I had another good night with the Predators giving me my only loss of the season. For everyone who was able to watch the Flyers game like I did how crazy was that. I’m not sure another game this postseason can top what transpired in that one. And the Devils pulled out the win after just dominating the Panthers in the first period, but giving up 2 to let the game get close worries me a bit for the next games. My NHL Playoffs record is now (6-1) for +6.48 units. I’m planning to keep winning throughout.
Ottawa Senators @ New York Rangers
The Senators didn’t look out of place at all in game 1 but a few costly errors in their own end cost them 4 goals which was more than enough for the stingy New York defense with Lundqvist in net. I expect the Senators to be harder on the puck tonight so this game will come down to a few bounces that could go either way. With that philosophy you have to like the line on the Senators tonight as fairly big dogs.
Play: Senators +155 (5Dimes.com)
San Jose Sharks @ St Louis Blues
The Sharks have higher end talent than the Blues and this translates into success in the Playoffs when the Blues hard work is matched. St Louis stumbled down the stretch and after losing the first game in this series their confidence could be compromised and if Niemi can stand on his head again the young Blues could start to panic which will result in the talent of the Sharks putting the puck in their net. The Blues play a very systematic game and if they get rattled at all this system could fall apart which would result in a guaranteed loss.
Play: Sharks +145 (5Dimes.com)
Chicago Blackhawks @ Phoenix Coyotes
The Blackhawks outplayed the Coyotes in game 1 and I expect their stars to step up even bigger in game 2. The Blackhawks have too much talent up front for Mike Smith to continue to keep the puck out of the net like he has. Also the loss of Radim Vrbata for the Coyotes is a big loss as he was their second leading scorer throughout the season. The Blackhawks are just a better all around team and I expect that to show tonight.
Play: Blackhawks -105 (5Dimes.com)
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Another good night for me with two big overtime wins by the Bruins and Sharks for another 2 for 2 night. Martin Havlat stepped up like I expected him two scoring two of the three goals for the Sharks and the Bruins dominated the Capitals and really deserved to win that one. My NHL Playoffs record is now 4-0 for +4.85 units. Tonight the Devils finally get in on the action and the three series that began on Wednesday have their game 2’s tonight.
New Jersey Devils @ Florida Panthers
The Devils and Panthers start their series tonight in Florida. The Devils are coming into this game having won their last 6 games, while the Panthers lost 8 of their last 10 games heading into the post season. The Devils were strong on the road in the regular season winning 24 games, which is the same number they won at home. The Panthers only won 21 home games during the year, but lost only 9 in regulation at home, which is the least in the Eastern Conference. The long wait for this series may not help the Devils, but I still like them in this game because they are the stronger team in all aspects of the game. The Panthers have yet to name their starter for the night, but whoever it is will have to be on top of his game to give his team a chance to win this one.
Play: Devils -103 (5Dimes.com)
Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins
The Flyers pulled off a big comeback in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, but after showing that they could win on the road against the Penguins the line has lengthened for this game (+155 -> +175). This is likely because the general consensus is that the Penguins were the better team in the first game and they cannot lose this game tonight. That being said although the Penguins dominated the first period, the Flyers played well the rest of the game and I think now that they have settled into the series we can expect some strong play from Philadelphia. With that I think this game could once again go either way so the Flyers as such big underdogs is a great bet.
Play: Flyers +178 (5Dimes.com)
Detroit Red Wings @ Nashville Predators
The Red Wings and Predators were in a hard fought battle on Wednesday and I expect much of the same tonight. The Red Wings were sub par on the road all season and they will need to find a way to win a road game to win this series, but I still have to give the edge to the Predators when they are at home in this series. They are such slight favourites in this game that the smart money has to be on the Predators to go up 2-0. I wouldn’t be surprised if the home team won every game in this series.
Play: Predators -115 (SportsInteraction.com)
Written by: Niko de Jonge
My 2012 NHL playoffs predictions got off to a great start yesterday with the Flyers and Predators both coming through for me in tight games. The Flyers came back from 3 goals down to beat the Penguins who looked like they were going to dominate the action after the first period. Danny Briere proved once again why he is considered one of the best Stanley Cup Playoff performers in the league and that game made the series extremely interesting moving forward. The Preds also pulled out a win with deadline pickup Gaustad opening the scoring and fourth liner Gabriel Bourque scoring 2 in his first ever playoff appearance. My 2012 NHL Playoff record is now 2-0 for +2.55 units.
