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**TheGame** · 04-16-2016, 07:06 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

Preview: Flyers (41-27) at Capitals (56-18)

Date: April 16, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

After weeks of going through the motions, the fear for the Washington Capitals was a lethargic start to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Through one game, that angst has seemingly seeped over to the opposing bench.

With a solid Game 1 win in their back pocket, the top-seeded Capitals can take control of their Eastern Conference series Saturday night with another home win over the Philadelphia Flyers, who will be without a key contributor the rest of the way.

Washington cruised to the Presidents' Trophy in the regular season, leaving the club with several weeks of meaningless games ahead of the playoffs. Losing four of their final five drew concern as the Capitals seek their first trip past the East semifinals since 1998 - when Detroit swept them in their only Stanley Cup appearance.

However, the air-tight defensive effort they displayed Thursday in a 2-0 victory relayed the unsettled feeling over to the eighth-seeded Flyers.

"We didn't have to fake it tonight," defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "We had good focus, good intensity. Really strong effort from a lot of guys and most of the team. I thought we knew exactly how we wanted to play, how we wanted the game to go and we had really good execution."

John Carlson and Jay Beagle scored, and goaltender Braden Holtby logged his third career postseason shutout with 19 saves. The key, though, came from Washington's trademark penalty killing unit.

The Capitals logged the second-best regular-season percentage at 85.2, second only to Anaheim's 87.2, and shut down each of Philadelphia's four chances. The Flyers tied for sixth in 2015-16 with 53 power-play goals for a percentage of 18.9.

They also ranked fifth with 31 shots on goal per game but sent only eight at Holtby in the final two periods to finish with less than 20 for just the second time in their last 52 playoff games.

"They pressured," defenseman Mark Streit said. "We've just got to move the puck and keep it simple as much as possible, get pucks to the net and have traffic there. It's easier said than done. They did a pretty good job. We've just got do better."

It will be much tougher without second-line center Sean Couturier. Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced Friday that Couturier will be out for two weeks with an upper-body injury and miss the remainder of the series.

The injury is reportedly an AC sprain in his left shoulder after absorbing a hard - and clean - hit along the boards from Washington captain Alex Ovechkin in the second period. The 23-year-old had 11 goals and a career-high 28 assists in 63 games and was a key defensive player up the middle.

"Obviously he is a huge piece of our team," Wayne Simmonds told the team's official website. "He goes down, but someone else has to step up. I thought we did a good job filling in for the short term."

It's been an emotionally draining week for the Flyers, who had to win their final two regular season games to earn the East's second wild card before their founder and chairman Ed Snider died Monday at 83 of bladder cancer.

They are left trying for their first postseason series win since 2012 without Couturier, and to do it they will have to figure out Holtby. Washington's goalie logged his third career shutout against the Flyers and holds a .931 save percentage and 1.89 goals-against average in nine starts over the last two seasons of this series.

Philadelphia goalie Steve Mason was solid Thursday but still suffered his third loss in four starts against the Capitals this season. He has a .911 save percentage and 2.73 GAA against them, worse than his season marks of .918 and 2.51.

**TheGame** · 04-16-2016, 07:06 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

Preview: Wild (38-33) at Stars (50-23)

Date: April 16, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

The opener of a No. 1 against No. 8 series with the underdog missing two of its top scorers worked out as one might expect.

Game 2 comes Saturday night, with the host Dallas Stars seeking the same level of dominance and the Minnesota Wild needing to rethink how to get past the absences of Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek.

Further tipping the scale is the potential return of the Stars' Tyler Seguin.

Though the first period of Thursday's 4-0 final ended scoreless, Dallas managed a 14-2 shot advantage, and the payoff came soon after with Radek Faksa and Jason Spezza scoring in the second before Patrick Eaves and Jamie Benn added goals in the final six minutes.

The NHL's highest-scoring team during the regular season now seems likely to have Seguin back after he missed 11 games with an Achilles injury. The 33-goal scorer said Friday he's ready to play, but coach Lindy Ruff said it'll be a game-day call.

Dallas unraveled in the defensive zone on occasion for sustained stretches this season, but has won 10 of its last 12 with 22 goals allowed and never more than three.

