What Bettors Need To Know: Blackhawks at Flyers
Familiar ground
No team wants to be down 0-2 in any series, especially the Stanley Cup Final. However, the Philadelphia Flyers can at least say they’ve been there and done that.
The Flyers were down 0-3 to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals and battled back to win four straight games and advance to the conference championship, eventually knocking off the Montreal Canadiens.
"It's not the way we wanted to start the series," captain Mike Richards told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "but we're going home, and we've played well there."
Philadelphia has played solidly thus far in the finals, losing 6-5 in Game 1 and 2-1 in Game 2. While the Flyers have been in the series for the most part, history doesn’t bode well for the Broad Street Bullies. Teams taking the first two games of the series are 31-2 in the Stanley Cup Final.
"We started to play the way we should have been playing the whole series," center Claude Giroux told reporters following the Game 2 loss. "We showed we have a lot of character in this room."
The Flyers host the next two games of the Cup final. They are 7-1 inside the Wachovia Center this postseason, averaging 3.5 goals per game at home – compared to just 2.91 on the road.
Third time’s a charm
Marian Hossa made history as the first player to play in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with three separate teams when this series started last weekend. However, that record doesn’t mean much to the veteran sniper if he doesn’t win one.
“I don’t like (living) in the past,” Hossa told reporters. “Everybody knows the good thing we’ve got going right now. Wining both games is good for confidence and good for momentum.”
Hossa, who lost as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings the past two seasons, is hell-bent on snapping his Stanley Cup funk. He’s played inspired hockey this series, totaling three points so far, including a goal in Monday’s 2-1 victory at the United Center. For the playoffs, Hossa has just three goals but does have 11 assists for the Blackhawks.
“It’s great to see him get that one,” defenseman Duncan Keith told the Toronto Star. “It was a nice play, being around the net getting that rebound. He’s had a lot of chances to score goals, empty nets, other chances, and he hasn’t been able to get it in.
“He’s been creating chances for us all throughout the playoffs, the last game especially. It was nice to see him get that one.”
Settling in
Both Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton showed their nerves in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, allowing a total of 11 goals on 64 shots. The goaltenders appeared calmer in Game 2, giving up just three goals on a combined 56 shots on goal.
Niemi was especially impressive, stopping 32-of-33 shots faced including all 15 in the second period and 14-of-15 in the final frame. He improved to 14-4 in the playoffs with a 2.41 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.
“He’s proved himself all year long and the further we go, the questions still pop up,” forward Patrick Sharp told the Toronto Sun. “He keeps on answering the critics. He answered all the questions about Game 1 tonight.”
On the other end of the ice, Leighton was solid, turning away 24 of the 26 shots faced in Game 2. That was a big improvement over his poor outing in the series opener. Leighton gave up five goals on 20 shots and was yanked in the second period for backup Brian Boucher in Game 1.
"I didn't give up five goals, and I didn't get pulled. But we didn't win, so I'm obviously not too happy," Leighton told USA Today.
To his defense, Leighton’s blueline coughed up the puck and screened him on Ben Eager’s second-period goal, which turned out to be the game winner.
"I didn't see him release the puck,” he told the media. “Obviously, I saw it when it went through my 'D'-man. … He dragged it and then used the 'D' as a screen. …
"It was just tough giving up two goals that quick. We thought we played well in the first (period), then they scored a good goal and we give up (another) one right away."
Wednesday's Best NHL Bet
Chicago Blackhawks at Philadelphia Flyers (-130, 5.5)
Many analysts are talking about how the Flyers have played just as well as Chicago despite being down 2-0 in the finals.
Funny this is; the same thing was said about San Jose through two games of the Western Conference Finals and the Blackhawks ended up sweeping that series.
"I'm not sure we should be frustrated," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "I don't think we got outplayed. I think when you're at the end of the night, you're going to look at it again, probably outshot them, outchanced them a little bit and didn't get the results we were looking for.”
There’s a fine line between staying confident and being delusional. Even if Philly did outplay the Blackhawks in Game 2, nothing matters on the stat sheet except the final score.
There is no question the ‘Hawks aren’t dominating the opposition, but the team is doing just enough to get by while winning seven straight games. Chicago will find a way to add another victory to the streak Wednesday.
Pick: Blackhawks
Can the Flyers win Game 3?
