NHL on NBC: Bruins at Capitals
By JON KUIPERIJ
Two playoff-bound squads will get their last regular-season tuneup when the Bruins face the Capitals in Washington Sunday afternoon.
There was talk about this matchup being a first-round playoff preview, but Boston will not finish any lower than seventh in the East Conference standings. Washington will likely face the winner of Sunday's Flyers-Rangers game in the opening round of the playoffs.
Headed to the dance
Boston finally locked up a playoff spot Saturday afternoon with a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes.
The Bruins scored three shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill early in the second period to build a 3-0 lead. Carolina cut the Boston lead to 3-2 before the second intermission, but the Bruins iced the game and their postseason berth with an empty-netter by Milan Lucic.
Boston has been banged up badly in recent weeks. The Bruins have lost play-making centre Marc Savard and defensemen Mark Stuart, Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg to injury since the end of April.
"They might... bring up all of Providence to play," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said Saturday before knowing the Bruins had clinched a playoff spot. "They've gotten a few injuries."
Some incentive
The Capitals clinched top spot in the NHL standings long ago, but they do have a few things to play for Sunday.
A victory would set a franchise record for home wins in a season (31), while forward Alexander Ovechkin is trying to win both the Rocket Richard (most goals) and Art Ross (most points) trophies.
In addition, forward Alexander Semin is shooting for his 40th goal of the year and defenseman Mike Green is seeking his 20th marker.
The Caps are also looking to tighten up their game heading into the playoffs. Last year, Washington ended the campaign with a 7-4 loss in Florida and players felt the defeat had lingering effects in the postseason.
"We've been trying to play a different game as far as defensively and play strong going into the playoffs," Green said. "Last year we lost 7-4 to Florida going into the playoffs and then our first game of the playoffs was not very good. If we can play a solid game (Sunday) and lead into the playoffs, that's what we want to do."
OT for OV?
Ovechkin might see some extra ice time Sunday as he tries to finish the season with the most points and goals in the league.
The Russian sniper held a one-point lead over Vancouver's Henrik Sedin and a one-goal lead over Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby in those departments, going into Saturday's action.
Sedin and the Canucks play their final game Saturday night so Ovechkin will know how many points he needs before taking the ice Sunday. Crosby and the Penguins play both Saturday and Sunday.
"It is what it is, and I think anybody who follows hockey knows that it is pretty close in some individual stuff," said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who played Ovechkin more than 23 minutes Friday against Atlanta. "If you can help your players to get to that point without hurting the team, then I think it is prudent as a coach to let them try."
Recent meetings
Washington has won the first three meetings with Boston this season, outscoring the Bruins 11-4 in the process.
The Capitals defeated Boston 3-2 in a shootout Monday.
The home team has won nine of the last 12 games in the series and the under is 33-15-4 in the last 52 meetings. Boston is 0-5 in its last five games in Washington.
Sunday's Best NHL Bets
Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks
For hockey fans in Anaheim, all 10 of them, this is probably the last time they’ll get to see Ducks mainstays like Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer in the home jersey.
Anaheim has missed the postseason, finishing no better than tied for 10th in the Western Conference, and will likely implode the current roster, bidding farewell to vets like Selanne and Niedermayer.
Those two players, as well as Saku Koivu and the injured Ryan Getzlaf, didn’t even make the trip to St. Louis for Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Blues. That game was the Ducks’ third straight loss heading into the season finale with the Oilers, who are coming off back-to-back wins heading into Saturday’s tilt with the Los Angeles Kings.
"I think (Selanne and Neidermayer) both have a lot left in the tank as they've shown over the last couple of weeks," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle told the media. "As a coach you'd love to see them come back.
"I'm not in their shoes and I don't feel the aches and pain they do in the morning and I don't know what they're going through when they wake up in the morning. They have the right to make their own decisions."
Depending on the veterans’ motivation for this swan song, the Ducks could fall flat in this emotional matchup. Bettors are getting great value in an Edmonton team trying to save face after a terrible season.
Pick: Edmonton
Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks can sew up the top spot in the Western Conference with a win over the rival Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
Chicago is currently tied with the San Jose Sharks, each with 111 points in a bid for home-ice advantage through to the conference final. The Sharks face the Phoenix Coyotes in their season finale Saturday and must hope for a Blackhawks loss Sunday with the tie breaker going to wins. As of Saturday, Chicago has 52 wins to San Jose’s 50.
