Sunday's Best NHL Bets
Phoenix Coyotes at Detroit Red Wings (-215, 5)
The Coyotes’ offense has gone quiet. They’ve scored just one goal in the last two games against the Wings (both losses) and haven’t scored a power play in any of their last 18 tries.
The man earning all the praise is Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. The Calder Trophy nominee raised his game after surrendering 11 goals in the first three contests in the series.
Howard came up with numerous big saves in a Game 5 win at Phoenix, including two early in the third period which could have changed the outlook of the game.
"I'm having fun out there," Howard told the Associated Press after the win. "This is the time of the year it's fun. You leave everything out there on the ice every single night, and it's been a blast. I sort of cherish it out there."
Phoenix’s attack hasn’t been nearly as energetic since captain Shane Doan went down with a lower body injury. Look for the Wings to finish off the Coyotes at home on Sunday.
Pick: Red Wings
Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings (+113, 5.5)
The Canucks delivered their best performance of the postseason with a 7-2 win over the Kings in Game 5 of their first round series. The victory was huge for the Canucks who weren’t playing at the same level they displayed in the regular season.
L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick got yanked and after the game Kings coach Terry Murray didn’t pull any punches.
"You can't sugarcoat that. The goaltending wasn't good enough," Murray told the Los Angeles Daily News.
And while Murray still defended Quick and said he would still be the starter moving forward, the young netminder didn’t take all the blame for the setback.
“It just wasn't a great team effort,” said Quick. “We didn't put our best game out on the ice tonight. It's one of those games where we have to win two more. It's one game. We just have to win two in a row. We know what we have to do. We've done it before.”
The over looks like the best play in this game. Dating back to the regular season, the over is 8-1-1 in Vancouver’s last 10 games.
Pick: Over
Phoenix Coyotes vs. Detroit Red Wings
The Phoenix Coyotes and the Detroit Red Wings will both be trying to pick up a win on Sunday when they battle at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings scored three times in the third period as they took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal by defeating the Coyotes 4-1 on Friday. The Red Wings won that game as -130 favorites, while the five goals went as a PUSH against the posted over/under (5).
Drew Miller, Tomas Holmstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg tallied for the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard turned away 30 shots in picking up the victory.
Ed Jovanovski scored the lone goal for the Coyotes.
Team records:
Phoenix: 50-25-7
Detroit: 44-24-14
Phoenix most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Chicago are 5-5
After playing Detroit are 4-6
After a loss are 5-5
Detroit most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Edmonton are 8-2
After playing Phoenix are 5-5
After a win are 7-3
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Phoenix's last 18 games on the road
Phoenix is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games
Phoenix is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Phoenix is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Detroit is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
Detroit is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Detroit is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games
Detroit is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games when playing Phoenix
Next up:
Detroit at Phoenix, Tuesday, April 27
Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
The Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings will both be gunning for a victory on Sunday when they meet at STAPLES Center.
Steve Bernier and Mikael Samuelsson scored twice as the Canucks ran over the Kings 7-2 on Friday and now lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series. The Canucks won that game as -180 favorites, while the nine goals sailed OVER the posted over/under (5.5).
Michal Handzus and Fredrik Modin tallied for the Kings.
Team records:
Vancouver: 49-28-5
Los Angeles: 46-27-9
Vancouver most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing San Jose are 6-4
After playing Los Angeles are 6-4
After a win are 4-6
Los Angeles most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Dallas are 3-7
After playing Vancouver are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Vancouver's last 11 games
Vancouver is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Los Angeles
Vancouver is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing Vancouver
Los Angeles is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing Vancouver
Los Angeles is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home
Next up:
Los Angeles at Vancouver, Tuesday, April 27
PHOENIX (52-28-0-7, 111 pts.) at DETROIT (47-26-0-14, 108 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 12-5 (+3.7 Units) against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 12-5-0 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)
VANCOUVER (52-29-0-6, 110 pts.) at LOS ANGELES (48-29-0-10, 106 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 10-7-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
8 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.3 Units, Under=-1.3 Units)
PHOENIX vs. DETROIT
Phoenix is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Phoenix is 5-16 SU in its last 21 games when playing Detroit
Detroit is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Detroit is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games when playing Phoenix
VANCOUVER vs. LOS ANGELES
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games on the road
Vancouver is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing Vancouver
Western Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Six (Detroit Leads, 3-2)
PHOENIX at DETROIT
PHOENIX: 10-2 SU off BB losses
DETROIT: 14-6 Under after allowing 1 or 0 goals
Western Conference Playoffs
First Round, Game Six (Vancouver Leads, 3-2)
(TC) VANCOUVER at LOS ANGELES
VANCOUVER: 3-9 SU off BB wins by 2+ goals
LOS ANGELES: 7-1 SU after allowing 6+ goals