The Bum's NHL Playoff Best Bets Road to the Stanley CUP !

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Devils Push Kings Back To LA For Game 6

Monday would have been a nice day for a parade in Los Angeles where temps are expected to be in the low-to-mid 70s and only a few clouds to interrupt an otherwise sunny day.

Instead of a day spent in celebration, Los Angeles Kings fans will spend the day in nervous anticipation of Game 6 as the Stanley Cup Finals heads back west to Tinseltown for an 8:20 p.m. (ET) drop of the puck at Staples Center. The Don Best odds has the Kings 165-170 favorites vs. the New Jersey Devils, and what has become the standard 4½-goal total is priced a little heavier to the 'under.'

Those interested in playing the puck line for Game 6 will find a +205 return on LA laying 1½ goals with New Jersey -245 getting the extra help.

Los Angeles' road magic came to a halt Saturday night in Newark where the Devils held on for a 2-1 victory in Game 5, turning what once seemed to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead for the Kings into a very tenuous 3-2 advantage. New Jersey's Zach Parise got off the schneid with his first goal of the finals for an early 1-0 lead; Bryce Salvador's tip-in a little more than halfway through the second period proved to be the game-winner for the Devils.

The loss ended an NHL-record string of 10 postseason victories on hostile ice for the Kings whose only goal game from Justin Williams a few minutes into the second to briefly knot the score. The final tally left the 'under' a perfect 5-0 in the finals, and 13-6 in LA's postseason run. The 'over' was 9-6 with three 'pushes' in New Jersey's playoff games before the finals got underway.

Though it wasn't the game-winner, Parise's goal in the first was huge for New Jersey. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick got caught out of position when Parise gained control of the puck behind the LA net, and the Devils captain managed to take advantage of the brief lapse on Quick's part.

Quick is having an outstanding postseason for the Kings with a 1.47 GAA and .946 save percentage, but that one play could ultimately come back to haunt Los Angeles and definitely provided a spark for the Devils on Saturday. The LA netminder will be counted on heavily to finally bring the franchise its first NHL championship with the Kings struggling for a second consecutive game against Quick's counterpart on the New Jersey end of the ice, Marty Brodeur.

Los Angeles won the shots on goal battle 26-19, but Brodeur only let one get by him for the second consecutive game. Brodeur's postseason stats include a 2.04 GAA and .922 save percentage.

One way or another, history is going to be made in this series as Los Angeles attempts to become the first No. 8 seed to hoist Lord Stanley's trophy and New Jersey hopes to become the first team in 70 years to win the Cup after losing the first three games. Should the Devils force a Game 7, it will be played Wednesday at New Jersey's Prudential Center.

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NHL
Dunkel

New Jersey at Los Angeles
The Devils look to take advantage of a Los Angeles team that is 0-8 in its last 8 games as a favorite of -150 to -200. New Jersey is the pick (+150) according to Dunkel, which has the Devils favored by 1/2 a goal. Dunkel Pick: New Jersey (+150). Here are all of today's picks.

MONDAY, JUNE 11

Game 11-12: New Jersey at Los Angeles (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: New Jersey 13.025; Los Angeles 12.543
Dunkel Line & Total: New Jersey by 1/2; 5
Vegas Line & Total: Los Angeles (-170); 4 1/2
Dunkel Pick: New Jersey (+150); Over




NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, June 11

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NEW JERSEY (62-34-0-9, 133 pts.) at LOS ANGELES (55-31-0-15, 125 pts.) - 6/11/2012, 8:20 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 5-4-0 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
8 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+8.1 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, June 11

Devils @ Kings (3-2) — Significant pressure on LA to finish it off here and not head back to Garden State for winner-take-all Game 7. Devils are first team in 67 years to force a Game 6 in Finals after being down 3-0 in series. New Jersey is now 10-1 in Games 4-7 of series this postseason, which tells us their coaches are making better adjustments. Devils are 7-5 on road in playoffs. Eight of last nine LA games stayed under total, including all five games in this series. Losing side has scored 1-1-0-1-1 goals in five games so far. Kings are 3-11 on power play in series, Devils 1-18. Hopefully Taylor Stevens will be behind the Devils' bench again tonight, but I digress......




