Sunday's Playoff Slate

Sunday's Playoff Slate
By Judd Hall

Perhaps last Wednesday was just an apparition.

How else could we explain the underdogs going 3-1 on the opening night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

Regardless of that night, order seems to have returned as the “chalk” has gone 6-2 since then. We’ve also seen some stout defense during the first few nights of the postseason, giving the ‘under’ a 6-3-3 advantage so far.

There are four games on the card for Sunday, two of which put some Eastern Conference series conceivably out of reach.

Let’s make our plays in order of rotation.

Flyers at Capitals

Philadelphia looked every part of its “Broad Street Bullies” heritage last Friday, boxing in Alex Ovechkin and holding him to no shots until late in the contest. The Flyers even held Washington to just four shots on goal in the opening period.

The Capitals weren’t going to be denied a win at home to start the series by scoring three times in the final period…the final lamp lighter coming from Ovechkin to allow the Caps to win as $1.50 home favorites, 5-4. It was their eight straight victory and 12th in the last 13 games played.

Now Washington is in a position to go up two games to none in the best-of-seven series, but recent history is against them. The Caps are 10-16 SU when they’re coming off of a win where the ‘over’ hit. Meanwhile, the ‘over’ came in pairs in that instance as well as proven with a 16-9-1 mark.

I think the Caps are going to come out on top here in another high scoring scuffle.

Bet: Washington (-150) and the ‘over’ (-125)

Canadiens at Bruins

The Habs continued their season long dominance over Boston into Game 1 of the series, claiming a 4-1 victory with a punishing defense and offense that took advantage of a skittish Tim Thomas between the pipes.

These two old time foes will be meeting up for Game 2 on Saturday in Montreal, so we’re going to be a back-to-back situation on Sunday.

The Bruins are 4-8-5 when playing with no rest between games. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are 6-5-1 in the same situation.

Regardless of the outcome of today’s game, Montreal is the smart pick.

Bet: Montreal (+150)

Devils at Rangers

The Rangers took the best of what the Devils had to offer and still came away with a 2-1 victory at the Prudential Center to go up two games to none in their Eastern Quarterfinals matchup. New York has rallied behind Sean Avery, who has two goals in this series, including the game winner from Friday’s confrontation.

The venue for this turnpike tussle changes to Madison Square Garden with the Blueshirts in a commanding position to close out the series. And the odds are good it will end in the Big Apple as well.

New York has won its last four tilts over the Devils at home, with the ‘under’ going 3-0-1. That seems like the smart wager to me.

Bet: New York (-165) and the ‘under’ 4 ½ (-105)

Sharks at Flames

San Jose came out determined to not falter like it did in Game 1 against the Flames. The Sharks’ Evgeni Nabokov posted his sixth career playoff shut out against Calgary, 2-0, to level the series at one win apiece. Of course, it also helps to have a defense that limits Jarome Iginla and company to just 21 shots on goal.

Calgary comes home knowing that they can beat this Pacific Division champion. The Flames also know that they’ve won two of their last three at home versus San Jose. It’s the right spot for them to put the fear of God into the Sharks.

Bet: Calgary (+110)

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