"The play in front of me was excellent," goaltender Kari Lehtonen told the team's official website Thursday. "Our defensive play has been getting better and better and tonight it was really good. I am really happy about the way guys were blocking shots and coming back and working really hard. That was the key today, I think."

Lehtonen, of course, also deserves credit. The veteran entered the season as the unlikely playoff goalie with the addition of former Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi, but Lehtonen has a 1.58 goals-against average in a 6-1-0 span that includes two shutouts.

Lehtonen struggled immensely in Dallas' last postseason appearance two seasons ago, giving up 10 goals in the last two games of a first-round exit against Anaheim to inflate his career playoff numbers to 2-6-0 with a 3.88 GAA.

"I think the last month has been very important for him," Ruff said. "We've been under a lot of pressure to get where we wanted to go, and that was to try to finish on top. He was a big part of it, so that was a step and tonight was another step for him.

"To step inside a playoff game again because of where we left off in the previous playoffs, he did a great job for us tonight with the saves and his puck handling helped relieve pressure."

Lehtonen has gone 4-0-0 with a 1.89 GAA in his last five games against the Wild. Dallas is 5-1-0 with 3.67 goals per game in six meetings this season.

Minnesota has dropped six straight in regulation by a 20-6 total, with turnovers playing a big role Thursday.

"Three of the goals we had the puck. We've got to manage the puck a whole lot better," interim coach John Torchetti said. "We've got to do a better job."

The Wild could also use a power-play heartbeat after going a seventh straight game (0 for 18) without scoring, but Dallas has killed off 51 of 54 short-handed situations over its last 18.

Parise (back) and Vanek (upper body) are at least out through this game after not traveling with the team. Parise, the Wild's top goal scorer, might not play again this season as a report said back surgery is being considered.

All the more reason for Devan Dubnyk to step up. He's 0-5-0 with a 2.94 GAA in his last six games and 2-3-1 with a 3.16 mark against Dallas since the start of last season. Yet confidence remains.

"The most important thing is we have to understand that we can play with these guys; we can beat these guys," Dubnyk told the team's official website. "There's no reason to think otherwise. We're going to have to be better than we were tonight, for sure, but if there's anybody in here that thinks we can't beat them, they shouldn't."

**TheGame** · 04-16-2016, 07:07 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

Preview: Sharks (46-30) at Kings (48-28)

Date: April 16, 2016 10:30 PM EDT

If there's such a thing as road-ice advantage, the San Jose Sharks certainly would be the ones to have it. They're the first playoff team in 17 years to finish under .500 at home in an 82-game season, an accomplishment that has them back in the postseason after a one-year absence.

The NHL's best road club lived up to that moniker in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings, and winning again at Staples Center on Saturday night would give it some margin for error when the series shifts to San Jose.

Not since Edmonton in 1998-99 had a team finished with more regulation home losses than victories and made the postseason, but the Sharks - after years of successful records at home - did so and went a league-best 28-10-3 on the road to finish third in the Pacific Division.

Having to start the playoffs in Los Angeles didn't exactly instill fear. San Jose took both regular-season meetings there and won 4-3 in Game 1 on Thursday when captain Joe Pavelski scored his second goal 17 seconds into the third period.

The Sharks trailed by a goal twice in a back-and-forth affair, but Brent Burns scored and had an assist and Tomas Hertl also added a goal.

'It's just a California series, I think,' Burns said. 'It's going to be close. It's going to be grinding. Weird goals both ways. It's fun.'

The Sharks aren't exactly patting themselves on the back just yet, though. They took the first three games of their first-round series with the Kings in 2014 before collapsing and dropping the last four.

This is the fourth postseason meeting in the last six years.

'If you can win the first game of a series, it gives you confidence,' Pavelski said. 'Still a long way to go. There's a great team over there, a really solid team.

"(The) crowd was great. It was fun to play out there. I'm sure it's going to be even better the next game."

The Kings are hoping their play improves, too. They blew a 3-0 lead to visiting Winnipeg in the regular-season finale and lost out on the Pacific title, then gave San Jose four power plays and squandered a pair of leads.

Pavelski's goal in the first came with the man advantage, and Hertl scored 30 seconds after Trevor Lewis put Los Angeles up 3-2 with less than three minutes left in the second.

"We have to do a better job staying out of the box and that our mistakes don't result in goals against," said center Anze Kopitar, who recorded an assist on Jeff Carter's second-period goal. "Obviously it's not ideal to lose the first game, especially at home."

