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NHL
Wednesday, April 22
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Wednesday's NHL Playoffs betting cheat sheet
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Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators (-115, 5)
Dale Weise is hardly considered one of the team's primary goal scorers, but he was presented with a new nickname: "Mr. Clutch." "I don't know if you can call me that yet," said Weise, who has five goals and four assists in 19 playoff games over the last two seasons. The 26-year-old's totals are a significant upgrade from his 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 140 regular-season contests in that same span.
Clarke MacArthur has scored the first goal in each of the last two contests while captain Erik Karlsson has notched an assist in all three games. The 6-foot, 180-pound defenseman also made a surprising statement by unleashing six hits in Game 3, highlighted by a jarring shot on Nathan Beaulieu (upper body) that will sideline the Montreal defenseman for the rest of the series. "That open-ice hit was perfect, a textbook body check. It gets the momentum going for your team," Ottawa's Curtis Lazar said.
TRENDS:
* Canadiens are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
* Canadiens are 6-0 in their last six overall.
* Under is 4-1-1 in Senators last six vs. Atlantic.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins (+100, 5)
New York is receiving offensive production from its defensemen, as Dan Girardi notched a pair of secondary assists in Game 3, Keith Yandle set up Hagelin's breakaway goal and Marc Staal's shot-pass was later converted by Chris Kreider at the left post. Speaking of blue-liners, Kevin Klein was an active participant in the team's optional skate on Tuesday, but coach Alain Vigneault did not update his condition. "I can tell you as soon as he tells me he's ready to go, he's going to play," Vigneault said of Klein, who has been sidelined since sustaining a broken arm after blocking a shot from Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin on March 11.
Evgeni Malkin let the cat out of the bag by saying that he's been playing injured during the series. "(He) has been progressing every single game," Johnston said of the former Hart Trophy winner, who failed to record a shot on Monday and has been held off the scoresheet in eight straight contests. "He still has to direct more pucks to the net; he's a three-or-four-shot a game guy and he needs to do that but I think he's on the verge of breaking through."
TRENDS:
* Under is 5-0-1 in Penguins last six home games.
* Rangers are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
* Penguins are 2-11 in their last 13 vs. Eastern Conference.
St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild (-135, 5)
Ken Hitchcock hinted there could be changes to the lineup after Monday's lackluster performance, but he has no issues with the play of rookie Jake Allen, who has started all three games in net. "The opposition's scored, what, five goals? Our goalie's been excellent," Hitchcock said. "They've got five goals when you count the ones with the goalie in the net; that's not much. ... Any coach in the world would take five goals against right now after three games." Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis' leading scorer during the regular season, had a hat trick to spark a 4-1 victory in Game 2 but has not registered a shot on goal in either loss.
Home ice has allowed Minnesota coach Mike Yeo to play the matchups and he has opted to send out his top line of Jason Pominville, Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund against St. Louis' No. 1 unit. Each of the Wild's trio collected two points in Game 3, including second-period goals by Pominville and Parise, while bottling up Tarasenko and linemates Alexander Steen and Jori Lehtera, holding them to a combined two shots. “I wasn’t too excited about the way our first two games went in St. Louis,” Parise said. “I thought we could do a lot better. ... The three of us wanted to have a better performance than we had in St. Louis.”
TRENDS:
* Blues are 12-5 in the last 17 meetings.
* Blues are 1-6 in their last seven Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Wild are 10-4 in their last 14 vs. Central.
Anaheim Ducks at Winnipeg Jets (-125, 5.5)
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Anaheim is the first team in NHL history to win three straight games in which it trailed after two periods. Despite its success in that situation throughout the campaign, coach Bruce Boudreau knows the team is playing with fire. "The rules and laws say it just can't continue," he said. "We're fortunate that it has, but it's not saying it's going to continue (in Game 4)." Nate Thompson, who missed the first three games with an upper-body injury, could replace Tomas Fleischmann in the lineup for Game 4.
Instead of being demoralized about the fact it just as well could be the team with the 3-0 lead, Winnipeg is remaining positive as it hopes to claw its way back into the series. "You've got to make them win four games, so we're sure not going to go down easy," said right wing Blake Wheeler, who scored his second career playoff goal - and first since 2010 with Boston - in Game 3. "You've got to win four games. We've won four in a row before. The first one's going to be the hardest one, apparently."
TRENDS:
* Ducks are 7-0 in the last seven meetings.
* Over is 5-1 in Jets last six home games.
* Jets are 0-7 in their last seven Conference Quarterfinals games.
