NHL Playoff teams try avoid 3-1 deficit

Two road teams and one playing at home look to stay away from having to win final three games of their opening round series. Buffalo and Vancouver both came in as No. 3 seeds from the respective conferences and each are trying to avoid a third defeat to upstart. Montreal was feeling so good after taking Game 1, but its defense has been shredded for 11 goals the last two contests and the Canadiens goal light looks like a flashing blue light from K-Mart. All three clubs have their sights set on evening their series tonight.

Buffalo at Boston 7:00E VERSUS

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has a simple message for his team. - “We win that game (Game 4), we’re back in our own building with momentum,”

Buffalo needs to turn up the offensive pressure on Boston to get this series back 2-2. Top scorer Thomas Vanek missed the last contest with undisclosed injury and no word has come down if he’s available tonight. Either way the Sabres are not beating the Bruins defensive men in their own end and have to start feeding the middle more. Buffalo is 10-30 this year when they score two or less goals.

Even when Buffalo has put on a few surges on goalie Tuukka Rask, he has stoned them. “We are making mistakes and we have Tuukka making huge saves for us.” said Mark Recchi “We have been in these close games for a long stretch now, and have been playing playoff hockey for over a month.” Since March 27, Rask has permitted 14 goals in 10 games during regulation. Boston has won 11 in a row on home ice against teams from their own division.

DiamondSportsbook.com has the Sabres as +120 money line underdog and they are 12-3 after scoring one goal or less and 12-4 UNDER revenging a road loss versus opponent this season.

Washington at Montreal 7:00E TSN

The old adage of “win, survive, advance” sure sounds good to Montreal right now as it feels like Washington is assaulting them with a barrage of weapons. In best Dennis Leary voice, “Here’s the crazy part”.

The Canadiens have given up 11 goals in last 6+ periods, but haven’t allowed one goal in 14 opportunities against the Capitals down a man in penalty kills. If they had, how much worse would the blood-letting be!

Though the task is monumental, Montreal has to attempt to control neutral ice better and maintain possession of the puck like they did in the opener. Washington has far too many guys that can bury the rubber into the netting. The Canadiens had chances in the first period to claim a lead; they just failed to do so. Montreal is 11-26 at home after a blowout loss by four goals or more; however they are 4-0 revenging a home defeat vs. opponent of three goals or more.

Montreal is +170 ML underdog and faces Caps club that is 8-0 after three straight games with eight or more shots edge on goal.

Vancouver at Los Angeles 10:00E VERSUS

The Canucks would do well to tighten their overall play and stay out of the penalty box, since they are getting killed when down a man. Los Angeles has score 10 times in this series, seven via the power play.

Vancouver has to find a way to contain Jack Johnson and Dew Doughty of the Kings as these young guys have been running the power play from the top expertly. “They’re great on our blue line,” said L.A.’s Michal Handzus who scored two power-play goals set up by the defensemen. “They’re very strong and really creative, (but) they know how to keep it simple, too.”Los Angeles will look to create a 3-1 lead in the series at the Staples Center and they are 22-6 after game where eight or more total goals were scored.

Vancouver is professing not to panic. “We’re confident in ourselves, even after a couple of losses,” said Henrik Sedin, who has three assists. “We realize we just have to execute, because we’ve done it before. The penalty killing has to improve, and the power play has to be more active and more effective. Once we get that done, we’ll be all right.” The Canucks are 16-4 after a loss by two or more goals.

Vancouver is a -120 ML choice with total Ov5 and is 8-3 after their opponent scored five or more goals and 15-5 OVER after allowing three goals or more in consecutive games this season.

NHL Playoff Preview – Western Conference

The best part of the NHL season has arrived, the Stanley Cup chase. Eight teams from each conference all believing they are the team of destiny. The opening round is often treacherous territory as 12 lower seeds have won the last four years and three other went to a game seven, as the higher seed used its home ice edge to conquer opponent. Goaltending is such a huge part of the Stanley Cup dynamic and five of the seven regular starting netminders in the Western Conference have no previous postseason experience, which will just add to the craziness. All lines courtesy of Bookmaker.com.