The Kings haven't lost three in a row at home since Jan. 21-Feb. 4, while San Jose has won eight of nine on the road.

"This is the time of year where you can't dwell on it," Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown said. "Learn from it and go on, and we've got a lot left in us."

Former Kings goalie Martin Jones has won each of his three starts with San Jose at Staples Center behind a 2.34 goals-against average. Jones used to back up Jonathan Quick, who following Game 1 has lost each of his four starts with a 4.33 GAA against the Sharks this season.

"Our motivation is to win a Stanley Cup. Anytime you can get a win, especially on the road, it's huge," Jones said after his first playoff start. "We've got our work cut out for us."

**TheGame** · 04-16-2016, 07:07 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

NHL

Saturday's games

NY Rangers-Pittsburgh (1-0)
Rangers lost last four games with Pittsburgh in series where road team won six of last nine series tilts. New York won four of last six visits here; they've won three of last five games overall. Over is 7-0-4 in their last 11 games. Pittsburgh won nine of its last ten games, winning last four at home; six of its last eight games went over the total. Both teams went 1-5 on power play in Game 1; Penguins scored twice in a 2:31 span in third period to put Game 1 away.

Philadelphia-Washington (0-1)
Flyers won seven of last 11 games with Washington; they split last six games here. Under is 6-2-1 in last nine series games. Philly lost four of last five games on foreign ice. Caps lost four of last six games, with two OT losses, two shutouts- three of their last five games went over total. Washington outshot the Flyers 31-19 in Game 1, 23-8 in last two periods after scoreless first period. Caps were 1-6 on the power play, Flyers 0-4. Teams that lost Game 1 are 2-1 in Game 2's so far in playoffs- they were 10-5 in last year's playoffs.

Minnesota-Dallas (1-0)
Minnesota Wild lost five of last six games against Dallas, but split last six visits here, in series where visitor won six of last ten games. Six of last nine series games went over the total. Minnesota lost its last six games, outscored 20-6; under is 4-1-3 in their last eight. Dallas won seven of last eight games; five of their last six stayed under. Wild got blanked 4-0 in Game 1- they were outshot 14-2 in the first period by Dallas, which was 1-6 on power play (Minnesota was 0-2).

San Jose-Los Angeles (0-1)
Sharks scored GW goal 0:17 into third period of Game 1, then hung on for rest of period, when Kings outshot them 10-3 (24-23 for game). San Jose is 6-5 in last 11 series games; road team went 7-4 in those games. Over is 4-0-2 in last six in series. San Jose won six of last eight games; three of last five stayed under- they won last four road games. Kings are 4-7 in last 11 games, 3-3 in last six at home-- three of their last five at home stayed under. Sharks were 1-4 on power play, Kings 1-3.

**Satch** · 04-16-2016, 09:08 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

Preview: NY Rangers at Pittsburgh
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 16, 2016
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The New York Rangers appear to have escaped a potential devastating injury as they prepare to visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday in Game 2 of their best-of-seven first-round series. Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist was forced to exit Wednesday’s 5-2 loss after taking an inadvertent stick to the right eye from teammate Marc Staal.
Lundqvist, who has started 111 consecutive playoff games for New York, was hurt in the final minute of the first period, but he practiced fully on Friday and is a game-time decision. “I felt pretty good,” Lundqvist said. “Saw a specialist. There’s no damage to the eye, it’s the swelling making it uncomfortable.” The Penguins have issues of their own in net with starter Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Matt Murray each dealing with a concussion. Pittsburgh could receive a huge boost, however, as standout forward Evgeni Malkin practiced Friday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury on March 11.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS
ABOUT THE RANGERS: Lundqvist is expected to play as long as there are no adverse effects from Friday’s practice and his importance to New York cannot be overstated – he entered the postseason winning his last four playoff starts at Pittsburgh while surrendering a total of four goals. Plus, the Rangers already have huge injury concerns among their defense corps, with captain Ryan McDonagh (hand) still sidelined and Dan Girardi ruled out after returning to the lineup for the series opener. Derek Stepan scored six times in the final nine games of the regular season and netted both goals Wednesday, prompting New York coach Alain Vigneault to tell reporters: “We need our top end players to play better. It’s time to make a difference.”
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Third-stringer Jeff Zatkoff made 35 saves in his first start since Feb. 20 while spelling Fleury, who suffered his second concussion of the season on March 31 and said of his availability for Game 2: “I don’t expect it, but I hope so. It feels like it’s been forever.” It has been more than month on the shelf for Malkin, who was scoring at a point-per-game pace prior to his injury and adds another lethal weapon to an already-explosive offense, particularly on the power play. “He’s one of the few players in the world that can change the game single-handedly,” said Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan of Malkin, who was initially expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks. “We have more options with him in.”
OVERTIME
1. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scored once and set up two of the three goals by Patric Hornqvist in Game 1.
2. F Derick Brassard, who led the Rangers with 27 goals, is mired in an eight-game drought.
3. Malkin has 23 goals and 22 assists in 47 career games against New York.
PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Penguins 2

