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NHL
Friday, April 24
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Ice Picks: NHL best bets
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New York Rangers at Washington Capitals (-220, 5)
The world's greatest hockey player has his back against the wall, so he coped as only a modern athlete can - by logging on to the Internet.
''I go to our fan club message boards,'' Alex Ovechkin said Thursday. ''And they say, 'OK, like, what's next?' 'What do we have to do?' 'Trade him.' 'Build new team.' It's kind of an interesting situation.''
Why subject himself to all that angst? Surely, the fact that the favored Washington Capitals are down 3-1 in their first-round series against to the New York Rangers should speak for itself.
''I just want to see how our fans react,'' Ovechkin said. ''Of course, they're not happy, but we're not happy, either. But it is what it is. We lost three games. I think we play good enough in the games, but one guy beats our team.''
That one guy is Henrik Lundqvist, who has all but single-handedly put the Rangers within one victory of advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight year. Washington has outshot (149-99), outscored (8-7) and arguably outplayed New York over the balance of five games, but the Capitals' potent offense found its rhythm only in Game 3's 4-0 win .
''The reason that they've won three out of four is he's stood on his head,'' center Brooks Laich said. ''And sometimes as shooters you get frustrated and you try and force shots in, and then you try and shoot for corners and you end up shooting it wide. Sometimes he can be in your head. We're giving him 35, 36 shots at the net each game; we just have to make sure to find a way to bear down on our opportunities and somehow find the back of the net.''
The second-seeded Capitals need to win the final three games, starting with Friday night's Game 5, to avoid an early exit that would be tough to take for a team with such high expectations.
Pick: New York +180
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Friday, April 24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ice Picks: NHL best bets
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Rangers at Washington Capitals (-220, 5)
The world's greatest hockey player has his back against the wall, so he coped as only a modern athlete can - by logging on to the Internet.
''I go to our fan club message boards,'' Alex Ovechkin said Thursday. ''And they say, 'OK, like, what's next?' 'What do we have to do?' 'Trade him.' 'Build new team.' It's kind of an interesting situation.''
Why subject himself to all that angst? Surely, the fact that the favored Washington Capitals are down 3-1 in their first-round series against to the New York Rangers should speak for itself.
''I just want to see how our fans react,'' Ovechkin said. ''Of course, they're not happy, but we're not happy, either. But it is what it is. We lost three games. I think we play good enough in the games, but one guy beats our team.''
That one guy is Henrik Lundqvist, who has all but single-handedly put the Rangers within one victory of advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight year. Washington has outshot (149-99), outscored (8-7) and arguably outplayed New York over the balance of five games, but the Capitals' potent offense found its rhythm only in Game 3's 4-0 win .
''The reason that they've won three out of four is he's stood on his head,'' center Brooks Laich said. ''And sometimes as shooters you get frustrated and you try and force shots in, and then you try and shoot for corners and you end up shooting it wide. Sometimes he can be in your head. We're giving him 35, 36 shots at the net each game; we just have to make sure to find a way to bear down on our opportunities and somehow find the back of the net.''
The second-seeded Capitals need to win the final three games, starting with Friday night's Game 5, to avoid an early exit that would be tough to take for a team with such high expectations.
Pick: New York +180
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