NHL

Monday, June 11

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Trend Report
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8:20 PM
NEW JERSEY vs. LOS ANGELES
New Jersey is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing at home against New Jersey
Los Angeles is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games


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NHL

Monday, June 11

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Devils at Kings: What bettors need to know
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New Jersey Devils at Los Angeles Kings (-165, 4.5)

THE STORY: The New Jersey Devils have made the Stanley Cup finals a series. After falling behind 3-0, the Devils have won two straight and can even things with a victory in Game 6 Monday night in Los Angeles. New Jersey pulled out a 2-1 victory Saturday to hand the Kings their first road loss of the postseason, and their only back-to-back losses so far in the playoffs. Devils netminder Martin Brodeur has been the catalyst for the comeback, allowing just two goals in his last two games.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS, CBC, RDS

ABOUT THE DEVILS: New Jersey went from being a potential sweep victim to the first team since the 1945 Detroit Red Wings to force a sixth game in the finals after dropping the first three. The 40-year-old Brodeur was the difference in Game 5, stopping 25 shots to end the Kings' 10-game playoff road winning streak. ''That's how a goalie wins the game for you,'' said forward Zach Parise, who scored the game's opening goal for his first tally of the finals. Just as significant was New Jersey's ability to score with the man advantage. Parise's power-play goal was the Devils' first against the Kings after opening 0-for-15.

ABOUT THE KINGS: Dropping consecutive games for the first time in the postseason doesn't seem to have concerned Los Angeles all that much. "You're going to lose two games in a row," Kings defenseman Matt Greene said following Saturday's defeat. "That's why you work hard to win three. That's it. Right now, we've got the advantage going home. We've got to look at it like that and get our game going." Getting the offense going is paramount, with Los Angeles struggling through its first major power outage of the postseason. The Kings had 26 shots on goal in Game 5, but another 20 were blocked and 14 missed the net.

TRENDS:

*Under is 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings.
*Under is 4-0 in the last four meetings in L.A.
*Devils are 9-1 in their last 10 games playing on one day's rest.
*Kings are 0-8 in their last eight games as a favorite of -151 to -200.

OVERTIME:

1. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only only team in history to force a seventh game after falling behind 3-0 in the Stanley Cup finals.

2. Brodeur's win Saturday was the 113th of his postseason career. Only retired great Patrick Roy (151) has more.

3. The Kings have only been modestly successful at home in the playoffs, going 5-3.

NHL
Short Sheet

Monday, June 11

Stanley Cup Finals, Game Six (Los Angeles Leads, 3-2)
Los Angeles at New Jersey, 8:20 ET NBC
New Jersey: 15-3 SU off 5+ Unders
Los Angeles: 9-22 SU at home off 3+ non-conference games

[StarDust Bum]

Kings try to close out Devils at home Monday

2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
No. 6 NEW JERSEY DEVILS

at No. 8 LOS ANGELES KINGS


Stanley Cup Finals
Game 6 - Los Angeles leads series 3-2
Puck Drops: Monday, 8:20 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -170, New Jersey +150, Total: 4½


New Jersey has already staved off elimination twice in the Stanley Cup Finals, but to keep the season alive, it will have to win in Los Angeles again in Monday’s Game 6.

Once on the verge of getting swept, the Devils are now just two wins away from completing a stunning comeback from a 3-0 series deficit. After getting blown out 4-0 in Game 3, they have allowed just two goals in the past two victories, winning 3-1 in Game 4 and 2-1 in Saturday’s Game 5 at home. New Jersey may have been unlucky with two home overtime losses in Games 1-2, but its luck appeared to change on Saturday with two goals on just 19 shots. One was courtesy of a Jonathan Quick clearing mistake, and the other was a deflected shot off Kings defenseman Slava Voynov. The Devils, who had just four shots in the first period and three shots in the third stanza in Game 5, will need to create more scoring chances to stay alive in this series. Los Angeles had some great opportunities among their 26 shots, but got only one puck past 40-year-old Martin Brodeur, who now has 46 saves in 48 chances in the past two games. Although New Jersey has all the momentum and is getting 3-to-2 odds to tie up the series, the Kings are still the better team. After all, they are 15-4 in the postseason, while the Devils are just 14-9. L.A. is also an outstanding 12-5 in its past 17 home games. Expect Kings star RW Dustin Brown (one point, zero goals in series) to finally make some noise in the Finals and lead his LOS ANGELES team to its first Stanley Cup in franchise history on Monday.