**Satch** · 04-16-2016, 09:09 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

Preview: Philadelphia at Washington
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 16, 2016
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia
After earning a share of the NHL’s single-season wins record, goaltender Braden Holtby didn’t see much work on his plate en route to helping the Washington Capitals draw first blood in their first-round series with the Philadelphia Flyers. Holtby looks to keep the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals cruising along when they host the Flyers in Game 2 on Saturday night.
The likely front-runner for the Vezina Trophy, Holtby prevented Philadelphia from gaining an early advantage by thwarting three first-period power plays and finishing with 19 saves for his third career postseason shutout. “With a bunch of PKs, you have to rely on the goaltender quite a bit,” forward Jay Beagle told reporters. “He obviously stood on his head again (Thursday). We had momentum coming (out of) the first.” In addition to the scoreboard, the Flyers sustained a considerable loss as second-line center Sean Couturier suffered a reported AC sprain in his left shoulder and will be sidelined for two weeks, general manager Ron Hextall told reporters on Friday. “Obviously he is a huge piece of our team. He goes down, but someone else has to step up,” fellow forward Wayne Simmonds told the team’s website of the 23-year-old Couturier, who scored 11 goals and set up a career-high 28 others this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, TVAS, CSN Philadelphia, CSN-DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE FLYERS: Versatile Brayden Schenn could shift from left wing to center on the team’s second line and 21-year-old Scott Laughton could make his playoff debut in Couturier’s absence. “If (Laughton) does go in, he’s done a good job killing penalties for us so that’s a potential role for him,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “He hadn’t spent a whole lot of time on the power play so I wouldn’t expect that.” Philadelphia has struggled with the man advantage of late, mustering little during its four chances on Thursday to push its run to 0-for-17 in its last five games – excluding a “meaningless” season finale versus the New York Islanders.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: While captain Alex Ovechkin’s crushing hit on Couturier along the boards garnered the majority of the headlines, Washington’s players weren’t shy about putting their bodies on the line throughout the contest. Ovechkin joined defensemen Brooks Orpik and Dmitry Orlov in posting a team-best four hits while 14 of the Capitals’ 18 skaters notched at least one. In addition, Washington recorded 17 of its 23 blocked shots during the second and third periods of Game 1.
OVERTIME
1. Holtby has limited the opposition to two goals or fewer in 10 of his last 13 postseason starts.
2. Philadelphia, which recorded eight of its 19 shots over the final 40 minutes of Game 1, averaged a total of 30 in its four regular-season contests versus Washington.
3. The Capitals have killed off their last 21 short-handed situations.
PREDICTION: Capitals 5, Flyers 2

