Sports Betting Blog - Free Expert Picks and Daily Game Analysis
Wagering-Sports » Blog » Sports » Hockey
9.9 times out of 10, you can count on a team that has a 3-0 lead in a series to be able to close that series out without a serious problem.
But who can forget the amazing comeback that the Boston Red Sox made in the 2004 ALCS, down 3-0 and down to their final three outs against the New York Yankees? The Red Sox rallied for a dramatic walk-off win in Game 4, repeated the feat in Game 5, and then took Games 6 and 7 to complete a seemingly impossible turnaround.
Tonight, Boston sports fans could be on the other side, if their Bruins fail to capture Game 7 tonight at home against Philadelphia.
Boston appeared to be rolling towards the Eastern Conference finals, as they were up 3-0 after a 4-1 win in Game 3 in Philadelphia. But sometimes, all it takes is one little opening, and the Flyers got that in Game 4. The Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit to force overtime, but Simon Gagne’s winner gave Philly a 5-4 win and a lifeline.
Boston had a chance to clinch at home in Game 5, but the Flyers rolled to a 4-0 win, and then, in Game 6 on Wednesday night, captured a 2-1 win to force tonight’s decisive Game 7.
Clearly the momentum is on the side of the Flyers. However, with a Game 7 in the friendly confines, with the crowd behind them, you’ve still got to believe in the Bruins, right?
Well…look at what happened with Pittsburgh the other night. The Penguins failed to close out Montreal when they had every opportunity to do so (gave up leads in Game 2, Game 4, and Game 6), and they paid the price for it.
It’s all quite simple for Boston tonight, honestly. In their seven playoff wins, the Bruins have scored 26 goals. In their five playoff losses, they’ve scored seven goals, with four of those coming in Game 4 against the Flyers.
That won’t be an easy task, given their ineptitude/Philadelphia’s excellent netminding in the last couple of games. After Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton combined on a shutout in Game 5, Leighton stepped up in relief of the injured Boucher and stopped 30 of 31 shots in Game 6, and he’ll be counted on to have another big performance tonight. He was actually the Flyers’ best goalie during the regular season, going 16-5-2 with a GAA of 2.48, so even though this is uncharted territory for the 28-year-old, his teammates have to feel very confident about his abilities to stop the Bruins once again tonight.
The Flyers have the momentum, the Bruins have the home ice advantage – who’s going to advance to face the Canadiens in an unlikely Eastern Conference finals showdown?
9.9 out of 10, folks. 9.9 out of 10.
MAY 14 NHL FREE PICK #1: BOSTON ML -125 (Bodog) vs. Philadelphia
MAY 14 NHL FREE PICK #2: Boston/Philadelphia UNDER 5 EVEN (Bodog)
May 14th, 2010 1:45:40 PM UTC | Posted in Free Picks, Hockey by Griffdog | No Comments
AS STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS HEAT UP SPECULATION BUILDS AS TO EVENTUAL CHAMP, CHANCES OF A CANADIAN TEAM WINNING IT ALL
NEW YORK, NY – The Stanley Cup Playoffs have delivered fantastic action thus far with teams staving off certain elimination, goalies turning in great performances, goals coming from all angles, and enough hits for an entire season. Speculation is reaching a fever pitch as to who will bring home the Cup and whether a US or Canadian team will win it. This being the case, the largest most successful sportsbook on the web BetUS.com posted odds on those questions and more.
Analysts at BetUS.com posted the following odds on the NHL:
To Win Stanley Cup
- Boston Bruins 15/2
- Chicago Blackhawks 2/1
- Montreal Canadiens 33/1
- Philadelphia Flyers 65/1
- Pittsburgh Penguins 2/1
- San Jose Sharks 2/1
- Vancouver Canucks 14/1
Possible Matchups
- Bruins vs Blackhawks 5/1
- Bruins vs Canucks 25/1
- Bruins vs Sharks 4/1
- Canadiens vs Blackhawks 15/1
- Canadiens vs Canucks 80/1
- Canadiens vs Sharks 14/1
- Flyers vs Blackhawks 50/1
- Flyers vs Canucks 180/1
- Flyers vs Sharks 40/1
- Penguins vs Blackhawks 9/5
- Penguins vs Canucks 10/1
- Penguins vs Sharks 7/5
Series Odds
Canucks 6/1
Blackhawks 1/10
Canadiens 6/1
Penguins 1/10
Flyers 7/1
Bruins 1/12
Odds on if a Canadian team could actually win the Stanley Cup this year
May 13th, 2010 12:31:53 AM UTC | Posted in BetUS, Hockey by admin | No Comments
NHL PICKS RECORD
Year-to-date: 32-28-2
Season-to-date: 105-87-6
Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Chicago leads series 2-1)
Looks like I passed some of my bad mojo onto the Canucks, who came out in Game 3 and absolutely laid an egg against the Blackhawks from the start.