This two-star FoxSheets trend also likes the Kings to win:

LOS ANGELES is 15-5 ATS (75.0%, +9.1 Units) against good power-play killing teams – opp. score on <14.5% of chances in the 2nd half of the year this season. The average score was LOS ANGELES 2.7, OPPONENT 1.6 - (Rating = 2*).

And this three-star FoxSheets trend expects the UNDER to occur for the sixth straight time this series:

LOS ANGELES is 31-13 UNDER (70.5%, +15.7 Units) when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days this season. The average score was LOS ANGELES 2.4, OPPONENT 2.0 - (Rating = 3*).

On Saturday, the Devils finally scored on the power play this series, breaking an 0-for-15 drought when LW Zach Parise intercepted Quick’s terrible clear behind his net and quickly put it in the empty net before Quick could return between the pipes. This was Parise’s first point of the series after tallying 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in the first three rounds of the 2012 playoffs. LW Ilya Kovalchuk has also been quiet this series with just one point, courtesy of an empty-net goal. Speculation is that Kovalchuk’s back that kept him out of a game in the second round has been bothering him this series as well. The only Devils player with more than two points this series is defenseman Bryce Salavdor, who has one goal and two assists. New Jersey has been a tough road team this season at 31-22, which includes winning five of its past seven road games.

Although Quick has made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes in his past two games, he has still saved 108-of-114 shots (.947 SV Pct.) in the Cup Finals series. He has allowed two goals or less in 17 of his 19 games this postseason, sporting an impressive 1.12 GAA. Los Angeles has been a much more complete offense than New Jersey this series with four players tallying multiple goals. Although Brown has just one assist and no goals in the series, his linemates Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar have tallied four points apiece (2 G, 2 A). Standout defenseman Drew Doughty (4 points, 26:37 average ice time) and C Jeff Carter are the other players with two goals this series. L.A. had only two power-play chances in Saturday’s loss, but is still 3-for-8 with the man up in the past three games following an 0-for-18 power play drought.

[StarDust Bum]

Fresh off plane, Kings eye Game 6

June 10, 2012

There's no panic in Los Angeles after twice missing out on chances to win the Stanley Cup. At least that was the company line on Sunday, as the Kings discussed Game 6.

Many of them, in fact, took an optional skate less than a day after a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 5, and seemed upbeat afterward.

``I think we're a confident bunch,'' Kings center Mike Richards said at the team's El Segundo, Calif., practice facility. `` We obviously wouldn't be here if we didn't have the confidence. It's just a matter of playing hockey and getting better. It's the Stanley Cup finals. And if it was easy, everybody would have a Cup. But it's not easy. It's one of the toughest things that you're going to have to go through.''

Saturday's defeat was Los Angeles' second in the last four days, after previously losing just two games all postseason. Game 6 is Monday at Staples Center.

``The mood's good. I mean, you can talk about doubt, because we've lost two games in a row, and that's something this team hasn't done in a while. But we've been playing good hockey,'' Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown said. ``When you sit down and really start to realize the position we're in - up 3-2 on home ice - I think most teams would have taken that at the start of the series.''

Especially when you consider the fact that Los Angeles is a No. 8 seed, and has never won a Stanley Cup in the franchise's 45-year existence.

``Is there pressure,'' Brown asked. ``Yeah, there's pressure. It's the Stanley Cup finals.''

Perhaps, after rolling through three rounds, the Kings are finally starting to feel it. With a home crowd waiting for the NHL's top prize last Wednesday, the Devils stole some of the Kings' thunder, got back in the series and posted a 3-1 win in Los Angeles. Then, the screws tightened on Saturday, when New Jersey posted a 2-1 victory in Newark, N.J., ending the Kings' NHL record 10-game road postseason win streak.

So not only does Los Angeles have to worry about losing the Cup, it also has the added burden of possibly becoming only the second NHL team to waste a 3-0 lead in the finals. Detroit fell apart in 1942, when it blew a three-game edge and lost to Toronto.

To a man, the Kings insist they have played well the past two games. There is truth to that. They have hit four goalposts in the last six periods, and the New Jersey tallies in Game 5 were not gorgeous scoring plays by any means.

