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**TheGame** · 04-23-2016, 07:42 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

Preview: Predators (41-27) at Ducks (46-25)

Date: April 23, 2016 6:00 PM EDT

The Anaheim Ducks were in harmony and taking care of business in Music City to even this first-round series and now need to get back to dominating in their own barn.

Frederik Andersen played a huge role in returning them to Southern California in the best possible position, and there's no reason to believe he won't be in net at Honda Center for Saturday night's pivotal Game 5 against the Nashville Predators.

Anaheim enjoyed the luxury of two capable goaltenders this season and had a pretty even split with Andersen winning 22 games, starting 37 and posting a .919 save percentage while John Gibson won 21 times with 38 starts and a .920 percentage.

It was Gibson who got a bulk of the minutes after Andersen suffered a concussion in late March, and although Andersen returned with a 2-0 shutout in the season finale at Washington, Gibson got the nod for the opening two games of the playoffs.

Six goals allowed and two home losses later and it was Andersen's turn to mind the net when the series shifted to Nashville. The switch paid off splendidly with Andersen, who went 16-1-2 over his prior 19 starts, making 27 saves in a 3-0 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday before stopping 30 in a 4-1 win Thursday that tied the series.

Andersen didn't allow a goal until the 11:26 mark of the second period in Game 4, giving him a career-best playoff shutout streak of 91 minutes, 26 seconds. Add in his effort against the Capitals on April 10 and the overall streak topped 152 minutes.

"It was a great team effort tonight," said center Nate Thompson, who scored along with Jamie McGinn during a two-minute span of the second period Thursday. "I can't say enough about Freddie. He stood tall for us all night."

The solid two-game stretch was a far cry from Andersen's effort in the latter portion of last year's Western Conference finals, when eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago put the puck past him 18 times over the last four of that seven-game series.

Andersen is now 6-1-0 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in seven career starts against the Predators, including wins in both at home.

Although Ryan Getzlaf has two goals and an assist and set the tone Thursday by scoring just 62 seconds into the game, fellow points leaders Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler remain quiet in the series with a combined three points. However, Andrew Cogliano, McGinn and Thompson have stepped up with two goals apiece.

"We knew we were down two coming in here, and we wanted to get one," forward Chris Stewart told the team's official website. "Once we got that, we shifted focus on getting the second one. Now it's a best-of-three with home-ice advantage. We're going home to a good crowd. Hopefully we get a win and come back here."

Nashville rode its own goaltender to what appeared to be a very favorable two-game advantage, but after Pekka Rinne was outstanding by stopping 54 of 58 shots in a pair of 3-2 victories in Anaheim, he faltered by allowing seven goals on 46 at home.

The Predators also failed on a wealth of power-play opportunities in Games 3 and 4, going 0 for 11 with the man advantage - although the Ducks deserve some credit since their penalty killing unit was the NHL's best this season with a 87.2 success rate.

Nashville could also use a return to the balance it displayed in getting its goals from six players over the first two games.

"That's the name of the playoffs - the playoffs go back and forth," Predators coach Peter Laviolette told the team's official website. "There's ups and downs to it. You have to respond to it. ... Our guys will be ready to play in Anaheim, I'm sure of that."

**TheGame** · 04-23-2016, 07:43 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

Preview: Blues (49-24) at Blackhawks (47-26)

Date: April 23, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Providing bulletin board material for the defending Stanley Cup champions who just staved off elimination doesn't seem wise. Whether it's confidence or arrogance, though, Alex Pietrangelo doesn't mind having to head back to the United Center for Game 6 on Saturday night.

"It's going to be fun to win it in Chicago," the St. Louis defenseman boasted.

It's true that the Blues won Games 3 and 4 in the Windy City to put the Blackhawks in a 3-1 hole, having set up a chance to close out this first-round series Thursday at home and advance to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2012. But that's also the last time Chicago was sent home in the opening round.

The following year, the Blackhawks came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Detroit in their first series before winning their second of three Cups in the last six seasons. The year after that, they lost Games 1 and 2 to St. Louis in the first round before rallying to win four straight, then forced Game 7 against Los Angeles in the conference finals after falling behind 3-1 and lost in overtime.

