Sunday's Best NHL Bets
San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanche
The Avs hope to avoid a five-game losing streak while clinging onto the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"The ball's in our court," goalie Craig Anderson said. "We've got to win our games, that's the bottom line."
With the conference-leading Sharks on tap for Sunday, this could be a potential first round playoff matchup.
"We're still in a good spot," T.J. Galiardi said. "It hasn't gone the way we planned the last month or so, but we're a resilient team and we're going to show it over the last (five)."
Joe Thornton will likely miss his fourth straight game for San Jose and that should benefit the desperate Avalanche.
Colorado won the only meeting at home between these two teams this season, 5-2, and should sneak away with another victory Sunday.
Pick: Avalanche
Minnesota Wild at Vancouver Canucks
Canucks goaltender Robert Luongo is mired in a deep slump. Since Feb. 11, he’s 7-6-1 with a 3.58 goals-against average.
Luongo was tagged for eight goals in a loss Friday and coach Alain Vigneault had no intentions of pulling the star goalie after he surrendered five of those goals through two periods of play.
"It was [Luongo's] game, and that's what it was," Vigneault said. "I've got a plan, and I'm going to stick to the plan. You've got to be mentally tough, because you're going to have nights like that."
Backup goalie Andrew Raycroft gave up four goals in Friday’s win over Anaheim so it’s clear Vancouver has some puck-stopping problems heading into the playoffs.
The Canucks top point producer, right wing Mikael Samuelsson, is expected to return Saturday and his presence should help in the offensive department.
Luongo gave up five goals in each of his last two contests against the Wild and the Canucks have played to the over in three of their last four games.
Pick: Over
NHL on NBC Betting: Red Wings at Flyers
By Jon Kuiperij
Two teams headed in opposite directions will collide in Philly as the Flyers host the Red Wings on NBC Sunday.
Philadelphia is fading down the stretch, winning just twice in its last 11 games to fall into eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Flyers were two points ahead of the Rangers and Thrashers for the East's final playoff spot, entering Saturday's action.
The Red Wings are red hot, winning 10 of their last 11 contests going into Saturday's game with the Predators. A month ago, the Red Wings were in danger of missing the playoffs. Detroit is now comfortably in the postseason picture in the West.
Injury report
The Flyers are still without leading scorer Jeff Carter, who broke his foot last month. Carter is likely out until at least next weekend. Detroit forward Dan Cleary (groin) was expected to sit out his fourth straight game Saturday, but might be back Sunday.
Signs of improvement
Philly is coming off a 1-0 loss at home to the Canadiens Thursday in a game that was crucial to both teams' playoff hopes.
Despite the loss, the Flyers were encouraged by the way they outplayed Montreal. The Flyers peppered Habs goalie Jaroslav Halak with 35 shots and outshot Montreal 14-3 in the third period.
"We have to play the exact same way the next four games," defenceman Chris Pronger said after Thursday's game. "Tonight was the blueprint. We've got to get it done."
Ozzie gets the call
With the Wings playing two games in less than 24 hours this weekend, Chris Osgood is expected to get the start in goal for Sunday's matinee with the Flyers.
Rookie goalie Jimmy Howard has become Detroit's main man, but he played Saturday afternoon against the Predators.
Osgood has not started a game since January 27. Coach Mike Babcock said he'll start the veteran again before the end of the regular season to prepare for the playoffs.
"I feel real good right now, in practice I feel like I'm in real good shape," said Osgood, who has won three Stanley Cups. "Just get some games in, get some rust off and get ready... I want to make sure I'm 100 per cent ready to go if I'm needed to play."
Goalie carousel
Playing net for the Flyers should come with danger pay.
Philly has dressed seven different goalies this season. Sebastien Caron is the latest, backing up Brian Boucher Thursday against Montreal. That means if Boucher gets hurt Sunday, he'll be replaced by a goaltender that has played the last three years in the Swiss National League.
Johan Backlund (groin), Michael Leighton (ankle) and Ray Emery (hip) have all been sidelined by injuries this season.
Trends to consider
Home ice has been a massive advantage in games between the Red Wings and Flyers in recent years. The home team has won the past 13 meetings in the series, including five straight wins by the Flyers in Philadelphia.
Despite their recent struggles, the Flyers have won 13 of their last 19 home games. Detroit is 5-1 in its last six on the road.
The under is 35-13-3 in Detroit's last 51 games against the Eastern Conference and 13-5 in the Wings' last 18 games on zero days rest.
Philadelphia has gone under the total in eight of its last 11 games at home.
Red Wings at Flyers
By Judd Hall
When you play an 82-game season like the NHL does, things can change in a matter of weeks. The Flyers and Red Wings are perfect examples of that as we enter the final week of the regular season.
Philadelphia came out of the Olympic Break in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Yet there were no worries from anyone on the Flyers that they weren’t going to make the postseason. They appeared to have bought into Peter Laviolette’s game plan after taking over for John Stevens earlier in the campaign.
Fast forward to the present and nothing is guaranteed for the Flyers. They’re sitting with just 80 points, good enough to hold a two-point advantage for the eighth and final spot in the East’s playoff race. Philly has lost 12 of its last 17 games and seven of its past eight contests.