**Satch** · 04-16-2016, 09:09 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

Preview: Minnesota at Dallas
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 16, 2016
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
The Minnesota Wild knew they were facing a daunting task going up against the Western Conference’s best team and that point was driven home by the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series. Dallas breezed to a 4-0 victory on Thursday night and looks to take a commanding 2-0 lead in Saturday night’s Game 2 over the visiting Wild.
Minnesota scored only six goals during a season-ending five-game losing streak and mustered only 22 shots on goal in Thursday’s loss, prompting coach John Torchetti to shuffle his lines at Friday’s practice. “The most important thing we got to understand is we can play with these guys, we can beat these guys,” Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk said after the team’s fifth consecutive postseason defeat. “There’s no reason to think otherwise.” Minnesota’s task could become more daunting with the expected return of Stars forward Tyler Seguin to the lineup. Seguin, who missed the final 10 games of the regular season with a sliced Achilles tendon, finished tied for second on the team with 33 goals.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVAS 2, FSN North/Wisconsin (Minnesota), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE WILD: Minnesota’s offensive woes are magnified by the injuries to leading goal scorer Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek, who combined for 94 points this season, but forward Erik Haula is planning to return to the lineup after missing the series opener due to a lower-body injury. “It’s a challenge,” said Haula, who has registered 21 points in 27 games since Torchetti took over the coaching reins. “We came here for a split and I think everyone should just be positive and create a positive environment just overall everywhere of being able to accomplish the goal,” he said. Dubnyk was not as practice Friday, although Torchetti said his absence was simply due to “maintenance reasons.”
ABOUT THE STARS: Dallas has won 11 of 13 games since the injury to Seguin, who has amassed 107 goals in his three seasons with the Stars and said his condition is “night and day” since he returned to practice with the club on Monday. “Well, for me there’s no comparison,” coach Lindy Ruff said after Friday’s practice. “Like I said, I thought his first day out on the ice he was OK, and today he just seems to be a lot more fluid, lot more jump, no hesitation. Like I said, those couple extra days are doing him well.” Ruff did not disclose his starting goaltender for Game 2, but Kari Lehtonen’s second career playoff shutout made it a tougher choice between him and the more experienced Antti Niemi.
OVERTIME
1. Stars captain Jamie Benn has five goals and three assists in seven postseason games.
2. Wild F Charlie Coyle, a 21-goal scorer, is mired in a 19-game drought.
3. Lehtonen is 7-1-0 with a 1.76 goals-against average in his last eight appearances.
PREDICTION: Stars 4, Wild 2

**Satch** · 04-16-2016, 09:10 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/16

Preview: San Jose at Los Angeles
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 16, 2016
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
The San Jose Sharks set a franchise record when posting the best road record in the NHL during the regular season, and they continued their success away from home in their playoff opener. The Sharks look to take a firm hold on their first-round series when they visit the Los Angeles Kings for Game 2 on Saturday.
San Jose went 28-10-3 on the road during the regular season in 2015-16, recording the second-most victories away from home in league history, and carried over that success to Game 1 as it skated to a 4-3 victory. The opener featured several quick responses in the second period as Jeff Carter scored 40 seconds after defenseman Brent Burns gave San Jose a 2-1 lead and Los Angeles’ 3-2 advantage lasted only 30 seconds thanks to Tomas Hertl’s tally, before captain Joe Pavelski put the Sharks ahead for good 17 seconds into the third with his second goal of the game. The Kings certainly do not want to head to San Jose down 2-0 in the series but aren’t likely to panic should it happen as they became the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit when these Pacific Division rivals last met in the postseason in 2014. Los Angeles would be wise to be more disciplined in Game 2 after giving San Jose’s power play, which ranked third in the league during the regular season, four opportunities in the opener – one of which was converted.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports, CBC, TVA, CSN California (San Jose), FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE SHARKS: It was no surprise that Pavelski, who recorded his sixth two-goal performance of his postseason career, scored the game-winner in Game 1 as he led the league in that category during the regular season with 11. “Big-game guy for us,” coach Peter DeBoer told reporters. “He’s our captain for a reason. He scores a lot of key goals. … He’s been clutch like that for us all season.” Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup Thursday after missing the last 12 regular-season contests with a knee injury and was none the worse for wear, logging a team-high 23 minutes, 23 seconds of ice time.
ABOUT THE KINGS: Alec Martinez is a question mark for Game 2 as he left the opener after blocking a shot late in the second period and did not return for the third. The defenseman was playing his first game after missing the final four of the regular season with an undisclosed injury. Trevor Lewis scored a short-handed goal in the opener, Los Angeles’ first in the postseason since Anze Kopitar tallied while down a player in 2012.
OVERTIME
1. Pavelski has scored six goals in six games against the Kings since the start of 2015-16.
2. Los Angeles recalled D Kevin Gravel from Ontario of the American Hockey League.
3. San Jose has won all three of its visits to Staples Center this season.
PREDICTION: Kings 3, Sharks 1

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NHL Betting Info. 4/16

NHL Betting Info. 4/16

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