All of that makes it seem Pietrangelo's comment is ill-timed after Patrick Kane kept Chicago alive with a put-back goal 3:07 into the second overtime of Game 5 for a 4-3 victory. The Art Ross Trophy winner's fifth career postseason overtime goal tied him for third on the all-time list and helped the Blackhawks recover from losing a two-goal lead in the third period.

It also marked Kane's first goal of the series. Captain Jonathan Toews has yet to score, though both of them assisted on Artemi Panarin's goal with 0.4 seconds left in the second that gave Chicago a 3-1 advantage. Marian Hossa and Artem Anisimov scored earlier in the period.

'Tough to give up another lead like that, but we didn't crack,' said Corey Crawford, who made 12 of his 43 saves in the OT periods. 'We stuck with our game, and we're excited to go back home now.'

One might wonder why. St. Louis scored the deciding goal there in Game 3 after Kane's four-minute high sticking penalty in the third, then held on to win Game 4 when Andrew Shaw's late interference penalty thwarted any hopes for a Blackhawks comeback.

Chicago won without Shaw in Game 5 after he was suspended for directing a homophobic slur at someone on the ice while entering the penalty box. He'll be back for this contest, which everyone is expecting to be another tight one.

Each game in the series has been decided by one goal, with both clubs taking one in overtime. It's part of the reason the Blues are still feeling good despite missing a chance to close out the series at home.

'Let's get playing,' coach Ken Hitchcock said. 'We've got to find another way to make them crack.'

St. Louis has outscored Chicago 8-4 in the third period and overtime and fought back in Game 4 with goals from Robby Fabbri and David Backes to send it to OT. It's the type of resolve the Blues might need again to keep Chicago from forcing a Game 7 on Monday in St. Louis.

'We've played in a lot of overtimes with this team and had some long stretches here in playoff runs, so when you get those opportunities sometimes you come up big,' Kane said. 'Sometimes you get lucky, too.'

And that's exactly how Pietrangelo feels the Blackhawks won Thursday after claiming the Blues "outplayed" the Blackhawks. He assisted on all three St. Louis goals, tying him with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko for the team lead with five playoff points.

'I thought we played one of our better games,' Pietrangelo said. 'It's going to be a tough place to win. We won the last two there, though.'

**TheGame** · 04-23-2016, 07:43 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews

In my opinion, the big winner of the first week of the Stanley Cup playoffs was the Western Conference top-seeded Dallas Stars. The big loser? The greater Los Angeles area. I didn't give the Stars a great chance of winning the West because while it's a fabulous offensive team, Dallas wasn't great on defense during the regular season. But with has happened to the two L.A. teams thus far, now I'm rethinking that.

The Stars took a 2-0 series lead against Minnesota into Monday's game in Minneapolis. Kari Lehtonen has been great in goal, although it's against a Wild team missing two of its best forwards due to injury and that's easily the worst club in the postseason. My only worry about Dallas now is the status of star forward Tyler Seguin. He missed the final 10 games of the regular season and first of these playoffs with an Achilles injury. He did play 15:40 in Game 2 but apparently tweaked that injury. NHL teams are notoriously vague about these types of things. Seguin was to miss Game 3 and all Coach Lindy Ruff would say is that what Seguin is dealing with is "not his injury, but it is kind of related."

I don't think the Stars can win the Cup without Seguin at 100 percent, so I'd just sit him the rest of the Wild series to heal up for the conference semifinals. I do think they can win the West without him because now it looks as if Dallas won't have to deal with either the Los Angeles Kings, the Western Conference betting favorites entering the playoffs, or Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks in the conference finals.

I'm absolutely shocked that Los Angeles entered Monday's Game 3 of their series at San Jose down 2-0. True, the Sharks led the NHL in road wins during the season and set a franchise record, but I never saw them winning both games in L.A. It was a bad week in L.A. hockey as the Ducks also dropped their first two at home against Nashville, each by the same 3-2 score. John Gibson was in net for both of those, but I think you will see Coach Bruce Boudreau go with Frederik Andersen, who has much more playoff experience, in Game 3 on Tuesday. The Ducks' big guns, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler, have been held to three total points. Perry is minus-three for the series. The Ducks are also taking too many penalties. They have now lost four straight playoff games, three at home, since leading the Blackhawks 3-2 through five games of last season's Western Conference Finals.

