Last night the playoffs got started and it was a great night of hockey. Ovechkin and Semin came through to get the Capitals a comeback overtime victory over the Rangers, while Luongo was able to overcome his demons and shutout the Blackhawks 2-0. In the other games Mike Fisher led the Preds to a 4-1 victory with two lethal wrist shots, while Detroit outclassed the Coyotes and Fleury held the high powered Tampa Bay offense off the score sheet. Tonight there are three games and I really like the line for the Sabres vs Flyers game.
(7)Buffalo Sabres @ (2)Philadephia Flyers
The Sabres and Flyers kick off their series, which many people believe will be one of the tightest in the first round. If you believe in momentum then you would be taking the Sabres, while if you believe in experience and potential you would be betting on the Flyers. The Sabres come into this first game having won 4 straight and 9 of their last 12, while the Flyers won only 9 of their last 25 and have really stumbled in the latter part of the season. The absence of Chris Pronger seems to have really hurt the Flyers, especially on the power play where the Flyers seem to be running around without an objective. The calming presence of Pronger on the blue line is a very big part of this team and the Sabres should be able to take advantage of his not being in the lineup tonight.
The goaltending matchup should be Miller vs Bobrovsky this evening and although Bobrovsky has had a great year you have to give the edge to Miller because we know how good he can be and he has experience playing in high pressure situations. The Sabres will have to focus on shutting down Danny Briere and Claude Giroux, the former being a great playoff performer (look at last year) and the latter having come into his own this season as the top forward on the team.
For the Sabres Thomas Vanek will be looked upon to carry the offense, something that he has been doing near the end of the season (6 points in his last 2 games). Look to Vanek to continue this pace into tonights game.
The Sabres should be able to pull off the upset in this game and this should set the tone for the series. I even bet on the Sabres winning this series in a sweep.
My Pick: Buffalo Sabres +140
Also, be sure to like our facebook page in order to receive daily predictions to your newsfeed!
Tagged with: buffalo sabres • first round • Game 1 • NHL Playoffs • Philadelphia Flyers