Red Wings and Bruins roll into NHL Conference Semifinals
Red Wings and Bruins roll into NHL Conference Semifinals
Off sweeps of the Blue Jackets and Canadiens respectively, the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins could be on a collision course to meet up in the Finals for Lord Stanley's Cup.
Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to be the best.
The San Jose Sharks finished the 2008-09 NHL regular season with the league’s best record at 53-18-11. And then their postseason finished after just 11 days, courtesy of the Anaheim Ducks. The No. 8 seed in the Western Conference (42-33-7) eliminated the Sharks in six games to earn 4.45 units against the moneyline; if you were sharp enough to support the Ducks +1.5 against the puckline in each contest, you got the full six units out of the betting odds.
You did even better if you followed the 1-8 matchup in the East, although the result was far less shocking. The Boston Bruins (53-19-10) mowed over the injured and ineffective Montreal Canadiens (41-31-10) in four straight at a combined score of 17-6. With the B’s favored every night and laying 1.5 goals ATS, it only took the four games to earn a cool 6.88 units. That’s on top of the league-leading 34.49 units they scooped up during the regular season. As for the Habs – so much for the idea that they’d man up against their rivals like they did in last year’s first-round series win over Boston. Instead, Montreal ended up 7.38 units in the rouge against the puckline.
The curtain also came down early on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Making their first-ever trip to the postseason at 41-31-10, the Jackets were rolled in four straight games by the defending champion Detroit Red Wings (51-21-10). Columbus was outscored 12-2 after three games before losing the clincher 6-5 to prevent Detroit from completing the ATS sweep. The Wings will take 3.38 units of profit into their second-round series with Anaheim.
The other sweep saw the Vancouver Canucks (45-27-10) silence the St. Louis Blues (41-31-10), although the 0-4 result doesn’t do justice to the fledgling Blues. Three of their losses were by a single goal (including Game 4 in overtime) to split the series at 2-2 ATS, as Chris Mason posted a healthy .916 save percentage to keep it close. But Roberto Luongo (.962 SV%) was a brick wall at the other end and the under went 2-0-2 against the posted total. Now that’s a playoff goalie.
We usually end up saying the same thing about Martin Brodeur, but not this year. The New Jersey Devils (51-27-4) were extended to seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes (45-30-7), then Carolina scored twice in the last 80 seconds to steal Game 7 and advance to face the Bruins. The Hurricanes offense cranked up the heat on Brodeur with four goals on 46 shots in Game 4 and never let up from there. But it only got them 0.73 of a unit at 4-3 ATS.
The most entertaining series of all, however, was between the Washington Capitals (50-42-8) and the New York Rangers (43-30-9). This soap opera went seven games and featured suspensions to Caps enforcer Donald Brashear and Rangers coach John Tortorella. Washington climbed out of a 1-3 hole to take the series in seven and pick up 2.2 units despite going 3-4 ATS.
The remaining two matchups were dull by comparison. The Pittsburgh Penguins skated past the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, and the Chicago Blackhawks did the same to the Calgary Flames – although underdog Calgary picked up 2.99 units on the way to the golf course at 4-2 ATS. It’ll be Penguins-Capitals and Blackhawks-Canucks in the next round.
The Red Wings (-280) and the Bruins (-200) are sizeable favorites to win their series and move on to the Conference Finals. I would pick them to do just that, and as long as Chris Osgood doesn’t melt down in Detroit – hardly a given these days – these two elite teams have the right combination of offense and defense to keep cashing in.
I also like Luongo and the Canucks (-140) to put the kibosh on Chicago, and although I’m a fan of the Capitals, I’m not a fan of their betting value at -145. The Penguins are on the march.
Off sweeps of the Blue Jackets and Canadiens respectively, the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins could be on a collision course to meet up in the Finals for Lord Stanley's Cup.
Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to be the best.
The San Jose Sharks finished the 2008-09 NHL regular season with the league’s best record at 53-18-11. And then their postseason finished after just 11 days, courtesy of the Anaheim Ducks. The No. 8 seed in the Western Conference (42-33-7) eliminated the Sharks in six games to earn 4.45 units against the moneyline; if you were sharp enough to support the Ducks +1.5 against the puckline in each contest, you got the full six units out of the betting odds.
You did even better if you followed the 1-8 matchup in the East, although the result was far less shocking. The Boston Bruins (53-19-10) mowed over the injured and ineffective Montreal Canadiens (41-31-10) in four straight at a combined score of 17-6. With the B’s favored every night and laying 1.5 goals ATS, it only took the four games to earn a cool 6.88 units. That’s on top of the league-leading 34.49 units they scooped up during the regular season. As for the Habs – so much for the idea that they’d man up against their rivals like they did in last year’s first-round series win over Boston. Instead, Montreal ended up 7.38 units in the rouge against the puckline.
The curtain also came down early on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Making their first-ever trip to the postseason at 41-31-10, the Jackets were rolled in four straight games by the defending champion Detroit Red Wings (51-21-10). Columbus was outscored 12-2 after three games before losing the clincher 6-5 to prevent Detroit from completing the ATS sweep. The Wings will take 3.38 units of profit into their second-round series with Anaheim.
The other sweep saw the Vancouver Canucks (45-27-10) silence the St. Louis Blues (41-31-10), although the 0-4 result doesn’t do justice to the fledgling Blues. Three of their losses were by a single goal (including Game 4 in overtime) to split the series at 2-2 ATS, as Chris Mason posted a healthy .916 save percentage to keep it close. But Roberto Luongo (.962 SV%) was a brick wall at the other end and the under went 2-0-2 against the posted total. Now that’s a playoff goalie.
We usually end up saying the same thing about Martin Brodeur, but not this year. The New Jersey Devils (51-27-4) were extended to seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes (45-30-7), then Carolina scored twice in the last 80 seconds to steal Game 7 and advance to face the Bruins. The Hurricanes offense cranked up the heat on Brodeur with four goals on 46 shots in Game 4 and never let up from there. But it only got them 0.73 of a unit at 4-3 ATS.
The most entertaining series of all, however, was between the Washington Capitals (50-42-8) and the New York Rangers (43-30-9). This soap opera went seven games and featured suspensions to Caps enforcer Donald Brashear and Rangers coach John Tortorella. Washington climbed out of a 1-3 hole to take the series in seven and pick up 2.2 units despite going 3-4 ATS.
The remaining two matchups were dull by comparison. The Pittsburgh Penguins skated past the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, and the Chicago Blackhawks did the same to the Calgary Flames – although underdog Calgary picked up 2.99 units on the way to the golf course at 4-2 ATS. It’ll be Penguins-Capitals and Blackhawks-Canucks in the next round.
The Red Wings (-280) and the Bruins (-200) are sizeable favorites to win their series and move on to the Conference Finals. I would pick them to do just that, and as long as Chris Osgood doesn’t melt down in Detroit – hardly a given these days – these two elite teams have the right combination of offense and defense to keep cashing in.
I also like Luongo and the Canucks (-140) to put the kibosh on Chicago, and although I’m a fan of the Capitals, I’m not a fan of their betting value at -145. The Penguins are on the march.