San Jose Sharks @ St. Louis Blues
The Sharks lost their 4 meetings with the Blues this season, but the results may seem worse than they were. The Sharks were outscored 11-3 in those meetings, but that included 2 empty net goals, 2 5-on-3 goals and 3 powerplay goals, so the 5 on 5 was actually just 4-3 in favour of the Blues. The Sharks need to stay out of the penalty box and they will have a great shot in every game this series. The Sharks have higher end talent up front and if they can find a way to get to the front of the net against this stingy Blues defense that likes to clog up the middle I like their chances. The Blues were great at home this season but faltered a bit down the stretch losing their past 3 home games.
Play: Sharks +130 (SportsInteraction.com)
Washington Capitals @ Boston Bruins
The Washington Capitals are in for a wake up call when they play the Boston Bruins tonight in Boston. The Bruins are simply a much deeper team in all areas of the ice. Chara will have the job of shutting down Ovechkin and I expect him to do this fairly easily, which leaves the Capitals depending on secondary scoring which they don’t really have. The Bruins will be all over the Capitals tonight and win this one convincingly to set the tone for the series.
Play: Bruins -150 (5Dimes.com)
Written by: Niko de Jonge
It’s the day we have been anticipating since Boston won the Stanley Cup in Vancouver last season. The first day of the 2012 NHL playoffs. There are three games on tap tonight and the series that every hockey fan around the globe will be watching (Pittsburgh-Philadelphia) kicks things off at 7:30pm this evening.
Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins
When you look at each teams home and away record in the regular season you will notice that only a total of 4 more wins were accumulated at home than on the road between the two teams. In fact the Flyers won 25 games on the road, while only winning 22 in their home building. I understand this is the playoffs and being able to set the match ups on your home ice may be more important, but I don’t think the home team will have a huge advantage in this series. I like this series to be very tight and I think the Penguins are being overestimated by many heading into the playoffs. Yes they have arguably the two best players in the league, but the Flyers also have arguably the best top line in the playoffs and quality secondary scoring that will be able to find the back of the net. The first game is always extremely important and I like the Flyers to get a quick start in this series and make things very interesting moving forward.
Play: Flyers +155 (5Dimes.com)
Detroit Red Wings @ Nashville Predators
The Red Wings have played poorly away from the Joe this entire season only collecting 17 of a possible 41 wins on the road. The Preds on the other hand have been very good at home with 26 wins on the season. I also like the Predators at home because they are more easily able to match up the Suter/Weber defensive unit against the Datsyuk or Zetterberg lines as they see fit. Trotz will have a very good game plan coming into this series and I expect the Preds to get off to a very good start with a big win at home.
Play: Predators -128 (5Dimes.com)
Los Angeles Kings @ Vancouver Canucks
I think the odds on this game are spot on with the Kings at +162 and the Canucks at -172 at 5Dimes.com. Daniel Sedin is not yet confirmed to start so I would lean towards the Kings as a dog in this one, but I don’t have enough confidence to make an official play.
5Dimes.com offered the best odds for each of these outcomes, but I suggest you check the odds at a wide variety of betting sites in order to ensure you are getting the best value on your bets. If you do decide to sign up with 5Dimes.com, use 5Dimes marketing code AF0002879 when creating an account in order to receive the biggest bonus possible from 5Dimes.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
The Capitals won their last game of the season for the right to play the Boston Bruins in round 1. They may regret bringing their A game against the Rangers in that one when this series is complete. I see the Bruins as the most difficult match up for the Caps in the Eastern Conference, but as we all know once the puck drops in the playoffs anything can happen.
Capitals vs Bruins Betting Odds
Capitals +185 (Bookmaker.eu)
Bruins -200 (5Dimes.com)
I expect these odds to stay steady for the next couple days.
Capitals vs Bruins Round 1 Prediction
This is the first time in a long time that the Capitals did not win their division and head into a first round series as the underdog. Maybe that’s a good change of pace because the Caps have not made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs with this core group, lead by Alex Ovechkin. Meanwhile the Bruins are the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Ovechkin had the worst season of his career by far in terms of production scoring just 65 points. His 38 goals were still better than last seasons 32, but everyone expects 50+ from Ovy. Missing Backstrom for a good portion of the year also didn’t help his production. Semin is another star who was almost invisible this year scoring only 54 points in almost a full season. Semin only has 8 points in his 16 playoff games over the past two seasons and they will need more from him if the Caps have any chance.