(1) San Jose vs (8) Colorado

The West has five legitimate teams capable skill-wise of making the Stanley Cup Finals and the top one at least from talent standpoint is San Jose. The Sharks have five 20-goal scorers, but are more thought of as lion from the Wizard of Oz, lacking courage at crunch time. Among the reasons is San Jose’s inability to outwork the opposition in April and May (let alone June) as past playoffs have shown and though Evgeni Nabokov is among the Top 10 goalies in the game, he is 32-31 in the postseason and did nothing to enhance is status with disappointing Olympic performance.

Youth was served in Colorado this season as remade roster was coached by first year coach Joe Sacco. The grind of a long season appeared to wear down the young Avs players, losing 10 of final 13 contests. Their top point producers were mostly first year players like Matt Duchene. Goalie Craig Anderson was 10-4 SU in October, but he too saw his play slip, after facing the most shots of any netminder in the NHL.

San Jose is the third choice to be Stanley Cup champions at +390 and have to take advantage of Colorado’s penalty-killing that has surrendered 15 goals in previous 14 games. San Jose is 5-1 on home ice against the Avalanche and 8-4 in the last three years. If the Sharks are truly hungry as they claim, they dominate Avs at home and at worst split in the Rockies.

3DW Pick- San Jose (-400) in five over Colorado (+330)

(2) Chicago vs (7) Nashville

The Blackhawks are actually the top betting choice to be in Cup Finals; however they will have to navigate a potentially treacherous opponent in Nashville. This will be the last series to commence, starting on Friday and the Predators have blue-line talent like Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. They also have netminder who can turn into stone wall in Pekka Rinne, whose had personal win streaks of four or more games three times to go along with seven shutouts. Nashville is offensively challenged but coach Barry Trotz rings out every bit of talent out of this frugal franchise.

Chicago has splendid offensive players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith and is stellar as possessing the puck to keep the pressure on opposing defenses. The Blackhawks will look to keep this advantage and force Nashville mistakes, which could prove fatal with the Preds 28th in penalty kills. Chicago’s question mark is between the pipes with Finnish rookie Antti Niemi. The 26-year old has been the nearly impregnable, handing out seven zeroes in only 38 starts and is riding six-game winning streak. How long can it last?

Chicago won four of six, but these Central Division rivals couldn’t be any less familiar with one another, having not met in 2010. These teams only averaged 4.5 goals a game in their meetings, thus the Under and Chicago looks like the best bet.

3DW Pick- Chicago (-410) in five over Nashville (+340)

(3) Vancouver vs (6) Los Angeles

Unlike the 4 vs.5 matchup, Vancouver and Los Angeles will play in the same time zone for the duration of their series, playing every other day. The Canucks organization (to sound Canadien, pronounce it organ-EYE-zation) thinks of itself more than just a fringe player out West. They see themselves as real contenders with NHL's point’s leader Henrik Sedin leading a deep, balanced offense that can apply continual pressure. In net, Robert Luongo is regarded as one of the best keepers in the game, but can melt down like an ice cream cone on a warm summer’s day, leaving a mess. The Canucks were 30-11 on home ice, but face an under the radar Kings club that could be troublesome.

Though Los Angeles is a sixth seed compared Vancouver at No. 3, they only finished two points behind the Canucks in final standings and reached the 100-point total for the first time in 19 long years. The Kings have quality youngsters like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty and have no real expectations, thus can perform pressure-free compared to Vancouver. The Kings stay in the post-season will correspond with the play of goalie Jonathan Quick. The 24-year old was having brilliant campaign, but lost his final eight starts.

L.A. was 24-17 SU on the road, but lost both contests at Vancouver scoring a total of two goals. They will need Quick to be extra quick and score early to make Canucks breathe with greater uncertainty. This could go the distance with upset potential.

3DW Pick- Vancouver (-240) in seven over Los Angeles (+200)

(4) Phoenix vs (5) Detroit

Without a doubt the most compelling first round matchup of all. Phoenix was the most engaging story in hockey all year. A franchise owned by the league trying to find an owner to keep it in the desert, bringing in a coach just days before the start of the regular season, yet miraculously the Coyotes ended up with the 50 wins (fourth best) and are in the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Coach Dave Babcock is a back of the net choice for coach of the year and netminder Ilya Bryzgalov is a legitimate candidate for the Hart (best player) and Vezina (top goalie) trophies this year. Phoenix is the only higher seed not to be favored in a series and realistically for good reason.

