NHL Betting: The other March Madness
The decision by Montreal's Bob Gainey to fire coach Guy Carbonneau and take over behind the bench himself is still generating a lot of buzz in the NHL. The Canadiens can be currently located in the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, and getting healthier as the madness of the race to the postseason heats up, beginning with tonight's contest that finds Erik Cole and the 'Canes paying the Blackhawks a visit.
Oh, the allure of instant gratification. Everything is about the short-term these days, including the NHL. Getting into the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup has become such a pressing mandate that teams were lining up last Wednesday to mortgage their futures for a shot at hockey’s Holy Grail.
Nik Antropov is now a Ranger. Olli Jokinen, welcome to Calgary. Even Columbus is a buyer this year, picking up forward Antoine Vermette from the Senators for goalie Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick.
Some teams have taken even more drastic measures. Nowhere is the demand for excellence voiced more passionately than in Montreal, where the Canadiens have now gone 15 years without winning it all. Fifteen years! So with the Habs threatening to sink out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, GM Bob Gainey decided to pull the plug on coach Guy Carbonneau, Gainey’s teammate for seven seasons in Montreal and a Stanley Cup in 1986.
The shock waves generated by Gainey’s decision are still being felt. It wasn’t so much that he fired his friend, or even that Carbonneau didn’t even make it through his third season behind the bench. Scotty Bowman was the last Habs coach to have anything resembling job security. It was more the timing; Montreal is currently in playoff position at 36-24-7 (26-41 ATS, minus-11.71 units), albeit just three points up on the ninth-place Rangers. And Gainey had just added defenseman Mathieu Schneider to the lineup – another former teammate of Carbonneau’s on the 1993 Cup winners.
Gainey has a strong track record as a coach and GM with the Dallas Stars (and the Minnesota North Stars before that). He’s also in charge of signing the contracts, so if there were any players who tuned out Carbonneau in the dressing room this year, you know they’ll be motivated to give Gainey a better effort. That certainly appeared to be the case Tuesday when the Habs rallied to beat Edmonton 4-3 in overtime, cashing in as –167 home faves.
Getting LW Guillaume Latendresse (shoulder) and D Francis Bouillon (groin) back in the lineup this month will make Gainey’s job easier. But are the Habs a good value at 15-1 betting odds to end this drought and take home the silverware? They have a goal differential of plus-2 on the season. The Florida Panthers are 40-1 shots with a goal differential of plus-1. And Florida also picked up D Steve Eminger for the playoff drive. Break out the plastic rats!
Carolina at Chicago (-165, 5½)
Wednesday, Mar 11, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
If Montreal’s situation is precarious, look at the Carolina Hurricanes at 36-27-5, one point ahead of the Rangers for that last playoff spot in the East. The ‘Canes (34-34 ATS, plus-0.44 units) weren’t content to stand pat at the trade deadline, deciding to repatriate RW Erik Cole from the Oilers – the same Erik Cole who helped Carolina win the Cup in 2002. Well, maybe not exactly the same at age 31, but Cole was still a top-line winger for the ‘Canes last year with 22 goals (10 on the power play) in 73 games. The trade is a success so far; Carolina has won all three games since the deal, with Cole scoring a goal and adding five assists.
The Blackhawks are in a much more comfortable position in the Western Conference, sitting in fourth place at 36-19-9 with 11 points between themselves and ninth-place Minnesota. Chicago has also been one of this year’s premium moneymakers against the puckline at 36-28, good for 22.45 units on the season. Only Boston (36.64 units) has been more profitable. But Chicago did make one move at the deadline, acquiring C Samuel Pahlsson from Anaheim in a package deal. Pahlsson (mononucleosis) hasn’t played since Jan. 31, but when he returns, he gives the Hawks a strong face-off presence who helped the Ducks win the Cup in 2007.
Chicago was a –170 home favorite on the early line with a total of 5.5 goals. This is their first meeting this season and third since 2002, with Carolina winning all three.