Wednesday, April 22
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Wednesday's NHL Playoffs betting cheat sheet
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators (-115, 5)
Dale Weise is hardly considered one of the team's primary goal scorers, but he was presented with a new nickname: "Mr. Clutch." "I don't know if you can call me that yet," said Weise, who has five goals and four assists in 19 playoff games over the last two seasons. The 26-year-old's totals are a significant upgrade from his 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 140 regular-season contests in that same span.
Clarke MacArthur has scored the first goal in each of the last two contests while captain Erik Karlsson has notched an assist in all three games. The 6-foot, 180-pound defenseman also made a surprising statement by unleashing six hits in Game 3, highlighted by a jarring shot on Nathan Beaulieu (upper body) that will sideline the Montreal defenseman for the rest of the series. "That open-ice hit was perfect, a textbook body check. It gets the momentum going for your team," Ottawa's Curtis Lazar said.
TRENDS:
* Canadiens are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
* Canadiens are 6-0 in their last six overall.
* Under is 4-1-1 in Senators last six vs. Atlantic.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins (+100, 5)
New York is receiving offensive production from its defensemen, as Dan Girardi notched a pair of secondary assists in Game 3, Keith Yandle set up Hagelin's breakaway goal and Marc Staal's shot-pass was later converted by Chris Kreider at the left post. Speaking of blue-liners, Kevin Klein was an active participant in the team's optional skate on Tuesday, but coach Alain Vigneault did not update his condition. "I can tell you as soon as he tells me he's ready to go, he's going to play," Vigneault said of Klein, who has been sidelined since sustaining a broken arm after blocking a shot from Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin on March 11.
Evgeni Malkin let the cat out of the bag by saying that he's been playing injured during the series. "(He) has been progressing every single game," Johnston said of the former Hart Trophy winner, who failed to record a shot on Monday and has been held off the scoresheet in eight straight contests. "He still has to direct more pucks to the net; he's a three-or-four-shot a game guy and he needs to do that but I think he's on the verge of breaking through."
TRENDS:
* Under is 5-0-1 in Penguins last six home games.
* Rangers are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
* Penguins are 2-11 in their last 13 vs. Eastern Conference.
St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild (-135, 5)
Ken Hitchcock hinted there could be changes to the lineup after Monday's lackluster performance, but he has no issues with the play of rookie Jake Allen, who has started all three games in net. "The opposition's scored, what, five goals? Our goalie's been excellent," Hitchcock said. "They've got five goals when you count the ones with the goalie in the net; that's not much. ... Any coach in the world would take five goals against right now after three games." Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis' leading scorer during the regular season, had a hat trick to spark a 4-1 victory in Game 2 but has not registered a shot on goal in either loss.
Home ice has allowed Minnesota coach Mike Yeo to play the matchups and he has opted to send out his top line of Jason Pominville, Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund against St. Louis' No. 1 unit. Each of the Wild's trio collected two points in Game 3, including second-period goals by Pominville and Parise, while bottling up Tarasenko and linemates Alexander Steen and Jori Lehtera, holding them to a combined two shots. “I wasn’t too excited about the way our first two games went in St. Louis,” Parise said. “I thought we could do a lot better. ... The three of us wanted to have a better performance than we had in St. Louis.”
TRENDS:
* Blues are 12-5 in the last 17 meetings.
* Blues are 1-6 in their last seven Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Wild are 10-4 in their last 14 vs. Central.
Anaheim Ducks at Winnipeg Jets (-125, 5.5)
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Anaheim is the first team in NHL history to win three straight games in which it trailed after two periods. Despite its success in that situation throughout the campaign, coach Bruce Boudreau knows the team is playing with fire. "The rules and laws say it just can't continue," he said. "We're fortunate that it has, but it's not saying it's going to continue (in Game 4)." Nate Thompson, who missed the first three games with an upper-body injury, could replace Tomas Fleischmann in the lineup for Game 4.
Instead of being demoralized about the fact it just as well could be the team with the 3-0 lead, Winnipeg is remaining positive as it hopes to claw its way back into the series. "You've got to make them win four games, so we're sure not going to go down easy," said right wing Blake Wheeler, who scored his second career playoff goal - and first since 2010 with Boston - in Game 3. "You've got to win four games. We've won four in a row before. The first one's going to be the hardest one, apparently."
TRENDS:
* Ducks are 7-0 in the last seven meetings.
* Over is 5-1 in Jets last six home games.
* Jets are 0-7 in their last seven Conference Quarterfinals games.
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