Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Monday, May 11
Washington at Pittsburgh (7 p.m. EDT). The host Penguins can advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year with a Game 6 win over the Capitals.
STARS
Sunday
— Tim Thomas(notes), Bruins, stopped 19 shots for his first NHL playoff shutout and Boston stayed alive by beating Carolina 4-0 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
— Johan Franzen(notes), Red Wings, scored his sixth goal in six playoff games to help Detroit beat Anaheim 4-1 and grab a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
— Phil Kessel(notes), Bruins, scored twice to help Boston top Carolina 4-0.
HURRICANE PUNCH
Boston Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward(notes) left Sunday night’s playoff game with what team doctors fear is a broken orbital bone after he was punched by Carolina’s Scott Walker(notes). Bruins coach Claude Julien asked the NHL to look into the play. Ward left the game with 2:47 remaining after Walker punched him in the face. Walker was given a misconduct, a fighting major and an instigator penalty.
STILL ON TOP
Russia defended its gold medal at the world championship, beating Canada 2-1 on Sunday in a rematch of last year’s final. Oleg Saprykin(notes) had a tying, power-play goal in the first period and Alex Radulov scored late in the second for Russia. The Ottawa Senators’ Jason Spezza(notes) gave Canada the early lead. Sweden won the bronze medal, beating the United States 4-2 earlier Sunday.
SPEAKING
“When we keep the speed up and put the pucks behind their ‘D,’ it’s going to be hard for them to create something. If we keep doing that the next game, I think we have a good chance to win.”—Red Wings forward Johan Franzen, who scored a goal in Detroit’s 4-0 win over Anaheim on Sunday that gave his club a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin scored the game-winning goal at 3:28 of overtime to give the Penguins a 4-3 win over the Capitals on Saturday, and they now lead the best-of-seven series 3-2.
The Penguins won that game as +130 underdogs, while the seven goals made it OVER the posted over/under (5.5).
Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Matt Cooke scored in regulation for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 shots in the victory.
Alexander Ovechkin scored a pair of goals for the Capitals, and Nicklas Backstrom added the other marker. Simeon Varlamov made 38 saves in a losing effort.
Team records:
Washington: 50-24-8
Pittsburgh: 45-28-9
Washington most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing Calgary are 4-6
After playing Pittsburgh are 4-6
After a loss are 5-5
Pittsburgh most recently:
When playing on Monday are 7-3
Before playing Ottawa are 6-4
After playing Washington are 8-2
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Washington's last 9 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Washington's last 15 games on the road
Washington is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games at home
Pittsburgh is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Washington
Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks put the Canucks on the brink of elimination by coming away with a 4-2 win in the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday, as +130 underdogs.
The Blackhawks won the game as +130 underdogs, while the six goals went as a PUSH against the posted over/under (5).
Dustin Byfuglien led the Blackhawks with a pair of goals, while Dave Bolland scored a power play goal for the winner, and Martin Havlat added an empty-net marker.
Ryan Kesler and Mats Sundin replied for the Canucks, who were favored at -150.
Team records:
Vancouver: 45-27-10
Chicago: 46-24-12
Vancouver most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing San Jose are 6-4
After playing Chicago are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4
Chicago most recently:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Edmonton are 7-3
After playing Vancouver are 8-2
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Vancouver is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Vancouver is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
Vancouver is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Vancouver is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games at home
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Chicago is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games
WASHINGTON (56-28-0-10, 122 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (52-32-0-9, 113 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 19-6 ATS (+10.7 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
PITTSBURGH is 74-46 ATS (+0.4 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 22-12 ATS (+8.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 24-9 ATS (+9.6 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
WASHINGTON is 7-1 ATS (+8.7 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive losses over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 49-32 ATS (+86.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 11-6 (+5.2 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 11-6-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
11 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.4 Units)
VANCOUVER (51-29-0-11, 113 pts.) at CHICAGO (53-29-0-11, 117 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 37-22 ATS (+60.7 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 25-12 ATS (+8.7 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
CHICAGO is 48-41 ATS (+5.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 9-2 ATS (+11.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
VANCOUVER is 139-130 ATS (+282.0 Units) in road games second half of the season since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 10-7 ATS (+20.2 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 10-7 (+0.4 Units) against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 10-7-0 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
9 of 14 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.8 Units)
WASHINGTON vs. PITTSBURGH
Washington is 5-20 SU in its last 25 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 9 games when playing Washington
VANCOUVER vs. CHICAGO
Vancouver is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Vancouver is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games
Chicago is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games
NHL Playoffs
Four of five Washington-Pittsburgh games were decided by a single goal, with Penguins winning last three, after losing first two. Caps lost Games 3-4 here, 3-2ot/5-3. Pens are 5-25 on power play in series (45:31), a lot longer than Washington (4-15, 23:09) has had the man advantage. Over is 9-2-1 in last twelve series games. Penguins outshot Washington 56-35 in third period in this series. Caps are 2-3 on road so far in playoffs.
Canucks have 21-21-15-21 shots on goal in last four games; road team is 3-2 in series, but in last three games, Vancover has managed total of only 16 shots on goal in third period. Chicago is up 3-2 in series despite not having led any of the games after first period. Blackhawks are 4-23 with man advantage in series (38:56); Canucks are 6-21 (32:21). Chicago won Game 5 in last 5:00, after winning Game 4 in OT. Cancuks are 3-1 on the road so far in playoffs- they need win here, or their season is over.