The decision by Montreal's Bob Gainey to fire coach Guy Carbonneau and take over behind the bench himself is still generating a lot of buzz in the NHL. The Canadiens can be currently located in the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, and getting healthier as the madness of the race to the postseason heats up, beginning with tonight's contest that finds Erik Cole and the 'Canes paying the Blackhawks a visit.
Oh, the allure of instant gratification. Everything is about the short-term these days, including the NHL. Getting into the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup has become such a pressing mandate that teams were lining up last Wednesday to mortgage their futures for a shot at hockey’s Holy Grail.
Nik Antropov is now a Ranger. Olli Jokinen, welcome to Calgary. Even Columbus is a buyer this year, picking up forward Antoine Vermette from the Senators for goalie Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick.
Some teams have taken even more drastic measures. Nowhere is the demand for excellence voiced more passionately than in Montreal, where the Canadiens have now gone 15 years without winning it all. Fifteen years! So with the Habs threatening to sink out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, GM Bob Gainey decided to pull the plug on coach Guy Carbonneau, Gainey’s teammate for seven seasons in Montreal and a Stanley Cup in 1986.
The shock waves generated by Gainey’s decision are still being felt. It wasn’t so much that he fired his friend, or even that Carbonneau didn’t even make it through his third season behind the bench. Scotty Bowman was the last Habs coach to have anything resembling job security. It was more the timing; Montreal is currently in playoff position at 36-24-7 (26-41 ATS, minus-11.71 units), albeit just three points up on the ninth-place Rangers. And Gainey had just added defenseman Mathieu Schneider to the lineup – another former teammate of Carbonneau’s on the 1993 Cup winners.
Gainey has a strong track record as a coach and GM with the Dallas Stars (and the Minnesota North Stars before that). He’s also in charge of signing the contracts, so if there were any players who tuned out Carbonneau in the dressing room this year, you know they’ll be motivated to give Gainey a better effort. That certainly appeared to be the case Tuesday when the Habs rallied to beat Edmonton 4-3 in overtime, cashing in as –167 home faves.
Getting LW Guillaume Latendresse (shoulder) and D Francis Bouillon (groin) back in the lineup this month will make Gainey’s job easier. But are the Habs a good value at 15-1 betting odds to end this drought and take home the silverware? They have a goal differential of plus-2 on the season. The Florida Panthers are 40-1 shots with a goal differential of plus-1. And Florida also picked up D Steve Eminger for the playoff drive. Break out the plastic rats!
Carolina at Chicago (-165, 5½)
Wednesday, Mar 11, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
If Montreal’s situation is precarious, look at the Carolina Hurricanes at 36-27-5, one point ahead of the Rangers for that last playoff spot in the East. The ‘Canes (34-34 ATS, plus-0.44 units) weren’t content to stand pat at the trade deadline, deciding to repatriate RW Erik Cole from the Oilers – the same Erik Cole who helped Carolina win the Cup in 2002. Well, maybe not exactly the same at age 31, but Cole was still a top-line winger for the ‘Canes last year with 22 goals (10 on the power play) in 73 games. The trade is a success so far; Carolina has won all three games since the deal, with Cole scoring a goal and adding five assists.
The Blackhawks are in a much more comfortable position in the Western Conference, sitting in fourth place at 36-19-9 with 11 points between themselves and ninth-place Minnesota. Chicago has also been one of this year’s premium moneymakers against the puckline at 36-28, good for 22.45 units on the season. Only Boston (36.64 units) has been more profitable. But Chicago did make one move at the deadline, acquiring C Samuel Pahlsson from Anaheim in a package deal. Pahlsson (mononucleosis) hasn’t played since Jan. 31, but when he returns, he gives the Hawks a strong face-off presence who helped the Ducks win the Cup in 2007.
Chicago was a –170 home favorite on the early line with a total of 5.5 goals. This is their first meeting this season and third since 2002, with Carolina winning all three.