Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Wednesday, April 15
The playoffs begin with four games: the New York Rangers at Washington (7 p.m. EDT); Philadelphia at Pittsburgh (7 p.m.); Carolina at New Jersey (7:30 p.m.); and St. Louis at Vancouver (10 p.m.).
SILVER LINING
The New York Islanders capped the worst season in nine years by winning the NHL draft lottery and the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night, giving them the right to take one of two highly touted prospects—forward John Tavares and Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has 57 games of postseason experience. Most recently in 2004 with Tampa Bay, whom he led to the Stanley Cup title. The opponent? The Calgary Flames, who open their first-round series against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night.
NO DRAPES
Detroit Red Wings forward Kris Draper will miss Games 1 and 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Draper, who has an upper-body injury, did not play in the last two games of the regular season. The second-seeded Red Wings begin their defense of the Stanley Cup on Thursday night at home against Columbus, making the first playoff appearance in franchise history.
SPEAKING
“Talk to guys who won the Stanley Cup and they’ll tell you the first round is the toughest. That’s why this is so special this time of year because every team that got to the dance is good, and it becomes a matter of the will to win, the desire to elevate your play to the next level. If you don’t you’re probably going home in four or five games.”—Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell. Vancouver takes on St. Louis in the first round starting Wednesday.
NY RANGERS (43-30-0-9, 95 pts.) at WASHINGTON (50-24-0-8, 108 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 8-19 ATS (+29.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
NY RANGERS are 7-17 ATS (+26.0 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 7-14 ATS (-12.3 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 21-5 ATS (+21.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
WASHINGTON is 19-11 ATS (+2.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 6-6-0 straight up against NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.3 Units)
PHILADELPHIA (44-27-0-11, 99 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (45-28-0-9, 99 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 67-42 ATS (+10.4 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 26-8 ATS (+13.3 Units) in home games vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 27-9 ATS (+14.8 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 15-8 ATS (+6.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 19-8 (+10.2 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 19-8-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
18 of 25 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+9.9 Units)
CAROLINA (45-30-0-7, 97 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (51-27-0-4, 106 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NEW JERSEY is 51-31 ATS (+86.6 Units) in all games this season.
NEW JERSEY is 11-2 ATS (+8.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
NEW JERSEY is 8-1 ATS (+6.5 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders this season.
CAROLINA is 27-17 ATS (+6.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
CAROLINA is 43-30 ATS (+8.4 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 11-5 ATS (+16.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 7-5 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY is 7-5-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.5 Units)
ST LOUIS (41-31-0-10, 92 pts.) at VANCOUVER (45-27-0-10, 100 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
VANCOUVER is 35-18 ATS (+8.8 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 41-41 ATS (+93.3 Units) in all games this season.
ST LOUIS is 27-18 ATS (+48.8 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 12-6 ATS (+19.7 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game this season.
ST LOUIS is 13-7 ATS (+23.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
VANCOUVER is 17-32 ATS (-31.8 Units) in home games in April games since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 42-44 ATS (-21.2 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 6-12 ATS (-10.1 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 13-22 ATS (-20.2 Units) in home games after shutting out their opponent in their previous game since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 6-12 ATS (-9.4 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 8-4 (+1.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 8-4-0 straight up against ST LOUIS 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)
NY Rangers at Washington
NY Rangers
7-20 SU as road underdog
7-14 SU off 3-game unbeaten streak
Washington
21-5 SU playing with revenge
10-0 SU at home off BB road games
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
2-12 SU at Pittsburgh
15-7 Over off division game
Pittsburgh
17-3 SU at home revenging loss by 2+ goals
26-8 SU at home vs. division
Carolina at New Jersey
Carolina
10-20 SU at New Jersey
11-4 Under off BB losses
New Jersey
20-7 SU as a home favorite of -200 or less
32-18 SU off win
St. Louis at Vancouver
St Louis
6-2 SU Away after allowing 2 goals or less BB games
12-6 SU after scoring 1 goal or less
Vancouver
3-15 SU off Overtime win
6-12 SU playing with 3 or more days rest
NY RANGERS vs. WASHINGTON
NY Rangers are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 6 games
Washington is 7-1 SU in their last 8 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 9 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
PHILADELPHIA vs. PITTSBURGH
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games on the roadPhiladelphia is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 18 of Pittsburgh's last 24 games when playing Philadelphia
CAROLINA vs. NEW JERSEY
Carolina is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Carolina's last 6 games on the road
New Jersey is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games when playing Carolina
ST. LOUIS vs. VANCOUVER
St. Louis is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis's last 9 games
Vancouver is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Vancouver is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing St. Louis
NHL Playoffs
Rangers lost five of last six games vs Washington, winning last meeting in shootout Feb 11; Rangers lost seven of last eight visits here, with six of the eight staying under total. New York won last three games overall, allowing five goals. Capitols won five of last seven games (over 5-1-1 in those games).
Flyers went 4-6 in last ten games to blow home ice in this round- they're 2-5 in last seven games vs Pittsburgh, 1-8 in their last nine at Pittsburgh. Over is 3-1-1 in last five series games. Penguins won nine of last twelve games, winning last four at home by combined score of 18-5. Penguins ousted Philly in five games in last year's playoffs.
Carolina won nine of last eleven games; they won four of last five vs the Devils, losing 3-2 Saturday in series finale- four of last five series games stayed under the total. Home team won six of last sever in series, with Carolina 2-5 in last seven visits to Garden State. Devils won four of last five games, splitting last four at home.
St Louis won three in row, nine of last eleven games, allowing two goals in last three contests; they lost five of last seven games with Vancouver, losing five of last six visits to this building. Over is 5-1-1 in last seven series games. Canucks are 23-9 in last 32 games, winning last two games by 1-0 scores- their last four games stayed under the total.