The Blackhawks picked up their sixth win in a row and avoided a meeting with the Red Wings in the opening round of the postseason. That’s a big turnaround from the team that stumbled in the middle of March, nearly letting a shot at the West’s best record slip away.
"We worked really hard to get out of that hole and we were struggling a little bit," center Jonathan Toews told CBC Sports. "We knew it was still a reality to finish first in the conference, now we've got one game left to accomplish that."
Chicago is scoring in bunches during this winning run. It’s averaged more than four goals per game in that span, including scoring five goals in a 5-2 win at Colorado Friday night. The Blackhawks are one of the best home teams in hockey, with a 29-8-1-2 record inside the United Center.
Pick: Chicago
DETROIT (43-24-0-14, 100 pts.) at CHICAGO (52-22-0-7, 111 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 11-13 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 13-11-0 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
11 of 22 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.6 Units, Under=-1.5 Units)
LOS ANGELES (45-27-0-9, 99 pts.) at COLORADO (43-30-0-8, 94 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 43-38 ATS (+3.0 Units) in all games this season.
COLORADO is 30-29 ATS (+0.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 21-13 ATS (+36.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
COLORADO is 1-9 ATS (-9.6 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs this season.
COLORADO is 78-79 ATS (-77.4 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
COLORADO is 7-4 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
COLORADO is 7-4-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.0 Units)
BOSTON (38-30-0-13, 89 pts.) at WASHINGTON (54-16-0-11, 119 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 8-3 (+5.2 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 8-3-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
9 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+6.8 Units)
NY RANGERS (38-33-0-10, 86 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (40-35-0-6, 86 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 41-41 ATS (-14.9 Units) in all games this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 5-9 ATS (-8.6 Units) in home games after a division game this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 14-22 ATS (-16.3 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 12-7 (+4.9 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 12-7-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
10 of 19 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.8 Units)
PITTSBURGH (46-28-0-7, 99 pts.) at NY ISLANDERS (34-38-0-9, 77 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 14-5 (+6.0 Units) against the spread versus NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 14-5-0 straight up against NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
10 of 19 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.5 Units)
TAMPA BAY (33-36-0-12, 78 pts.) at FLORIDA (32-36-0-13, 77 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 57-104 ATS (+186.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 6-19 ATS (+32.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
TAMPA BAY is 2-12 ATS (+17.0 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 28-48 ATS (+77.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 4-17 ATS (+27.8 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 44-40 ATS (+2.2 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 111-127 ATS (+254.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
FLORIDA is 232-260 ATS (+534.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
FLORIDA is 115-140 ATS (-56.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 10-9-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
12 of 19 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.0 Units)
BUFFALO (45-27-0-9, 99 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (47-27-0-7, 101 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 6-5 (+0.8 Units) against the spread versus BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY is 6-5-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
8 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+5.7 Units)
EDMONTON (27-46-0-8, 62 pts.) at ANAHEIM (38-33-0-10, 86 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 2-18 ATS (+41.6 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 14-36 ATS (+68.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
ANAHEIM is 52-46 ATS (+101.6 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 17-10 ATS (+29.5 Units) on Sunday games over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
EDMONTON is 5-6 (+1.6 Units) against the spread versus ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 6-5-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.8 Units)
BOSTON vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Boston's last 9 games when playing Washington
Boston is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Washington's last 9 games when playing Boston
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
DETROIT vs. CHICAGO
Detroit is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games on the road
Chicago is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games
LOS ANGELES vs. COLORADO
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Los Angeles's last 9 games when playing on the road against Colorado
Los Angeles is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Colorado's last 9 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
NY RANGERS vs. PHILADELPHIA
NY Rangers are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games when playing Philadelphia
NY Rangers are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games on the road
Philadelphia is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
BUFFALO vs. NEW JERSEY
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing New Jersey
Buffalo is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New Jersey's last 9 games when playing at home against Buffalo
PITTSBURGH vs. NY ISLANDERS
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
Pittsburgh is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games when playing NY Islanders
NY Islanders are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Islanders last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
TAMPA BAY vs. FLORIDA
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Tampa Bay's last 11 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Florida is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Florida's last 12 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
EDMONTON vs. ANAHEIM
Edmonton is 2-21 SU in its last 23 games on the road
Edmonton is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Anaheim's last 6 games
Anaheim is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Edmonton