Anaheim is a +100 underdog for Tuesday's game in Nashville, which has a 2-0 playoff series lead for the first time in franchise history. The new odds to win the West are: Stars at +250, Blues (+450), Blackhawks (+500), Sharks (+500), Predators (+600), Ducks (+950), Kings (+1000) and the no-chance Wild at +4000.

Chicago faces a near must-win home game on Tuesday against St. Louis, with the Hawks as -155 favorites. They totally let one get away in Sunday's Game 2, leading 2-1 entering the third but falling 3-2. The Blackhawks had been 70-0-4 since the start of last season when they had the lead at the beginning of the third. The Blackhawks had trouble scoring in 5-on-5 play during the regular season, ranking in the bottom third of the NHL, and that has carried over with just one goal at even strength. The Blues finished second in 5-on-5 goals allowed this season and they have outpaced the Hawks in high-danger scoring chances during 5-on-5 play 35-19. I wouldn't bail on Chicago yet as the Hawks typically play inconsistently early in series and then flip the switch.

My original Western Conference picks to advance were Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Anaheim. Not looking great there at the moment.

In the Eastern Conference, Washington is now a huge -105 favorite to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. The Capitals looked to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the Flyers in Philly on Monday night. The Penguins are next at +500 to win the East, followed by the Lightning (+750), Rangers (+750), Islanders (+900), Panthers (+1100), Flyers (+3500) and Red Wings (+3500). I'm sticking with my first-round selections: Washington, the two New York teams and Detroit.

Easily the most interesting series in the East has been Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers, especially in net. Blueshirts star Henrik Lundqvist left Game 1 with an eye injury and New York lost. He was a game-time call for Game 2 on Saturday but was in net and led a 4-2 victory to even the series at one. The Penguins have played both games with third-stringer Jeff Zatkoff in net and he's expected to be in there against Tuesday with Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray still recovering from injuries. It was because of Zatkoff that I liked New York in this series. The Penguins did welcome back star forward Evgeni Malkin in Game 2; he had been out since March 11 and was supposed to be out at least six weeks. Malkin played nearly 20 minutes Saturday and had an assist. The Rangers are actually +101 underdogs for Tuesday. On the series line, the Pens are -165 and Rangers +145. Blueshirts captain Ryan McDonagh hasn't played yet in the series and is doubtful for Tuesday. He did practice Monday for the first time since being hurt two weeks ago.

**Satch** · 04-23-2016, 10:25 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

“Stanley Cup Playoffs”
Saturday’s betting preview
Two team will attempt to advance to the next round of the NHL playoffs Saturday. We break down that and all of today’s NHL action in our Stanley Cup Playoffs betting preview.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins (A: +162, H: -180, O/U: 5)
Penguins lead series 3-1
The New York Rangers are in an eerily situation to two years ago, when they were on the brink of elimination as they headed to Pittsburgh for Game 5 of their playoff series. The Rangers wound up winning the final three games en route to the Stanley Cup final, a task they must repeat against the host Penguins beginning on Saturday afternoon.
Much like the matchup in 2013-14, New York’s situation looks bleak following a pair of lopsided losses at home as Pittsburgh took a commanding 3-1 lead with a chance to close out the series at home. “You can’t think that because you’ve done it in the past you’re necessarily going to do it,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “But you can believe a little bit.” The Penguins manhandled New York at Madison Square Garden, winning the two games by a combined 8-1, and have won 17 of 20 contests dating to the regular season. “Overall, I think we have an opportunity to do something good and I think we have to step on it,” Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang said.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Sportsnet 360, TVAS
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist (0.919%), Penguins – Matthew Murray (0.935%)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (51-27-8, 38-33 O/U):
Evgeni Malkin expressed concern that he could upset the team’s chemistry after he returned from an injury absence of more than a month in Pittsburgh’s Game 2 loss, but any worries were allayed after his dominant performance in Thursday’s 5-0 romp. Malkin scored a pair of goals and assisted on two others to tie a career high with four points and give him six over three games in the series. “Geno wants to win,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a competitive guy. He cares about this team. And he knows he’s a big part of this team having success. He’s a self-driven guy. He wants to be on the ice. He wants the puck in the crucial situations.”
ABOUT THE RANGERS (47-30-9, 38-29 O/U):
New York has surrendered eight unanswered goals after seizing a 1-0 lead in Game 3, but a bigger worry may be the play of the typically unflappable Henrik Lundqvist, who was injured in the series opener and yanked in the second period of Thursday’s romp after permitting four goals on 18 shots. “Well, you can’t look at the big picture. That’s when you get lost a little bit,” Lundqvist said. “But at the same time, last time we were in there we managed to win (Game 2). So we just need to do everything right and we’ll have a good chance of winning.” One of the focal points of Friday’s practice was the dismal power play that has converted on only 1-of-16 opportunities.
TRENDS:
* Rangers are 1-6 in the last seven meetings.
* Road team is 5-1 in the last six meetings.
* Over is 7-1-4 in Rangers last 12 road games.
* Over is 4-1-1 in Penguins last 6 games following a win.

