Philadelphia Flyers taming Devils so far
Mike Richards and the Flyers were one of six underdogs to surprise in Round 1 series openers last week, and Philly now holds a 2-1 lead over the Devils in their series. Richards has two goals and four assists for Philadelpha as the two teams are set to continue their series this week. The Coyotes and Avalanche are also on the brink of earning first round upsets in their matches against the Red Wings and Sharks.
Everywhere I turn, someone is saying the NHL has the best playoffs in pro sports. It’s hard to argue given the early results for 2010.
The underdog went 6-2 in Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals for a quick 9.19 units of profit against the betting odds. Nice. The favorites are 8-4 since then to get some of their mojo back, but it’s still mayhem out there.
It’s almost enough to make the San Jose Sharks believe in curses. They lost their Game 1 to the Colorado Avalanche (+204) when a puck deflected off Rob Blake’s skate and into his own net – all this with just 50 seconds left in regulation as Colorado won 2-1. Then the Sharks coughed up Game 3 when Dan Boyle accidentally scored on his own net to give the Avalanche (+115) a 1-0 overtime victory and a 2-1 series lead. If you had Colorado on the puck line in all three games, you’ve earned three units.
The Detroit Red Wings also find themselves down 2-1 to this year’s Cinderella team, the Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes are the underdogs in this series despite finishing the year with a better record (50-25-7, 13.40 units) than the Red Wings (44-24-14, -4.34 units). The betting public has apparently forgiven Detroit for its slow start this year, and with good reason, since Jimmy Howard (.924 save percentage during the regular season) has blossomed in his first full year as the No. 1 netminder.
But Howard has been outperformed by Ilya Bryzgalov (.920 SV%) in this series, and the Coyotes will continue to hold value because of their outstanding goaltender, as well as their low profile.
It didn’t even look like the Philadelphia Flyers were going to make the playoffs. Yet here they are with a 2-1 series lead over the New Jersey Devils, who have won three Stanley Cups with Martin Brodeur (.916 SV%) in goal. Philadelphia seems to be at a disadvantage with third-stringer Brian Boucher (.899 SV%), but the Flyers defense held New Jersey (-104) to just 19 shots on Sunday to win Game 3 in overtime by score of 3-2. Brodeur made 31 saves in a losing effort.
The biggest shocker of them all nearly took place in Washington, where the Montreal Canadiens came very close to taking a 2-0 series lead against the Capitals, the team with the best record in the league at 54-15-13 (16.48 units).
The Habs (+252) famously held Alex Ovechkin to zero shots on goal to win Thursday’s series opener 3-2. In Game 2, Montreal (+286) held a 4-1 lead late in the second period, but Ovechkin finally got on the board, and Nicklas Backstrom scored a hat trick to counter Andrei Kosti tsyn’s three goals for Montreal. Backstrom’s overtime winner made the final score 6-5 for a very relieved Washington side.
The defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins are back in charge of their series with the Ottawa Senators after the Sens (+196) got the postseason started with a 5-4 upset. Sidney Crosby only managed two futile shots on goal in that game, but he scored in Games 2 and 3 to put Pittsburgh on top with Game 4 coming up on Tuesday. The Sens are relying on defensemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov to shut down Crosby and limit his opportunities against goalie Brian Elliott (.909 SV%), who could definitely use the help.
The remaining two series (Boston Bruins-Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings-Vancouver Canucks) are tied at one game apiece heading into Monday. The Sabres have to worry about the health of Thomas Vanek, who crashed into the boards Saturday and may have injured his foot. Jochen Hecht (finger) is already on the shelf; he and Vanek combined for 49 goals during the regular season.
The Kings and Canucks are knotted at six goals each after two games and could be in for a long series. We’re not complaining. More games, more money.
Mike Richards and the Flyers were one of six underdogs to surprise in Round 1 series openers last week, and Philly now holds a 2-1 lead over the Devils in their series. Richards has two goals and four assists for Philadelpha as the two teams are set to continue their series this week. The Coyotes and Avalanche are also on the brink of earning first round upsets in their matches against the Red Wings and Sharks.
Everywhere I turn, someone is saying the NHL has the best playoffs in pro sports. It’s hard to argue given the early results for 2010.
The underdog went 6-2 in Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals for a quick 9.19 units of profit against the betting odds. Nice. The favorites are 8-4 since then to get some of their mojo back, but it’s still mayhem out there.
It’s almost enough to make the San Jose Sharks believe in curses. They lost their Game 1 to the Colorado Avalanche (+204) when a puck deflected off Rob Blake’s skate and into his own net – all this with just 50 seconds left in regulation as Colorado won 2-1. Then the Sharks coughed up Game 3 when Dan Boyle accidentally scored on his own net to give the Avalanche (+115) a 1-0 overtime victory and a 2-1 series lead. If you had Colorado on the puck line in all three games, you’ve earned three units.
The Detroit Red Wings also find themselves down 2-1 to this year’s Cinderella team, the Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes are the underdogs in this series despite finishing the year with a better record (50-25-7, 13.40 units) than the Red Wings (44-24-14, -4.34 units). The betting public has apparently forgiven Detroit for its slow start this year, and with good reason, since Jimmy Howard (.924 save percentage during the regular season) has blossomed in his first full year as the No. 1 netminder.
But Howard has been outperformed by Ilya Bryzgalov (.920 SV%) in this series, and the Coyotes will continue to hold value because of their outstanding goaltender, as well as their low profile.
It didn’t even look like the Philadelphia Flyers were going to make the playoffs. Yet here they are with a 2-1 series lead over the New Jersey Devils, who have won three Stanley Cups with Martin Brodeur (.916 SV%) in goal. Philadelphia seems to be at a disadvantage with third-stringer Brian Boucher (.899 SV%), but the Flyers defense held New Jersey (-104) to just 19 shots on Sunday to win Game 3 in overtime by score of 3-2. Brodeur made 31 saves in a losing effort.
The biggest shocker of them all nearly took place in Washington, where the Montreal Canadiens came very close to taking a 2-0 series lead against the Capitals, the team with the best record in the league at 54-15-13 (16.48 units).
The Habs (+252) famously held Alex Ovechkin to zero shots on goal to win Thursday’s series opener 3-2. In Game 2, Montreal (+286) held a 4-1 lead late in the second period, but Ovechkin finally got on the board, and Nicklas Backstrom scored a hat trick to counter Andrei Kosti tsyn’s three goals for Montreal. Backstrom’s overtime winner made the final score 6-5 for a very relieved Washington side.
The defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins are back in charge of their series with the Ottawa Senators after the Sens (+196) got the postseason started with a 5-4 upset. Sidney Crosby only managed two futile shots on goal in that game, but he scored in Games 2 and 3 to put Pittsburgh on top with Game 4 coming up on Tuesday. The Sens are relying on defensemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov to shut down Crosby and limit his opportunities against goalie Brian Elliott (.909 SV%), who could definitely use the help.
The remaining two series (Boston Bruins-Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings-Vancouver Canucks) are tied at one game apiece heading into Monday. The Sabres have to worry about the health of Thomas Vanek, who crashed into the boards Saturday and may have injured his foot. Jochen Hecht (finger) is already on the shelf; he and Vanek combined for 49 goals during the regular season.
The Kings and Canucks are knotted at six goals each after two games and could be in for a long series. We’re not complaining. More games, more money.
