What bettors need to know: Hockey Night In Canada
By DUSTIN NIELSON
Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers (-140, 5.5)
Staying alive
The Philadelphia Flyers played with their backs against the wall in Game 5 and the Penguins simply looked overmatched.
"There's no more excitement and challenge to be down in a series and know there's no tomorrow," Flyers goalie Martin Biron, who made 28 saves in the 3-0 win, told reporters.
Rookie Claude Giroux continued his impressive play with a goal. He says the Flyers were more excited to win than nervous to lose.
Of the 229 teams to trail a series 3 to 1, only 20 have managed to come back win the series in seven games.
Benching of Sykora
Petr Sykora found out at practice prior to Game 5 that he would be replaced in the lineup by Miroslav Satan. The decision by coach Dan Bylsma was quite a shock to Sykora.
“I'm surprised," Sykora told the press. "He just told me before practice that I'm not playing. Honestly, that's about it."
Sykora has scored just two goals in his past 21 games. His struggles could be linked directly to the acquisitions of Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. Sykora says he will wait patiently until he gets his chance in the lineup again and hopes when he does return he will get more ice time.
Miroslav Satan played just over nine minutes and had two shots on goal.
Answering the call
Martin Biron turned in a 28-save performance and was named first star in Game 5. Flyers head coach John Stevens said the message sent before the game was that Biron had to be great.
“With Marty playing like he did, he allowed us to regroup between periods," Stevens told reporters. "He really gave us a shot of confidence that allowed us to get back to playing."
The Flyers will need a repeat performance from Biron Saturday. His counterpart, Marc-Andre Fleury, was brilliant in his last game in Philly. In Game 4, Fleury made 45 saves to help the Penguins take a 3-1 series lead.
Penguins look for more
The Pittsburgh Penguins knew heading into Game 5 that they would have at least three chances to finish off the Flyers and it showed in their play.
Penguin’s defenseman Sergei Gonchar says it’s good to know his team didn’t play their best game because it leaves room for improvement heading into game six.
"They're a good hockey team," Sidney Crosby told the media. "Do we expect to come out here and dominate a game? Probably not, but we expect a little more of ourselves."
Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks (-220, 5)
The masked man
With Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe winner J.S. Giguere sitting on the bench, Ducks starting goalie Jonas Hiller is putting together an MVP performance of his own.
Hiller has stopped 139 of the 145 shots the Sharks have fired his way. He was perfect in Game 4, making 31 saves and credits his defense for letting him see the puck.
"They almost had no chance for rebounds," Hiller said to the press. "I saw the puck quite well, I think everybody knows the fourth game is the most difficult to win.”
At the other end of the ice, Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who has a save percentage below .900, needs to play better if the Sharks have any chance of coming back to win the series.
Hello, Joe?
Joe Thornton was run out Boston because he couldn’t lead that team to any kind of postseason success. And now the same thing is happening in San Jose.
Thornton has just two assists and is minus four through the first four games. Thornton has found regular season success in his career, averaging over a point per game. But the playoffs are another story. In 74 career postseason games he has just 11 goals and 50 points.
Sharks bench boss Todd McLellan hasn’t singled out anybody and says Thornton, Marleau, Pavelski, Michalek and Clowe all need to be better.
Rookie star
The Ducks have always been good at developing from within, with guys like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry being cornerstones of the organization. Bobby Ryan is proving his name belongs on that list as well.
After scoring 31 goals in just over 60 games this season the rookie has continued to find the back of the net, with four goals in four playoff games. For a young player, Ryan is doing a good job staying focused on the team game.
"I don't think the Sharks expected this," Ryan told the media. "We have said all along we're not your typical eight seed. We think we belong in that upper echelon in the Western Conference.”
The line of Ryan, Getlzaf and Perry has combined for 11 points in the series.
Saturday's Playoff Slate
By Judd Hall
The competition during the first round of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs hasn’t been as strong as many would have hoped with three sweeps. This Saturday’s action is a different creature as we have a pair of series that can be wrapped up, while another is a pivotal Game 5 with both clubs tied at two wins apiece.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh blew a perfect opportunity to make the kill on the Flyers last Thursday. The Pens were at Mellon Arena, a place where they were 25-13-4 during the regular season. And they were listed as $2.00 home favorites…Doesn’t get closer to a sure thing more than that.
