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NHL
Monday, April 4
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Ice picks: Monday's best NHL bets
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Boston Bruins at New York Rangers (-115, 5)
Boston's Michael Ryder had not scored a goal in more than a month, but the end of his drought was worth the wait. Ryder's successful penalty shot in the third period of Saturday's game against Atlanta gave the Bruins the win and the Northeast Division title.
"It's what a lot of teams battle for," head coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe of winning divisions. "I'm just glad that's out of the way. We've got to keep winning games and see where we end up."
The Rangers, on the other hand, are still battling for a playoff spot. They were kicking themselves for losing three of four and back-to-games on Wednesday and Thursday, but things may have turned around on Sunday afternoon. New York edged Philadelphia 3-2 in a shootout for two critical points, putting the team in seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of Buffalo and three clear of Carolina.
All signs point to a thriller. Both teams have some momentum, every one of their three previous contests this season has been decided by one goal, and neither club is scoring a ton at the moment.
Boston has not scored more than three goals in its last five outings and New York has failed to light the lamp more than three times in each of its last six.
Pick: Under
Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks (-165, 5)
Something's gotta give when Los Angeles and San Jose square off in a showdown between two Western Conference playoff teams.
Both squads are on fire as they gear up for postseason action. The Kings have won five of their last six games and they are coming off a 3-1 home win over Dallas on Saturday. The Sharks have been even better, winning three in a row and seven of their last eight while taking points in all eight of those contests (the only loss came in a shootout at Los Angeles).
Not only that, but this is also an intriguing matchup in that it pits San Jose's blistering offense against L.A.'s stellar defense.
The Sharks have scored a ridiculous 37 goals during this current eight-game surge and they have not scored fewer than three goals in each of their last nine outings. The Kings, meanwhile, have not allowed more than three goals in any of their last seven contests and they have been scored upon a total of just five times in their last four games.
What could sway this clash in one of the two teams' favor?
Well, Los Angeles is just 8-18 in its past 26 trips to San Jose. The visitors won 4-0 there on December 27 but also got hammered 6-3 on the west coast on Nov. 15. The Kings will be without point-machine forwards Anze Kopitar (ankle) and Justin Williams (shoulder), who were both injured in late March.
Pick: Sharks
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Monday, April 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ice picks: Monday's best NHL bets
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Bruins at New York Rangers (-115, 5)
Boston's Michael Ryder had not scored a goal in more than a month, but the end of his drought was worth the wait. Ryder's successful penalty shot in the third period of Saturday's game against Atlanta gave the Bruins the win and the Northeast Division title.
"It's what a lot of teams battle for," head coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe of winning divisions. "I'm just glad that's out of the way. We've got to keep winning games and see where we end up."
The Rangers, on the other hand, are still battling for a playoff spot. They were kicking themselves for losing three of four and back-to-games on Wednesday and Thursday, but things may have turned around on Sunday afternoon. New York edged Philadelphia 3-2 in a shootout for two critical points, putting the team in seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of Buffalo and three clear of Carolina.
All signs point to a thriller. Both teams have some momentum, every one of their three previous contests this season has been decided by one goal, and neither club is scoring a ton at the moment.
Boston has not scored more than three goals in its last five outings and New York has failed to light the lamp more than three times in each of its last six.
Pick: Under
Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks (-165, 5)
Something's gotta give when Los Angeles and San Jose square off in a showdown between two Western Conference playoff teams.
Both squads are on fire as they gear up for postseason action. The Kings have won five of their last six games and they are coming off a 3-1 home win over Dallas on Saturday. The Sharks have been even better, winning three in a row and seven of their last eight while taking points in all eight of those contests (the only loss came in a shootout at Los Angeles).
Not only that, but this is also an intriguing matchup in that it pits San Jose's blistering offense against L.A.'s stellar defense.
The Sharks have scored a ridiculous 37 goals during this current eight-game surge and they have not scored fewer than three goals in each of their last nine outings. The Kings, meanwhile, have not allowed more than three goals in any of their last seven contests and they have been scored upon a total of just five times in their last four games.
What could sway this clash in one of the two teams' favor?
Well, Los Angeles is just 8-18 in its past 26 trips to San Jose. The visitors won 4-0 there on December 27 but also got hammered 6-3 on the west coast on Nov. 15. The Kings will be without point-machine forwards Anze Kopitar (ankle) and Justin Williams (shoulder), who were both injured in late March.
Pick: Sharks
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