By Judd Hall
There is an old adage that states that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, we saw the scoreboard operator get some hazard pay and goaltenders put their jobs in jeopardy as the Blackhawks won as $2.00 home favorites 6-5.
The defense changed for the better as it was much sharper on Monday night for Game 2 of the series. We even saw some quality goaltending performances to boot. Yet Chicago still wound up on the right side of the ledger with a 2-1 win as a $1.85 home “chalk” to grab a hold of a 2-0 lead in the series.
Antti Niemi was spot on for the Blackhawks between the pipes as he stopped 32 of the 33 shots he saw come his way in Game 2. As good as Niemi was, Michael Leighton had a much better (and much needed) outing in comparison. Leighton was sent to the showers after working just 35 minutes on Saturday night. He responded on Monday evening by snuffing out 24 of the 26 attempts the ‘Hawks took at him. Of course, those two goals came within 28 seconds of one another.
As much as Leighton improved for the Flyers, he can’t score goals. Philadelphia has yet to see a goal from Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in this series on the first line. Daniel Carcillo was activated to give a little more grit to Philly’s lineup. While he did get under the skin of some of the Blackhawks, Carcillo had just one penalty called on him and took just three SOG.
Chicago didn’t have a great night on offense in Game 2, but Marian Hossa did finally break through for a goal. That was Hossa’s first lamp lighter since May 5 against the Canucks.
Now the scene shifts from the land of deep dish pizza to where cheese steaks are king. Betting shops are adjusting the lines accordingly by installing the Flyers as $1.30 home favorites (risk $130 to win $100) with a total pushed back down to 5 ½.
There is reason to be hopeful if you’re a Flyers fans. Philly has gone 31-18 at the Wachovia during the 2009-10 campaign. And if you’re tightening that up to when they were favored at home, the Flyers are 29-17. Against the puck line (-1 ½-goals), Philadelphia is just 16-30 when listed as a home fave.
Those are good numbers to keep in mind until realize that Chicago is 30-19 this season on the road. And when you break it down to being road pups, the Blackhawks posted a fantastic 11-3 record. The ‘over’ was 8-6-1 in those contests.
If you’re looking for a standing trend to hold onto when you go to the betting window, consider blindly following the Flyers in this spot. Over the last five Game 3s in the Stanley Cup Final, the home club has gone 5-0 straight up, covering the puck line in three of those contests.
vegasinsider.com
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers will both be trying to pick up a win on Wednesday when they battle at Wachovia Center.
Ben Eager's marker late in the second period stood up as the winner as the Blackhawks edged the Flyers 2-1 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final on Monday night.
Chicago cashed as -190 home favorites, while the teams played UNDER the 6-goal total listed by sportsbooks.
Marian Hossa scored the other goal for the Blackhawks, who now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.
Simon Gagne lit the lamp for Philadelphia, which outshot Chicago 33-26 in the loss.
Team records:
Chicago: 52-22-8
Philadelphia: 41-35-6
Chicago most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 6-4
Before playing Edmonton are 5-5
After playing Philadelphia are 5-5
After a win are 8-2
Philadelphia most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 6-4
Before playing Tampa Bay are 7-3
After playing Chicago are 4-4-1
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Chicago's last 11 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 6 games on the road
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago
Philadelphia is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games when playing Chicago
Philadelphia is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
Next up:
Philadelphia home to Chicago, Friday, June 4
CHICAGO vs. PHILADELPHIA
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Chicago's last 11 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Chicago is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Philadelphia is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games when playing Chicago
CHICAGO (66-26-0-8, 140 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (53-41-0-7, 113 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 3-1 (+1.8 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 3-1-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.3 Units)
Stanley Cup Finals Game Three (Chicago Leads, 2-0)
CHICAGO AT PHILADELPHIA
CHICAGO: 9-2 SU as an underdog
PHILADELPHIA: 6-13 SU after a non-conference game
NHL News and Notes
Blackhawks have now won seven games in a row, 10 of last 11; they're 8-2 on road in playoffs- teams that won first two games of Cup Finals at home are 31-2 in series, but one of losers was '71 Blackhawks. Philly is 7-1 at home in playoffs, winning last five; they're 2-7 on power play in series (12:45), while Chicago is 0-3 (6:00). Philly scored three goals in first period of Game 1; they've got three goals in five periods since.