreal home to Washington, Wednesday, April 21
Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins
The division rival Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins are set to renew hostilities on Monday when they meet at TD Garden.
The Bruins evened their first-round series at 1-1 with a 5-3 win over the Sabres at HSBC Arena Saturday afternoon.
Boston won as a +145 road underdog while the final score played OVER the 5-goal total.
The Bruins got a big game from defenseman Zdeno Chara, who netted two goals. Also scoring for Boston was veteran Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder, who also scored twice. Goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots in the win.
The Sabres got a surprising off day from goaltender Ryan Miller, who turned away 26 of the 30 shots on goal. Tyler Myers and Matt Ellis gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead in the first period while Jason Pominville put it up 3-2 heading into the third period.
Team records:
Buffalo: 45-27-10
Boston: 39-30-13
Buffalo most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing Colorado are 7-3
After playing Boston are 5-5
After a loss are 6-4
Boston most recently:
When playing on Monday are 7-3
Before playing Ottawa are 3-7
After playing Buffalo are 8-2
After a win are 3-7
A few trends to consider:
Buffalo is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Boston
Buffalo is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston's last 9 games
Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Buffalo
Boston is 5-14 SU in its last 19 games at home
Next up:
Boston home to Buffalo, Wednesday, April 21
Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
The Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings will both be gunning for a victory on Monday when they meet at STAPLES Center.
Anze Kopitar scored at 7:28 of overtime to give the Kings a 3-2 win over the Canucks on Saturday to even the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series. The Kings won the game as +160 underdogs, while the five goals went as a PUSH against that game's posted over/under (5).
Fredrik Modin and Wayne Simmonds also tallied for the Kings. Stever Bernier and Mikael Samuelsson answered for the Canucks.
Team records:
Vancouver: 49-28-5
Los Angeles: 46-27-9
Vancouver most recently:
When playing on Monday are 5-5
Before playing San Jose are 6-4
After playing Los Angeles are 5-5
After a loss are 8-2
Los Angeles most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing Dallas are 3-7
After playing Vancouver are 6-4
After a win are 3-7
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Vancouver's last 13 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Vancouver's last 8 games
Vancouver is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Los Angeles's last 11 games when playing Vancouver
Los Angeles is 5-8-2 SU in its last 15 games ,when playing at home against Vancouver
Los Angeles is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Vancouver
Next up:
Los Angeles home to Vancouver, Wednesday, April 21
BUFFALO (46-29-0-9, 101 pts.) at BOSTON (40-31-0-13, 93 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 11-11-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
14 of 21 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+5.8 Units)
WASHINGTON (55-16-0-13, 123 pts.) at MONTREAL (40-33-0-11, 91 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 8-6-0 straight up against MONTREAL 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)
VANCOUVER (50-28-0-6, 106 pts.) at LOS ANGELES (47-27-0-10, 104 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 6-8 (+0.6 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 8-6-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.1 Units)
BUFFALO vs. BOSTON
Buffalo is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Buffalo is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Boston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Buffalo
WASHINGTON vs. MONTREAL
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Washington's last 18 games on the road
Washington is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Montreal is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Montreal's last 6 games at home
VANCOUVER vs. LOS ANGELES
Vancouver is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Vancouver's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver
Los Angeles is 5-8-2 SU in its last 15 games ,when playing at home against Vancouver
Eastern Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Three (Series Tied, 1-1)
BUFFALO at BOSTON
BUFFALO: 6-0 SU away with a total of 5 goals or less
BOSTON: 1-9 SU when tied in a playoff series
Eastern Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Three (Series Tied, 1-1)
WASHINGTON at MONTREAL
WASHINGTON: 15-5 SU away off 3+ games with 33+ shots on goal
MONTREAL: 20-33 SU after allowing 4+ goals
Western Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Three (Series Tied, 1-1)
VANCOUVER at LOS ANGELES
VANCOUVER: 18-6 SU playing with same-season revenge
LOS ANGELES: 4-11 SU at home after winning 2 of their last 3 games