I’m usually a Capitals supporter at this time of the year, but I just don’t like their team this year. Ovechkin often tries to do too much in the postseason and the lack of depth the Caps have on this team is cause for concern. Knuble isn’t the player he used to be and has been a healthy scratch many times this year. The offensive responsibilities will fall squarely to Ovechkin, Semin and Backstrom, especially with Mike Green having only 7 points in 32 games this season. I expect Chara to be able to keep Ovechkin and Backstrom in check, which does not bode well for the Caps because they don’t have the depth to match Boston.
The Bruins spread their scoring around with 6 players above 50 points this season as opposed to just 2 on Washington. Seguin, Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, Marchand and Peverley will get the job done on the scoreboard. Being without Nathan Horton will hurt the Bruins chances in later rounds, but they should have the depth up front to dominate the Caps. The Bruins are built to win with every player knowing his role and contributing.
Boston also has arguably the best defenseman in the league in Zdeno Chara and it wasn’t a fluke that the team has the best goal differential in the league.
Boston as a team is better than the Caps and then when you add in Tim Thomas vs Braden Holtby it gets a lot worse. Thomas is considered an elite goaltender, while Holtby has played just 21 games in his career and only 7 this season. That being said he does have good numbers and an inexperienced goaltender getting hot at the right time has happened before in the NHL. But I don’t think it can happen against the Bruins who have just too man good forwards.
Play: Bruins -200 (5Dimes.com)
Keys To Bruins Victory
- Shut Down Ovechkin and Backstrom – This duty will likely fall to Zdeno Chara and possibly Rich Peverley or Chris Kelly. The Caps only hope for offense comes from these players and shutting them down would mean the end for the Capitals.
- Don’t Pull a Blackhawks Circa Last Season – Stanley Cup hangovers can also occur when the playoffs begin. The Bruins have to come out of the gate hard and avoid doing what the Blackhawks did last year going down 3 games to 0 out of the gate.
- Crash The Net – Holtby is an inexperienced goalie and the Bruins crash the net and make life difficult for the oppositions netminder better than anyone in the league. They need to do this and try to get Holtby off his game.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Just like in the Florida Panthers vs New Jersey Devils series the 6th seed is considered the favourite over the 3rd seed in this one. The Blackhawks finished the season with 101 points, which was 4 more than the Coyotes 97. The Blackhawks aren’t quite as big a favourite in this one as the Devils are in the Eastern 6 vs 3 matchup, but they do have an edge, as they should.
Phoenix Coyotes vs Chicago Blackhawks Betting Odds
Phoenix Coyotes +110 (SportsInteraction.com)
Chicago Blackhawks -120 (5Dimes.com)
The Blackhawks line lengthened from the original of -130 and it will be interesting to see where it moves going forward.
Coyotes vs Blackhawks Round 1 Prediction
The Coyotes finished out the season very strong winning their last 5 games. Mike Smith was absolutely incredible in net only allowing 2 goals on 198 shots in that span for a save percentage of 0.990. That being said the amount of shots they were giving up does not bode well for this series as they can’t expect Smith to steal every game against a team with as much offensive fire power as the Chicago Blackhawks. You have to like the momentum of the Coyotes, but Chicago also played well to finish the season winning 8 of their last 12 games and losing only 1 game prior to a shootout.
Jonathan Toews is expected to be back in the lineup for the Blackhawks and we all know what he brings to the table, especially in the playoffs, where he has 46 points in 46 career games. Then when you add in Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp you can be pretty sure that the Blackhawks will find a way to score against the stingy Coyotes defense and the stellar play of Mike Smith. And let’s not forget about Dave Bolland who saves his best games for the playoffs when he has shown he can shut down the oppositions top players and still put up good playoff numbers (34 points in 43 career games).
The Coyotes don’t have the same kind of star power up front. They lean a lot on the ageless Ray Whitney to provide offense, with Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan also expected to chip in. If Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook can shut down the top guys on the Coyotes, which I believe they have the ability to do I am not convinced the secondary scoring will emerge for the Coyotes.
A lot will be expected of Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in this series. They will have to provide a good deal of the offense from the back end if the Coyotes hope to keep up with the Blackhawks on the scoreboard. I still believe that Keith and Seabrook are the higher end top 2 defenders though and with the addition of Johnny Oduya the Chicago defense is a solid six this year, which is what plagued them last year in the playoffs with Seabrooks injury and having to play Chris Campoli significant minutes.