What the Penguins didn’t expect is Martin Biron to play the game of his life. Philadelphia’s netminder stuffed all 28 shots the Penguins fired his way, seven of which coming on the power play. That helped the Flyers give a handsome return of plus-170 (risk $100 to win $170), 3-0.
The sportsbook fully expect a Game 7 here as they have installed Philly as a $1.40 home “chalk” with a total of 5 ½.
Before the Flyer fans get all worked up into a lather, they need to be brought down to Earth. And the only way to do that is give a sobering stat. Philadelphia has lost its last six matches following up a victory. And you can’t say that’s a fluke as the Flyers have gone 22-23 for both the regular season and postseason.
You’ll be able to catch this game on NBC at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Calgary Flames at Chicago Blackhawks
Young teams making their first trips to the playoffs historically don’t do well. The Penguins faltered in 2007 against Ottawa before reaching the Stanley Cup Final. Both the Blues and Blue Jackets proved that this season as well by getting swept by Vancouver and Detroit, respectively.
Chicago was able to buck that trend against the Flames thanks to playing it first two games at the United Center. The Blackhawks did hold their own in Game 4 of the series, coming back from a 4-1 deficit before losing 6-4.
The Blackhawks still have a “Calgary Killer” in Nikolai Khabibulin, who isn’t as solid as normal with a 3.29 goals against average and 88.3 save percentage versus the Flames in the playoffs.
Something the ‘Hawks will definitely benefit from in this game is home ice. How big is that? Well Chicago had four times where they had lost two straight on the road before heading to the UC. And they went 3-1 in that tilt to get off the schneid.
You’ll be able to catch this game on the NHL Center Ice package at 9:00 p.m. EDT.
Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks
I knew playing the Ducks wasn’t the best draw for top seed San Jose to get in the opening round, but this is ridiculous.
The Sharks were in a must win situation on Thursday night at the Honda Center as $1.45 road favorites. But they were beaten down by Anaheim’s physical play, Bobby Ryan’s two goals and Jonas Hiller’s insanely good goaltending as they lost 4-0.
Now San Jose returns to Silicon Valley down 3-1 in the best-of-seven as a 2.10 home “chalk” with a total of five.
History dictates that the Sharks won’t be making the comeback as they’re 4-9 in elimination games. Bettors should take not as the ‘under’ is 8-2-3 in those contests.
Versus will broadcast this game at 10:00 p.m. EDT.
vegasinsider.com
PITTSBURGH (48-30-0-9, 105 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (46-29-0-12, 104 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 70-44 ATS (+13.7 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 30-13 ATS (+13.6 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 24-9 ATS (+14.7 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 18-10 ATS (+6.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 11-16 ATS (-19.4 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 22-10 (+10.3 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 22-10-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
19 of 30 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.3 Units)
CALGARY (48-31-0-7, 103 pts.) at CHICAGO (48-27-0-11, 107 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
CALGARY is 3-9 ATS (-7.5 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
CHICAGO is 13-6 ATS (+5.4 Units) in April games over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 26-13 ATS (+43.1 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 23-10 ATS (+6.6 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
CALGARY is 26-18 ATS (+45.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 10-6 (+6.7 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 10-6-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
7 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.2 Units)
ANAHEIM (45-34-0-7, 97 pts.) at SAN JOSE (54-21-0-11, 119 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
ANAHEIM is 15-10 ATS (+27.4 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
ANAHEIM is 8-2 ATS (+10.6 Units) on Saturday games this season.
ANAHEIM is 22-8 ATS (+12.6 Units) when leading in a playoff series since 1996.
ANAHEIM is 27-17 ATS (+44.1 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 8-5 ATS (+15.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 25-24 ATS (-17.3 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 1-4 ATS (-9.4 Units) in home games in April games this season.
SAN JOSE is 26-23 ATS (-21.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 16-17 ATS (-22.4 Units) in home games vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 32-32 ATS (-25.1 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 15-15 ATS (-13.8 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 6-12 ATS (-13.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 15-11 (+5.8 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 15-11-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
16 of 23 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+7.6 Units)
PITTSBURGH vs. PHILADELPHIA
Pittsburgh is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 9 games at home
Philadelphia is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
CALGARY vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Calgary's last 11 games
Calgary is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Calgary
Chicago is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Calgary
ANAHEIM vs. SAN JOSE
Anaheim is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Anaheim's last 22 games when playing San Jose
San Jose is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Anaheim
San Jose is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Anaheim