Vancouver fell behind 2-0 after the first period, and after pulling with 3-2 after the second, weren’t able to complete the comeback, as Chicago scored two third-period goals to wrap up a 5-2 win and pull ahead in the series.
After thoroughly dominating Chicago for all of Game 1 and early on in Game 2, the momentum has fully shifted to the Blackhawks, and Vancouver is facing a must-win situation tonight.
Fortunately, they’re at home.
Vancouver has lost back-to-back games at home only once this season, when they lost 3-2 in overtime to Calgary on Jan. 9 and followed that with a 3-2 loss to Nashville two days later.
Another positive is that they have responded well to taking it on the chin, both at home and multiple times in a row.
Thus far this season, in situations where they’ve lost at least two games in a row by multiple goals, the Canucks have broken that streak with a multiple-goal victory.
The Canucks are also 5-2-0 this season after losing by three or more goals. They’re also 4-0-0 in their next home game after losing the previous home game by multiple goals, and three of those four wins have come by multiple goals.
Here’s another telling statistic that’s in favor of Vancouver bouncing back big time tonight. Wednesday’s loss was only the fifth time in 22 games this season in which Vancouver lost after losing by multiple goals.
Safe to say, I like what the odds are giving me today. I don’t expect the scoring to slow down either, keeping up with the standard set thus far this series and in last year’s conference semifinal series.
MAY 7 NHL FREE PICK #1: VANCOUVER ML -130 (Bodog) vs. Chicago
MAY 7 NHL FREE PICK #2: Vancouver/Chicago OVER 6 +105 (Bodog)
May 7th, 2010 2:49:09 PM UTC | Posted in Free Picks, Hockey by Griffdog | No Comments
Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Series tied 1-1)
Despite the Canucks blowing a glorious opportunity to take full control of this series, I still think they’re the better team and should take care of business tonight and in the series.
After going up 2-0 after just over five minutes, Vancouver allowed Chicago to stay in it, and three goals in the final period saw Chicago take a 4-2 win and tie the series up.
I look for Vancouver to put that disappointment behind them and come out fired up tonight at home, where they’re 32-8-4 this season.
Keep in mind that Vancouver took a 2-1 lead in last year’s conference semifinal series against the Blackhawks, only to lose three in a row after that, so even if Vancouver comes out on top tonight, it won’t be panic time for the Blackhawks camp.
MAY 5 NHL PICK #3: VANCOUVER ML -145 (Bodog) vs. Chicago
MAY 5 NHL PICK #4: Vancouver/Chicago OVER 6 +110 (Bookmaker)
May 5th, 2010 9:57:34 AM UTC | Posted in Free Picks, Hockey by Griffdog | No Comments
NHL PICKS RECORD
Year-to-date: 32-25-1
Season-to-date: 105-84-5
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins (Boston leads series 2-0)
- The total has been five or less in 28 of Boston’s 44 road games this season, including two of their three games in Buffalo in the last round.
- The total has been five or less in 24 of Philadelphia’s 43 home games this season, including both of their home games against New Jersey in the last round.
- The total has been five or less in seven of Boston’s last 10 road games.
- The total has been five or less in seven of Philadelphia’s last 10 home games.
I do think that the high-scoring Game 1 was an aberration. It was back to low scoring in Game 2, and I think it will stay that way in Game 3.
As for who I think will win? Philadelphia need this one desperately to have any chance in the series, and I think they’ll take it tonight. The Flyers are 17-5-1 in their last 23 home games, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this series ends up going back to Boston knotted at 2 after Friday night.
MAY 5 NHL PICK #1: Philadelphia/Boston UNDER 5 +115 (Bookmaker)
MAY 5 NHL PICK #2: PHILADELPHIA ML -155 (Bookmaker) vs. Boston
May 5th, 2010 9:54:52 AM UTC | Posted in Free Picks, Hockey by Griffdog | No Comments
Next »