The one area where the Coyotes hold the edge is in goal, but I don’t expect it to be a big enough edge to affect this series. Corey Crawford has had an up and down year, but he played well in the playoffs last season and I expect more of the same from him this year. Mike Smith on the other hand has only 3 games of playoff experience under his belt so it will be interesting to see how he performs. The five days off since his last start could cool him off heading into the playoffs.
Overall the Blackhawks are just the better team and I expect them to show that on the ice.
Play: Blackhawks -120 (5Dimes.com)
Blackhawks Keys To Victory
- Decent Goaltending – The Blackhawks do not need Crawford to steal games, but he does need to be solid. Weak goals could be demoralizing for the Blackhawks especially if Smith is on his game at the other end.
- Best Players Must Be Best Players – The Blackhawks don’t have the best depth at the forward position in the league so they need their big guns firing in order to put goals on the scoreboard.
- Come Out Strong – They cannot do the same as last year and come out of the game slow. Going down 3-0 in a series is a death sentence in this league, but I expect the Blackhawks to have learned from last season and to treat every game like it is do or die.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
The New Jersey Devils finished in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, but draw the Florida Panthers who are arguably the easiest match up in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Like it is so often in the NHL a 6th place finish is usually more advantageous in terms of potential opponents than a 4th or 5th place finish. The Blackhawks vs Coyotes series is another example of this.
New Jersey Devils Florida Panthers Betting Odds
New Jersey Devils -190 (Bookmaker.eu)
Florida Panthers +180 (5Dimes.com)
The Devils line will likely shorten even further in the coming days so I suggest you visit Bookmaker.eu right now if you plan on betting on the Devils. Use Bookmaker bonus code BMBONUS when registering an account to get the best bonus available.
Devils vs Panthers Round 1 Prediction
The Panthers and Devils had absolutely opposite finishes to the season. The Panthers stumbled down the stretch only winning 2 of their last 10 games to back into the Southeast Division title, while the Devils won their last 6 games to enter the post season with the biggest winning streak of all NHL teams. The Devils are a very good team and this shouldn’t come as a surprise this season considering how the team finished off last years campaign. The Panthers are another decent team, but they simply don’t have the star power to compete in this series.
The Devils have the high end talent up front to score goals with Ilya Kovlachuk, Patrik Elias and Zack Parise leading the way on offense for the Devils. These big three will give the Florida defense more than they can handle and Kovalchuk has the ability to score the big goals late in games that can change the dynamic of a series. If you remember the year the Devils traded for Kovalchuk before heading into the Playoffs you will remember that Kovy brought his A-game when it mattered most collecting 6 points while losing a 5 game series. This year the Devils have found their team game and played solid throughout. Kovalchuk and Parise have finally found some chemistry and I expect the Devils to light up the Panthers in this series.
In goal the Panthers have some question marks with coach Kevin Dineen not yet stating who will be between the pipes in game 1. Jose Theodore started 51 games, but lost his last 7 starts, while Clemmensen has been very good of late with a 1.19 GAA and 0.96 save percentage over his last four starts and one relief appearance. I expect the Panthers to go with the hot hand, but it shouldn’t matter with Kovalchuk and company baring down. In the other net will surely be Martin Brodeur, at least to start the series. He had another decent year with a .908 save percentage, 2.41 GAA and 31 wins. He has also played quite well of late winning his last 5 starts.
The Devils were a +19 in goal differential throughout the season, while the Panthers were a -24. This stat is another way to measure how good a team actually is and I believe the Devils are by far the better team in this series. I would be shocked if they didn’t pull out the victory and expect this to be a short series.
Play: Devils -190 (Bookmaker.eu)
Devils Keys To Victory
- Don’t Beat Themselves – The Devils are by far the better team and the only way they will lose is if they beat themselves. The Panthers don’t have enough weapons to steal this series without a Devils collapse.
- Play Within Themselves – One thing I am worried about is Kovalchuk pulling an Ovechkin and trying to do too much. The Devils just need to continue to play how they have all season to get the win.
