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NHL
Thursday, April 30
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Thursday's NHL Playoffs betting cheat sheet
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Washington Capitals at New York Rangers (-160, 5)
Despite the presence of superstar captain Alex Ovechkin and his league-best 53 goals, Washington has fostered a new identity under coach Barry Trotz, finishing third in the Eastern Conference - behind the Rangers and Montreal - in goals allowed while limiting the Islanders to 11 shots on net in Game 7. Nicklas Backstrom reached 60 assists for the second straight season while rookie Evgeny Kuznetsov tallied three times in the final three contests against the Islanders, including the series clincher on Monday. One concern is Braden Holtby, who matched franchise highs in wins (41) and appearances (73) but yielded 12 goals in four matchups versus the Rangers.
Henrik Lundqvist - who is 18-8-3 with four career shutouts against Washington - missed nearly two months with a vascular injury, but all four of his victories against Pittsburgh came by 2-1 decisions. Forward Mats Zuccarello is sidelined indefinitely after taking a shot off the side of the head in Game 5 against Pittsburgh and will be replaced on the top line by veteran Martin St. Louis, who has registered at least one point in 11 consecutive games against the Capitals. Like Nash, Derick Brassard also set a career high with 19 goals for the Rangers, who expect to have defenseman Kevin Klein back in the lineup for the first time since he broke his arm on March 11.
TRENDS:
* Capitals are 1-4 in the last five meetings.
* Under is 4-0 in Capitals last four road games.
* Under is 4-1 in Rangers last five overall.
* Under is 15-5-8 in the last 28 meetings.
Calgary Flames at Anaheim Ducks (-189, 5.5)
Coach Bob Hartley is well aware of the fact his team will need to pull out at least one victory at Honda Center in order to move on. While he'd like to do it as early in the series as possible, he isn't worried about when it will occur. "Whether we win the first one, second one, third one or last one, we're okay with this," he said. "Obviously, we're going to try to win them all."
After having him tending its net for the previous three postseasons, Anaheim will be trying to get pucks past Jonas Hiller for a change. The 33-year-old Swiss spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Ducks before signing with Calgary as a free agent last summer. "It should be a great challenge for us," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He knows where our shooters, most of them, shoot. We know where most of the goals have gone in on him. ... He'll be a big part of it, but it's not going to be the final component (to determine who wins the series)."
TRENDS:
* Flames are 2-28-3 in the last 33 meetings in Anaheim.
* Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
* Flames are 20-6 in their last 26 vs. Pacific.
* Ducks are 7-2 in their last nine vs. Pacific.
Thursday, April 30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday's NHL Playoffs betting cheat sheet
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Capitals at New York Rangers (-160, 5)
Despite the presence of superstar captain Alex Ovechkin and his league-best 53 goals, Washington has fostered a new identity under coach Barry Trotz, finishing third in the Eastern Conference - behind the Rangers and Montreal - in goals allowed while limiting the Islanders to 11 shots on net in Game 7. Nicklas Backstrom reached 60 assists for the second straight season while rookie Evgeny Kuznetsov tallied three times in the final three contests against the Islanders, including the series clincher on Monday. One concern is Braden Holtby, who matched franchise highs in wins (41) and appearances (73) but yielded 12 goals in four matchups versus the Rangers.
Henrik Lundqvist - who is 18-8-3 with four career shutouts against Washington - missed nearly two months with a vascular injury, but all four of his victories against Pittsburgh came by 2-1 decisions. Forward Mats Zuccarello is sidelined indefinitely after taking a shot off the side of the head in Game 5 against Pittsburgh and will be replaced on the top line by veteran Martin St. Louis, who has registered at least one point in 11 consecutive games against the Capitals. Like Nash, Derick Brassard also set a career high with 19 goals for the Rangers, who expect to have defenseman Kevin Klein back in the lineup for the first time since he broke his arm on March 11.
TRENDS:
* Capitals are 1-4 in the last five meetings.
* Under is 4-0 in Capitals last four road games.
* Under is 4-1 in Rangers last five overall.
* Under is 15-5-8 in the last 28 meetings.
Calgary Flames at Anaheim Ducks (-189, 5.5)
Coach Bob Hartley is well aware of the fact his team will need to pull out at least one victory at Honda Center in order to move on. While he'd like to do it as early in the series as possible, he isn't worried about when it will occur. "Whether we win the first one, second one, third one or last one, we're okay with this," he said. "Obviously, we're going to try to win them all."
After having him tending its net for the previous three postseasons, Anaheim will be trying to get pucks past Jonas Hiller for a change. The 33-year-old Swiss spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Ducks before signing with Calgary as a free agent last summer. "It should be a great challenge for us," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He knows where our shooters, most of them, shoot. We know where most of the goals have gone in on him. ... He'll be a big part of it, but it's not going to be the final component (to determine who wins the series)."
TRENDS:
* Flames are 2-28-3 in the last 33 meetings in Anaheim.
* Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
* Flames are 20-6 in their last 26 vs. Pacific.
* Ducks are 7-2 in their last nine vs. Pacific.
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