Devils forward Zach Parise snared a gift power-play goal when Jonathan Quick mishandled a pass, and New Jersey defenseman Bryce Salvador's game winner bounced into the net off Kings defenseman Slava Voynov.

Kings coach Darryl Sutter said his team is in a good place in what has turned out to be a very close series. His team received the breaks in winning the first two games, and the Devils had them the last two.

``There is adversity in every game at some point ... always,'' Sutter said. ``I don't think not having long series has any bearing on anything. The farther you go, the better the teams are that you play. You know what, that's why they're in it. There are low-scoring games. You look at it, four of the games were 2-1 hockey, other than an empty-net goal the last few seconds. The only challenge with our team is that we're not scoring a lot of goals.''

He's right. The Kings were limited to just two by 40-year-old goaltender Martin Brodeur in Games 4 and 5 combined.

Veteran forward Simon Gagne said the Kings are used to adversity after a season in which Sutter replaced Terry Murray in December and the team didn't nail down a playoff berth until the final week of the season. And it has since returned. After going 15-2 through three-and-a-half rounds, Los Angeles has hit a bump.

``We know how to deal with it,'' Gagne said. ``It seems in the playoffs, we had it a little bit easier than people think. At the same time, we had to go into Vancouver and win Game 5, and to Phoenix, Game 5. Now, we have another challenge in front of us. It's going to be the first time we're in a series (at) 3-2. It will be a first challenge for us and we'll take that, for sure.''

Brodeur believes the Kings have to be questioning themselves, at least a little.

``That's a bit of the doubt that we wanted to put in their heads, right from the get-to. But it took us a while to be able to get to that,'' Brodeur said after the Devils skated at the El Segundo rink. ``We dug ourselves a really big hole that's going to be tough to overcome. But it's getting a little more realistic every day. So, we're looking forward to challenging them again. It takes a lot of pressure for them to try to win it and close the deal.

``It's the hardest game to win, the last one. Not just the Stanley Cup finals, but any series.''

Salvador said there's pressure on both teams in Game 6. The Devils face the prospect of win, or the season is over. The Kings know they will get another chance on Wednesday in New Jersey if the series continues. As far as matching the Maple Leafs' feat from long ago, Salvador said the Devils aren't chasing history.

``At the end of the day, it's a best-of-seven series,'' he said. ``And if it goes seven games, it doesn't really matter how you got there. It only matters who's going to win the series. And the prize is the Stanley Cup, so we're just looking at it one day at a time. Whatever comes along with it, comes along with it. But we've got to realize there's a lot of hockey left, and (Monday is) going to be a tough game. We know they're going to come out hard and they're fans are going to be highly involved.''

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said no one on the team is thinking about winning the Cup on home ice, something that might have been a distraction in Game 4.

``Obviously, the fans would love for us to win it here, and we love playing in front of them,'' Doughty said. ``But we've got to put all of that in the back of our minds. It's not about that. It's about playing as a team and winning as a team. Whether we win it in New Jersey or L.A., it really doesn't matter to us.

``We just want that thing so bad, and we've going to do whatever it takes.''

NOTES: The team that has scored first in this series has won all five games. .... Brodeur's win on Saturday was his 17th in Cup final history, tying him with Billy Smith of the Islanders for sixth in league history, one behind boyhood idol Patrick Roy, who played for Montreal and Colorado, and eight away from all-time leader Jacques Plante of the Canadiens. Brodeur is in the final for the fifth time. ... New Jersey captain Zach Parise's power-play goal in Game 5 was the Devils' first in the series. They are now just 1-for-17 with the extra man. ... This will be the Kings' first Game 6 this postseason. New Jersey is 2-0 in Game 6s, having beaten the Panthers and Rangers, both in overtime. ... The Kings attempted 60 shots in Game 5, but landed just 26 on goal. The Devils blocked 20 and Los Angeles missed the net 14 times. New Jersey attempted 38 shots, with 19 landing on goal. ... The Devils have played three other Game 6s in Cup history: 2000, 2001 and 2003, going 1-2.

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NHL

Monday, June 11

Game Score Status Pick Amount

New Jersey - 8:00 PM ET Los Angeles -155 500

Los Angeles - Under 5 500