- Shut Down Top Panthers Forwards – Fleischmann, Weiss and Versteeg slowed down in the later part of the season, but they have each shown they have the ability to put the puck in the net. The Devils will need to shut down this line to win the series and I expect them to do just that.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
The San Jose Sharks and St Louis Blues start their series on Thursday night in St Louis. This is one series that I am looking forward to because I expect it to be a hard fought battle that goes to at least 6 games. The Blues were the picture of consistency, hard work and defense first since Ken Hitchkock took over, while the Sharks stumbled a bit throughout the season, but they have the talent to do some real damage in this post season.
San Jose Sharks St Louis Blues Betting Odds
San Jose Sharks +150 (5Dimes.com)
St Louis Blues -150 (SportsInteraction.com)
The Sharks line has lengthened since the odds were put out and I expect the Blues line at SportsInteraction to follow suit so if you plan on betting on the Blues you should do so quickly at Sports Interaction. Do not use a Sports Interaction refer a friend code in order to get the 100% matching bonus up to $125.
San Jose Sharks vs St Louis Blues Prediction
I’m a sucker who bet on the Sharks at +130 right when the series odds came out yesterday. Now I’m planning to put some more down with these better odds, but having seen the line for the Sharks lengthen to +140 and then to +150 in the last few hours I am going to wait and see where it ends up before the series begins.
The Blues dominated the season series between these teams winning all four match-ups by a combined score 11-3. Yes, the Sharks were shutout twice against the Blues this season. That being said Martin Havlat was only in the lineup for one game against the Sharks and his addition should give the Sharks that extra weapon needed to score against the NHL’s best defensive team. The Blues gave up just 165 goals against this year, which is basically exactly 2 goals per game. The Sharks will need to find a way to score at a better rate than 2 goals per game in order to win this series.
Joe Thornton leads the way up front for the Sharks and he quietly had another solid season with 77 points. Couture, Marleau, Pavelski, Havlat and Clowe will also need to find a way to produce points at this time of the year. I personally expect Havlat to step up and lead the team offensively. He has the talent and has performed very well in the playoffs in his career (28 points in his last 26 playoff games).
The one problem I see with the Sharks is their depth at the defenseman position. Dan Boyle and Brent Burns will play a lot of minutes and will be expected to use their speed to keep up with the Blues fast, hard working forward core. Last season the Sedin’s had a field day against the Sharks, but I don’t think the Blues forwards have that kind of high end talent and the Sharks d-men should be able to shut down the Blues young forwards.
That being said a lot of the Blues offense comes from their back end with Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk leading the way so the Sharks forwards will have to be aware of this and expect these players to jump into the rush.
It will be interesting to see what the Blues do with their goaltending tandem of Halak and Elliott. I expect Halak to start, but he will be on a very short leash with Elliott, the NHL leader in both GAA and save percentage, sitting on the bench. The Sharks will go with Niemi and I expect him to be at his best (he did win the Cup two years ago), but Thomas Greiss is a capable replacement.
Play: Sharks +150 (5Dimes.com)
San Jose Sharks Keys to Victory
- Score Goals – The Sharks only scored 3 goals in 4 games against the Blues this year so their top 6 forwards will have to find a way to put pucks in the net.
- Work Hard – The Blues are a hard working, consistent team that never takes a shift off. The Sharks will need to match their intensity in order to let their high end talent take over the series.
- Score Goals – This has to be said again. The Sharks won’t win if they can’t score.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
In the most eagerly anticipated first round playoff series in 2012 the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers will battle in what will surely be an intense series where whichever team that comes through is significantly banged up. In my opinion these two teams are the most complete teams in the Eastern Conference and having finished with the 2nd and 3rd most points in the Eastern Conference it is unfortunate for each of them that they have to meet in the first round. But their unfortunate is our gain because this will definitely be the series that hockey fans follow closely regardless of their personal favourite teams.
Flyers vs Penguins Round 1 Odds
Philadelphia Flyers +190 (5Dimes.com)
Pittsburgh Penguins -190 (BetOnline.ag)
I expect the BetOnline.ag line on the penguins to shorten soon so if you are planning on taking them in this series I would jump on that quickly.
Flyers vs Penguins Round 1 Prediction
I truly believe this series could go either way. The Flyers lead the season series between the clubs with 4 out of a possible 6 wins and one of the Penguins wins came in the last game of the season that had no effect on the standings for either team. That being said when the playoffs begin the season series goes out the window. Another thing to consider is that Crosby did not play in the first three meetings between these teams this season and I think it’s safe to say that the Pens are a better team with him in the lineup. Now that we got that season series nonsense out of the way, which as I said means absolutely nothing, lets get into why the Flyers could win this series. The reason I will get into this is because I’m taking the Flyers as the +190 line is too good to pass up.