If we’re to pinpoint a reason for the slide has been the men between the pipes. Philly has had to dress seven different goaltenders this season, with five of them actually gaining some meaningful ice time. Ray Emery was supposed to be the No. 1 option, but he went down with a hip injury. Enter Michael Leighton, who lasted 29 games before succumbing to a bad ankle.
Journeyman goaltender Brian Boucher has stepped into the starting role for the Flyers by default. But his time in that spot appears to be numbered as Boucher is 2-8-2 since March 3, with a goals against average of 2.94.
Boucher will need to bring his top effort on Sunday afternoon against a resurgent Detroit squad. The Red Wings were sitting in eighth-place in the Western Conference and just one-point ahead of Calgary when play resumed in on March 1. If his last outing was any indication, then Boucher should help out. He stopped 22 of the 23 shot he saw in a 1-0 home loss to the Canadiens on April 2.
All the Wings have done since being in that precarious position is go 13-2-1. This stretch has not only virtually assured their spot in the playoffs; it put the Red Wings in a position to wind up fifth in the Western Conference. And you can only imagine the sigh of relief teams like the Sharks, Blackhawks and Canucks are breathing because of that development.
Offense has been on fire for Detroit since coming back from the Olympic Break, scoring at least three goals in 12 of those 16 contests. Plus, the Red Wings have improved a great deal on the defensive end of the rink. For the year as a whole, they are giving up just over 29 shots on goal per contest. Since March 1, they Wings have brought that down to 27 SOG. While that might sound small, that can help immensely when giving confidence to first year starter Jimmy Howard in goal.
Howard has gone 34-15-9 with a 2.27 GAA for the season. Those are certainly numbers to gush over for Detroit’s young backstop. But on the road recently is where has really shined, evidenced by a 5-0-1 mark with a stellar 1.93 GAA and .929 save percentage since March 1. His play has also helped the ‘under’ go 4-2 in those contests.
The head-to-head numbers have been shaded heavily to the home team as they’ve won 13 straight have. However, Detroit is currently on a 3-1 run against the Flyers.
Bettors interested in totals will be quick to note that the ‘over’ is 3-1 in the last four meetings between these clubs. Yet that flies against what we’ve seen by the Wings in their ‘under’ we previously mentioned (4-2 in last six road tilts) and Philadelphia has send the ‘under’ go 5-3 in eight tilts at the Wachovia Center since March 7.
Detroit has been a great team to back when they are playing on no rest away from home this season with a 6-3 mark. The ‘under’ went 6-3 in those tilts as well.
Something else to consider here for Philadelphia is that they have watched the ‘under’ go 5-1 in home games with a day off after losing as a home “chalk.”
The puck drops on this contest at 12:30 p.m. EDT on NBC.
vegasinsider.com
CALGARY (40-29-0-9, 89 pts.) at CHICAGO (48-22-0-7, 103 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
CALGARY is 3-11 ATS (+14.2 Units) on Sunday games over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 73-56 ATS (-0.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
CALGARY is 9-4 ATS (+13.4 Units) in road games revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 13-4 (+9.9 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 13-4-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
9 of 17 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.0 Units)
DETROIT (41-23-0-13, 95 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (38-34-0-6, 82 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 1-0-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)
SAN JOSE (48-20-0-10, 106 pts.) at COLORADO (41-29-0-7, 89 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 8-3 (+3.4 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 8-3-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.9 Units)
MINNESOTA (37-35-0-6, 80 pts.) at VANCOUVER (47-27-0-4, 98 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 8-23 ATS (+39.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
VANCOUVER is 24-11 ATS (+5.4 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
VANCOUVER is 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
MINNESOTA is 7-2 ATS (+9.2 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games this season.
MINNESOTA is 21-18 ATS (+43.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VANCOUVER is 20-32 ATS (-29.2 Units) in home games in April games since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 147-151 ATS (-68.2 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 77-91 ATS (-70.2 Units) in home games vs. division opponents since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 11-7 (+4.1 Units) against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 11-8-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
10 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.3 Units)
CALGARY AT CHICAGO
CALGARY: 3-11 SU on Sundays
CHICAGO: 12-1 SU at home off BB Unders
DETROIT AT PHILADELPHIA
DETROIT: 12-5 SU vs. Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA: 12-3 Under off a loss by 1 goal
SAN JOSE AT COLORADO
SAN JOSE: 8-3 SU vs. Colorado
COLORADO: 6-1 Under off a home division loss
MINNESOTA AT VANCOUVER
MINNESOTA: 3-14 SU away off BB losses
VANCOUVER: 8-0 SU at home after allowing 4+ goals
Hot Teams
-- Flames won last three games, allowing five goals. Chicago won its last two games, allowing one goal.
-- Red Wings had seven-game win streak snapped yesterday.
-- Sharks won five of their last six games.
-- Canucks won ten of their last twelve home games.
Cold Teams
-- Flyers lost seven of their last eight games.
-- Avalanche lost four in row, seven of last eight games.
-- Minnesota lost three of its last four games.
Totals
-- Five of last six Calgary games stayed under the total.
-- Three of last four Detroit road games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last seven Colorado games went over the total.
-- Last three Minnesota games stayed under the total.
Playing second of back-to-back nights
-- Detroit is 6-4 on the road if they played the night before.
Series Records
-- Flames lost their last five games against Chicago.
-- Sharks won six of last seven games against Colorado.
-- Canucks won five of last six games against Minnesota.