It was not that long along Detroit was fighting just to earn the final spot in the West to make the postseason. However, the Red Wings got healthier week by week after the Olympic break and are on serious roll at 17-3-2. They Red Wings have the players known for high-level performances this time of year. Detroit will look to play keep away with the puck to slow down defensive-minded Phoenix and don’t have to fear the ‘Yotes prowess in shootouts (14 of the Coyotes wins came by this method) since regular overtime will decide winners.

These teams split four conflicts and if Phoenix wants to go beyond Cinderella fairy-tale dressed up as dogs, no better team to prove it against. Red Wings rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard has NO experience this time of the year; however Bryzgalov has just 16 playoff games under his sweater. Coyotes have to stay out of the penalty box and play their game to continue dream season.

3DW Pick- Detroit (-185) in six over Phoenix (+165)

Last exit to make NHL postseason

The hockey season is down to a precious few days and several teams have been fighting for survival just to make the playoffs, let alone worrying about what happens when they get there. Each conference has teams fighting to hang on or struggling to get in, looking to join the chase for the Stanley Cup. Here is look at the possibilities for all the contenders.

Eastern teams presently in

Montreal, Boston and Philadelphia occupy slots six thru eight in the Eastern Conference. Canadiens coach Jacques Martin has all but confirmed that Jaroslav Halak will be the starting goaltender for the remainder of the regular season. Montreal is 19-20 SU on the road and has winnable games at the New York Islanders and at Carolina before returning home to close the season against Toronto. Montreal should emerge as sixth seed.

After finishing second in goals scored a year ago in the NHL, the Bruins have been last most of the season putting the puck in the net and their only saving grace has been defense, with only New Jersey allowing fewer goals. Boston has home games against Buffalo and Carolina; however that isn’t necessarily a good thing for team that is 3-14 SU on home ice since Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Boston’s last game at Washington may be critical, however the Capitals might not bring best effort having wrapped up everything for the playoffs.

Philadelphia has lost nine of last 12 and has placed itself in precarious position. The Flyers can determine their own fate playing home and home with the New York Rangers whom they lead by a point in the standings. Right now Philadelphia also has an edge in a tie-breaker, with the first aspect looked at being number of wins.

Eastern teams trying to move up

The Rangers have won five of six including last three in a row and could use wins over Buffalo and Toronto to set up “all in” matchups with the Flyers. “We do not want to be the New York Rangers team that didn't make the playoffs," Brandon Dubinsky told the New York Post. "That's really important to us.”

Atlanta had a brutal close to the season schedule-wise, facing Washington and Pittsburgh twice along with taking on New Jersey. The Thrashers already lost to the Caps and Penguins last week and have to come up with six points in final three games to realistically even have a chance. Against this type of competition, that could be too tall an order.

Western teams presently in

Detroit has placed themselves in good position in the West, winning 10 of 13 and being as healthy as they have been all season. Rookie Jimmy Howard’s fine play between the pipes is the biggest reason why the Red Wings have gone from being a shaky participant to virtually in and has two matchups with Columbus that should give them the stamp of approval.

Of all the teams fighting to make the postseason, the Los Angeles Kings are the most impressive on their body of work for the year. The Kings are +22 in goal differential, basically the same as New Jersey and Phoenix, both who are comfortably in the playoff picture. L.A. can end Anaheim’s faint hopes with a victory and should earn two easy points hosting Edmonton before closing out the regular season at Colorado.

The Avalanche is gasping for air having tumbled to eighth in the West standings, by virtue of losing seven of nine. This young squad by appearances is just worn out from a long season after playing beyond expectations most of the year, which is evident on the defensive end, conceding three or more goals in all but one of their defeats. Playing at Edmonton should be a win; however with games at Vancouver, plus Chicago and the Kings on home ice, nothing is secured yet. The Avs are 24-15 SU on home ice which could help.

Western teams trying to move up

Calgary is attempting to make late charge, winning six of last 10, but its anemic offense will have to come up big vs. San Jose, Minnesota and at Vancouver to sneak into the playoffs.
Anaheim and St. Louis mathematically are still alive; however each has to win remaining contests to even get a sniff.