The Flyers are a very different team from last year, but I would say they are a better one. Up front the line of Giroux/Hartnell/Jagr will do damage against a Penguins team that likes to play loose and will give up chances at their end. I expect Jagr to really take charge in this series. He has shown throughout the season that he still has the ability to be a difference maker and the real reason he came back was to succeed in the playoffs. In his last playoff appearance in the NHL, back in 07-08, Jagr tried to single handedly take the Rangers to the promise land as his 15 points in 10 games shows. I remember that he was playing like a man possessed and I am expecting the same from him this year. Giroux also played well in the playoffs the last two years for the Flyers and has 38 points in 40 career playoff games (0.95 points per game), which is much better than the 0.73 points per game he had in the regular season in those three seasons. Briere is another massive playoff performer who has 96 points in 97 career playoff games! It is also expected that he will be back as he has been practicing hard with the team.
I expect these players to take advantage of a Penguins defense that can be suspect at times. Letang is the only elite defenseman they have on their back end, while their other d-men are all steady, but could be exposed by the talent of the Flyers forwards.
The Flyers defense are a solid group, but the Flyers also give up quite a few goals and they will need to find a way to shutdown Crosby and Malkin in order to have a chance in this series.
When I look at the goaltending battle I don’t really know what to think. Bryzgalov has the ability, but he has been inconsistent this year, but has shown glimpses of greatness. Fleury will be solid in net, but I don’t expect him to steal a series. Bryzgalov on the other hand could do just that or he could lose it.
Play: Flyers +190 (5Dimes.com)
Flyers Keys To Victory
- Stay out of the penalty box – The Flyers had the most penalty minutes in the league this season and going against a Penguins power play that was the 5th best in the regular season (mostly without Crosby) is just asking for trouble.
- Playoff performers must step up – I expect this to be a fairly high scoring series and Giroux, Jagr and Briere will have to be on their A-game offensively to match Crosby and Malkin on the scoreboard.
- Bryzgalov – He has to play to a level that gives the Flyers a chance to win. I’m not saying he has to win the series by himself, but that wouldn’t be a bad option either.
The last day of the 2012 NHL regular season has arrived. The Stanley Cup teams are set, but the seedings and first round matchups could change dramatically depending on several games being played today. Yesterday I took the night off because there was only the one game being played in the NHL, but on Thursday I went 2 for 3 and ended the night up 1.66 units. That brought my season record to date to (139-154-1) for -10.46. I’m expecting to bring this number closer to breaking even tonight and then to dominate in the playoffs, which I have come accustomed to as you could see from my series picks the last two years.
Buffalo Sabres @ Boston Bruins
The Sabres head into Boston to play the Bruins in a meaningless game. I still expect the Sabres to give this game everything they have against one of their biggest rivals. The Bruins on the other hand may rest some players for the playoffs and although they will want to head into the playoffs playing well I don’t expect them to outmatch the Sabres in intensity. The Sabres want to head into the off season with a win and I expect them to get one today in Boston.
Play: Sabres +145 (5Dimes.com)
Carolina Hurricanes @ Florida Panthers
The Hurricanes head to Florida to play a Panthers team that has backed into the playoffs losing 8 of their last 9 games. The Hurricanes on the other hand have been playing quite well of late. I think they are such big dogs because the Panthers need at least a point to stay ahead of the Capitals as the division winners in the South East division so they have a lot to play for. I don’t expect that to matter though because the Hurricanes aren’t going to roll over and die. I really like the odds on the ‘Canes in this one.
Play: Hurricanes +160 (SportsInteraction.com)
Los Angeles Kings @ San Jose Sharks
This is a huge game in the Pacific division. The winner could possibly win the division and take the third seed, but that would require a Coyotes loss. The more likely scenario would be a win guaranteeing the 7th seed and a likely first round match up with the St. Louis Blues who have been stumbling of late. This is the late game though so many of the matchups will be known when this puck drops. Regardless I like the Sharks to win this one because they have finally started to play a slightly better brand of hockey, but they have the potential to be that much better. They are also at home where they have been very good this season.
Play: Sharks -135 (5Dimes.com)
Written by: Niko de Jonge
