The Devils pulled out the game 5 victory in Philadelphia last night to defeat the Flyers in 5 games and book their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s a little bit interesting to note that Ilya Bryzgalov did not have a very good playoffs and the team where he was supposed to be the “franchise” goaltender and best player on the team has advanced to the Western Conference Finals in the first year without him. The Devils will now face the winner of the Capitals vs Rangers series, with game 6 in that series taking place tonight in Washington. I took the Devils last night and that win has brought my NHL Playoffs record to (23-23) for +2.12 units.
New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals
The Rangers and Caps have played a very tight checking series with neither team willing to give up an inch. The Rangers were able to fight back in game 5 and if it wasn’t for a late Brad Richards goal the Capitals would be the team 1 win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. But as it stands the Rangers are 1 win away from taking on the Devils in the Conference Finals, but eliminating the Capitals in Washington will be tall task. The last four games in this series have been decided by 1 goal and I expect nothing different tonight. I have to give the small edge to the Capitals because their backs are up against the wall and they were a very strong home team throughout the season (26-11-4). I do think that Hunter should limit Ovechkin’s playing time tomorrow though because he will likely try to do too much, which could result in the Rangers counter attack finding some room. In the two games the Capitals won in this series Ovechkin’s playing time has been limited (between 13 and 16 minutes), while in each of their 3 losses he has played much more (19+ minutes). This may be a coincidence or it may be further evidence that Ovechkin can only help the team in small doses and the role players need to be on the ice doing what they do best.
Another little trend to look at is that the Caps have won every other game in this series so it’s their turn for a win tonight.
Play: Capitals -105 (5Dimes.com)
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Tagged with: New York Rangers betting • Washington Capitals betting