Wednesday's Best NHL Bets
Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins (-210, 5.5)
If the Ottawa Senators are going to put poor postseason performances behind them, they’ll have to dethrone the reigning Stanley Cup champs in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Heading into Game 1, the Sens are weighing the best way to attack one of the NHL’s most explosive teams. And as game time ticks closer, the game plan appears to key on the most important members of Pittsburgh’s star-studded lineup and let the role players do the damage.
“It really starts in neutral zone,” defenseman Chris Phillips told the Ottawa Citizen when asked about stopping Penguins star Sidney Crosby. “There’s a strong focus to try and take away his space there and to have somebody close to deter his teammates from trying to give him the puck, where he can create a lot of speed and carry that into the offensive zone. Obviously, we have to be aware when he’s on the ice. It’s not just the two defensemen, it’s all five guys, it’s being extra focused.”
Crosby has been the motor for the Penguins offense all season but stepped up his production in the final games of the season while chasing both the goal scoring and points scoring leads. If Ottawa can lock him up, Pittsburgh’s attack could have a tough time creating on its own.
“That’s what has got us here,” forward Jason Spezza told reporters. “We’re not going to outrun and gun Pittsburgh. We’ve got to make sure we play a smart game.”
The last time these teams met, the Senators did a fine job limiting Crosby to just three shots on goal and a plus/minus of -2 during a 4-1 win back in late January.
Pick: Under
Detroit Red Wings at Phoenix Coyotes (-110, 5)
Hockey fans can expect the Phoenix Coyotes to be holding the sticks a little tight when they take the ice for Game 1 Wednesday night.
Phoenix is coming off a Cinderella season in which it won 50 games – a new franchise record – and is in the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2002. Despite being the No. 4 seed, the Coyotes are considered the underdogs against the postseason-savvy Detroit Red Wings in the opening round.
"That's who we've been all year," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett told CBC Sports of his team’s underdog status. "From the first day I got here, people looked around like, 'What are you doing?' That's how we've been able to thrive all year, so why would it change now?"
With the pressure of the playoffs overwhelming even the most veteran team, expect the desert dogs to bobble a couple pucks, miss a couple passes and fan on a couple shots during the first two periods.
Pick: Under
OTTAWA (44-32-0-6, 94 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (47-28-0-7, 101 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 41-14 ATS (+21.7 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 63-23 ATS (+17.1 Units) in home games second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 45-18 ATS (+20.3 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 43-19 ATS (+19.6 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 33-13 ATS (+13.0 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
OTTAWA is 16-7 ATS (+8.6 Units) after a division game this season.
OTTAWA is 9-3 ATS (+12.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
PITTSBURGH is 12-18 ATS (-18.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 8-8-0 straight up against OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
8 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.4 Units, Under=-1.0 Units)
PHILADELPHIA (41-35-0-6, 88 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (48-27-0-7, 103 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 42-41 ATS (-14.2 Units) in all games this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 7-15 ATS (-8.9 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 12-21 ATS (-10.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
NEW JERSEY is 22-10 ATS (+22.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NEW JERSEY is 20-23 ATS (-17.2 Units) second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 10-10-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
11 of 19 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.3 Units)
DETROIT (44-24-0-14, 102 pts.) at PHOENIX (50-25-0-7, 107 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 6-12 ATS (-10.0 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
PHOENIX is 50-32 ATS (+12.8 Units) in all games this season.
PHOENIX is 25-15 ATS (+5.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
PHOENIX is 11-3 ATS (+14.4 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 8-3 ATS (+11.8 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 9-3 (+3.9 Units) against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 9-3-0 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.8 Units)
COLORADO (43-30-0-9, 95 pts.) at SAN JOSE (51-20-0-11, 113 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 84-55 ATS (-8.9 Units) in April games since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 27-12 ATS (+6.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
COLORADO is 43-39 ATS (+82.8 Units) in all games this season.
COLORADO is 19-11 ATS (+32.1 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive losses since 1996.
COLORADO is 30-30 ATS (+67.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 52-40 ATS (-15.3 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 7-11 ATS (-17.8 Units) in home games when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 100-96 ATS (-61.9 Units) in home games after a division game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 8-4 (+2.3 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 8-4-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.7 Units)
OTTAWA vs. PITTSBURGH
Ottawa is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
Ottawa is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
Pittsburgh is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Ottawa
Pittsburgh is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home
PHILADELPHIA vs. NEW JERSEY
Philadelphia is 3-15 SU in its last 18 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing New Jersey
New Jersey is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
DETROIT vs. PHOENIX
Detroit is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Detroit is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing Phoenix
Phoenix is 3-13-3 SU in its last 19 games ,when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing at home against Detroit
COLORADO vs. SAN JOSE
Colorado is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Colorado's last 12 games
San Jose is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Colorado
San Jose is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
NHL News and Notes
Devils got beat in first round last two years, are 2-3 in first round series since winning last Cup in '03; they're 4-1 in their last five games overall, giving up 0-1 goals in all four wins. Flyers made playoffs in shootout in last game Sunday; they split last six visits to New Jersey. Philly is 3-4 in its last seven first round series.
Penguins lost five of last seven games vs Ottawa, but split four games vs Senators this year, with all four games decided by 3+ goals. Pittsburgh is 6-0 in last six first round series; they made Finals last two years. Ottawa lost three of last four games after winning previous six games. Penguins went 7-9 in last 16 games, scoring 7-0-6 goals in last three.
Sharks were ousted in first round of playoffs LY, after going 53-18-11 in regular season, so they've waited year for this. Home side won all four in season series this year, after Sharks were 4-0 vs Colorado LY. Avalanche lost three in row, seven of last nine games. Sharks won eight of last ten.
Coyotes split four games with Detroit this year, after being 1-11 vs the Red Wings three years before that; Phoenix is 0-5 in playoff series since moving from Winnipeg to desert; this is their first playoff series since '02 season. Detroit won last three games, allowing five goals; they were in Stanley Cup finals last two years, are 5-3 in last 8 first round series.
OTTAWA at PITTSBURGH
OTTAWA: 9-18 SU off BB games allowing 3+ goals
PITTSBURGH: 9-0 SU at home after allowing 5+ goals
PHILADELPHIA at NEW JERSEY
PHILADELPHIA: 7-15 SU away in the second half of the season
NEW JERSEY: 14-4 SU playing with same-season revenge
DETROIT at PHOENIX
DETROIT: 15-1 SU off a road division win
PHOENIX: 25-12 Under off a road game
COLORADO at SAN JOSE
COLORADO: 6-1 SU away off BB losses
SAN JOSE: 7-1 Over playing with 3+ days rest