**Satch** · 04-23-2016, 10:26 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks (A: +122, H: -135, O/U: 5)
Series tied 2-2
The home team has yet to win in the Western Conference first-round series between Anaheim and Nashville, a trend the Ducks hope to reverse when they host the Predators on Saturday night in Game 5. Anaheim rebounded from a pair of one-goal losses at home to win twice in Nashville to level the best-of-7 series at two victories apiece.
Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said there was no panic among the team in facing an 0-2 series deficit, a mindset forged after Anaheim rebounded from a wretched 1-7-2 start to the season to win its fourth straight Pacific Division title. “You have an ability to look around in the room and have confidence in each other, even when you’re in tough times,” Getzlaf said. “We got ourselves back in the series. That’s what we accomplished here.” Now the Predators are in the situation of having to regroup after squandering a glittering chance to deliver a knockout blow to the Ducks, losing Games 3 and 4 by a combined 7-1 tally. “This is not what we envisioned, but we’ve played good in their building,” Predators center Mike Fisher said. “It’s not going to get any easier. We know that. We have to respond and be quick.”
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVAS
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Predators – Pekka Rinne (0.907 %), Ducks Frederik Andersen (0.922 %).
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (43-29-14, 33-34 O/U):
One of the reasons for Nashville’s offensive struggles is the lack of production from the top line of Ryan Johansen, James Neal and Calle Jarnkrok, who have failed to hit the scoresheet since Neal potted a goal 35 seconds into the series opener. “I think it’s more about us,” Johansen told reporters following Thursday’s loss. “I felt a little better, but we still need to notch it up another gear. It’s going to be a good test for us as far as a line, and we need to go out there as a group and really amp our game up.” Forward Craig Smith (lower body) sat out Thursday, ending a streak of 243 consecutive games played (postseason included).
ABOUT THE DUCKS (48-27-11, 32-35 O/U):
Although Anaheim had the league’s top-ranked penalty kill during the regular season, coach Bruce Boudreau said his team is “playing with fire” by given so many power-play chances to the Predators, who were stifled on six chances Thursday to fall to 1-for-19 in the series. “I think it’s the same. We’re doing exactly what we’ve done all year,” Ducks forward Chris Stewart said. “The PK’s been stepping up like it’s doing all year. Guys are blocking shots and sacrificing their body. That’s what it takes to win this time of year.” Frederik Andersen has been magnificent since supplanting John Gibson in net, turning aside 57-of-58 shots.
TRENDS:
* Ducks are 1-4 in their last five home games.
* Road team is 4-0 in the last four meetings.
* Over is 5-0-2 in the last seven meetings in Anaheim.
* Under is 3-0-3 in Predators last six games overall.

**Satch** · 04-23-2016, 10:26 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks (A: +129, H: -143, O/U: 143)
Blues lead series 3-2
After falling short in double overtime, the visiting St. Louis Blues face an arduous task on Saturday if they are going to oust the defending Stanley Cup champion-Chicago Blackhawks from the playoffs. Although St. Louis still holds a 3-2 edge in the first-round series, Chicago has emerged victorious in 14 of its last 15 Game 6 contests under coach Joel Quenneville – including eight straight since 2013.
Patrick Kane picked a fine time to score his first goal of this postseason, doing so 3:07 into double overtime to secure Thursday’s 4-3 win for the Blackhawks and send the tight first-round series back to Chicago. St. Louis won Games 3 and 4 at the United Center, perhaps prompting defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to provide bulletin board material with a rather confident statement after his three-assist performance on Thursday. “It’s going to be a tough place to win, but we won the last two there, so go there and (do) more of the same. … It’s going to be fun here to win it in Chicago,” the 26-year-old Pietrangelo said. Little margin of error exists in this series, as each contest has been decided by one goal and two games have ventured past regulation.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS2
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Blues – Brian Elliot (0.931 %), Blackhawks – Corey Crawford (0.923 %)
ABOUT THE BLUES (52-25-10, 34-41 O/U):
Pietrangelo’s five points in the series have him tied for the team lead with Vladimir Tarasenko as well as Jaden Schwartz, who scored in his third straight contest on Thursday to extend his point streak to four games (three goals, two assists). Former Blackhawk Troy Brouwer, who has been held without a point in seven straight contests, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that eliminating Chicago will not come easily. “My last playoff series with them (in 2011) is when we were down 3-0 to Vancouver and lost Game 7 in overtime,” Brouwer said. “So I know firsthand from a long time ago what these guys can do and when they don’t have a whole lot of options.”
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (49-28-10, 32-33 O/U):
Although Kane was able to find the net on Thursday, captain Jonathan Toews still is looking for first goal of the postseason. “The time is now. I’ve been telling myself that all series,” said Toews, who joined Kane in assisting on rookie Artemi Panarin’s goal with 0.4 seconds remaining in the second period on Thursday to give Chicago a 3-1 lead. Defenseman Duncan Keith, who leads the team with three tallies, added to his legacy as a workhorse by skating in a game-high 42 minutes on Thursday.
TRENDS:
* Blues are 7-0 in their last seven road games verus a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Blues are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Chicago.
* Over is 8-2-6 in Blackhawks last 16 games following a win.
* Over is 10-0-3 in Blues last 13 games playing on 1 days rest.

**Satch** · 04-23-2016, 10:27 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

PLAYOFFS
NY Rangers-Pittsburgh (P 3-1)
Rangers lost five of last six games with Pittsburgh; road team won nine of last 12 games in this rivalry.New York won three of its five visits to Steel City. Penguins were 3-6 on power play in Game 4’s 5-0 rout, Rangers’ 5th straight home playoff loss- Pens are 7-19 on power play in series, Rangers 1-16. Over is 8-1-5 in Rangers’ last 14 games. Pittsburgh won 11 of its last 13 games, over is 7-3-1 in its last 11 games overall, 3-1-2 in last six series games.
St Louis-Chicago (Stl 3-2)
Blues won five of last seven games with Chicago, with four wins by one goal, three in OT/SO; under is 4-2-2 in last eight series games. Blackhawks stayed alive in Game 5 with goal in second OT, despite being outshot 26-15 in 3rd period/OTs. Chicago lost five of their last seven games overall, with three losses in OT. Over is 5-2-3 in last ten Chicago games. Blues won ten of their last 14 games- they’re 5-15 on power play in series; Chicago 3-15. All five games in series have been decided by one goal.
Nashville-Anaheim (2-2)
Road team won all four series games. Ducks lost four of last seven games with Nashville (over is 9-1-4 in last 14); Under is 5-1-3 in last nine Anaheim games overall. Nashville won four of last seven games overall; under is 4-1-3 in its last eight games. In 17 years of existence, Nashville has only two playoff series, first round series in 2011, 2012; they’ve been over .500 11 of last 12 years. Blowing 2-0 series lead at home has to have put lot of pressure on Predators. Anaheim is 1-12 on power play in series, Predators 1-19.
Playoffs tally: Home: 17-21, Over: 12-13-13

**Satch** · 04-23-2016, 11:19 AM

Re: NHL Betting Info. 4/23

NHL Hockey Betting Trends – Sat – April, 23
NY Rangers at Pittsburgh, 3:05 PM ET
New York: 30-17 SU in road games after a division game
Pittsburgh: 8-17 SU off 2 wins by 2 goals or more against division rivals
St Louis at Chicago, 8:05 PM ET
St Louis: 22-12 SU vs. division opponents
Chicago: 9-13 SU after 2 or more consecutive overs
Nashville at Anaheim, 6:05 PM ET
Nashville: 3-13 SU as a road underdog of +100 to +150
Anaheim: 20-5 SU off a road win scoring 4 or more goals

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NHL Betting Info. 4/23

NHL Betting Info. 4/23

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