SPORTS WAGERS
Detroit +161 over CAROLINA
OT included. After picking up 17 out of a possible 20 points over their past 10 games, the Hurricanes suddenly got themselves back in the playoff picture. With back-to-back games both at home and both against Detroit, another couple of wins for the hottest team in the league looked incredibly attainable. In the first game of said set last night, Carolina trailed 2-1 and 3-2 before a late third period goal tied it to send the game into OT but it didn’t matter, as the ‘Canes left that invaluable point on the table in that “must win’ contest. Due to a postponed game earlier in the year, the Red Wings will play here again tonight and once again the Hurricanes are in a must win game. If the Hurricanes didn’t find the intensity, will or desire to win last night, what makes one think they’ll find it tonight? Any team can get hot for an extended period of time but a loss to Detroit last night tells us once again that the Hurricanes are not ready to prosper. A loss to Detroit last night reveals once again how Carolina cannot be trusted when expected to win. A team that was ready to take that next step to control its own destiny would have imposed their will last night, controlled the tempo and dictated the play. The Hurricanes did none of that.
Detroit is not going to the playoffs but Henrik Zetterberg played like it was the seventh game of a playoff series. His inspirational play in a game that meant nothing for his team shows why he’s been one of the best leaders in the NHL over the past decade. Detroit is playing the role of the spoiler to perfection. They are not getting pushed around at all and in fact, a close look reveals that the Red Wings have been in every game they have played for weeks with the exception of a couple of bad losses.
The argument for betting the Hurricanes here is that Detroit will be playing its third game in three days and that is true. However, the Wings didn’t have to travel after last night’s win and they’ll get a good night’s sleep without having to travel for this game. Surely, the Red Wings are aware of Carolina’s quest and a win here all but knocks the Hurricanes out. After this game, Detroit will continue the spoiler role with games against Tampa and Toronto before ending the season with four meaningless games against Ottawa, Ottawa again, Montreal and New Jersey. So, this is it for the Red Wings. They have three games left in succession against Carolina, Tampa and Toronto in which they will have a major impact on who gets in and who does not. Detroit appears to be heavily invested in having a say. They could have laid down last night but didn’t and we wouldn’t bet against them lying down in this one either. Jimmy Howard is playing top-notch goal while Cam Ward is a potential big time liability on any given day.
The three games in three days here is being overplayed in the market because it rarely happens but again, Detroit did not have to travel to get here, which makes a big difference. What we know for sure is that Carolina can absolutely win this game but we also know they did not impose its will last night and they are simply not reliable enough to be priced in this range against a team that is focused and playing well. Misery loves company and Detroit is doing everything it can to bring misery to the ‘Canes. Perhaps, more noteworthy is that the ‘Canes allowed them to last night. That says all we need to know in order to get behind a big underdog in this one.
Ottawa +112 over PHILADELPHIA
OT included. Sandwiched between three losses to the Canadiens over the past eight days, Ottawa defeated both Pittsburgh and Boston. The Senators obviously wanted to win at least one of those games against Montreal but it just didn’t happen. We’re not going to concern ourselves with that, as this wager is based strictly on fading the Flyers and Ottawa is a very decent team too.
The Flyers are six points back of the Bruins for the final playoff spot with seven games remaining but the bigger issue is that they have to leapfrog over four other teams to catch Boston. Philadelphia will make the playoffs this year if they run the table and four other teams, Carolina, the Islanders, Tampa Bay and Boston, all collapse. According to sportsclubstats.com Philadelphia’s chances of making the playoffs this year is 0.2%. The Flyers are now set up to fail again.
Philadelphia is coming off a 6-2 victory over Pittsburgh. 11 days prior, Philadelphia defeated Pittsburgh again (4-0) only to lose 6-2 to the Devils the very next game. Several players cited Brandon Manning’s fight against Cameron Gaunce on Sunday as the inspiration that led to their victory. The Flyers were down by a goal at that point. “It was huge and it always helps when you win the fight, too,” said Travis Konecny. “A fight gets the team going, but when you end up on the right side of it, it always helps the momentum of the game. Kudos to him; he finds ways to get us going. He’s done it throughout the year.”
“I think a lot of us, if we had the heart of Brandon Manning, maybe we’d be in a little different situation,” Gostisbehere said. “I think it really pumped our team up.”
From our perspective, the only thing that is going to do is prompt Manning to fight some more. He’ll be looking for it tonight and it’ll likely hurt the Flyers more than help them, just like Manning’s play has done all season long. To point to this useless player as the inspiration for a win should be of more concern. Furthermore, the Flyers are coming home from a four game trip after that big win over Pittsburgh so let’s have a closer look at that.
Philadelphia opened the year with a trip to Los Angeles, Arizona and Chicago before losing to Anaheim when they returned home. The Flyers next road trip of four games or more occurred in December when they traveled to New Jersey, St. Louis, San Jose and Anaheim. The Flyers returned home to play the Rangers and lost 5-2. From January 8 to January 15, Philadelphia played at Columbus, Buffalo, Boston and Washington and returned home to lose 4-1 to the Devils. The Flyers three-game jaunt through Western Canada happened in February and upon returning, they lost 4-1 to the Capitals. Earlier this month, Philly played four games on the road in succession at Washington, Buffalo, Toronto and Boston and when they returned home, they lost 5-3 to the Jackets. The Flyers have only had five road trips this season of three or more games. In their first game back of said trips, they are 0-5 and this one comes after four on the road and after a big win over Pittsburgh. Nuff said.
Dallas +170 over MONTREAL
OT included. Let’s not get crazy here, alright. While Montreal is going to the playoffs as one of the top seeds in the East, they’ve been playing around .500 hockey since mid-November. In other words, Montreal absolutely deserves to be favored here but in no way do they deserve this billing. Over their last eight games, Montreal is 4-4 and three of those victories occurred against Ottawa. When the Habs hired Claude Julien they went on a bit of a tear but take away those six games and they have been an average hockey team for weeks. This is the Canadiens final game of the season against an opponent from the West, as they’ll close out the season with six games against Eastern conference foes. Montreal is not playing poorly but they are not dominating either and they have much bigger things to focus on than a late season game against a team going nowhere.
That team going nowhere is last year’s President Trophy winner. The Stars have grossly underachieved this season but that doesn’t mean they have thrown in the towel. Dallas has picked up points in four straight, which included two wins over San Jose and an OT loss to the Blackhawks. The Stars have allowed 26 shots on net or less in six of their past eight games and have really thrived in its last two games by outscoring the opposition 8-2 and holding both teams to 21 shots on net each. Dallas is a dangerous team with the most talent of any team not going to the playoffs. Yeah, they’ve had a rough year but they are being sold extremely short in games they have just as good a chance of winning as the favorite does. This is a really good team that is having a really bad year but we’re not going to hold that against them when the price is so juicy in a winnable game. Big overlay here.
EDMONTON -½ +136 over Los Angeles
Regulation only. Edmonton was L.A.’s whipping boys for years and it continued the first time they met this season way back in mid-November when the Kings defeated the Oil, 4-2. That victory made it six straight for the Kings over the Oilers at the time and it was also the Kings’ 11th win in the previous 12 games against Edmonton. However, things are a little bit different now in late March. For one, Edmonton has won the past two games against L.A. while outscoring them 5-1. Los Angeles is about to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. One could attribute last year’s failure to burnout for a team that underachieved. This year, however, the Kings’ came in hungry and we can now attribute their failures to weak goaltending and not enough talent. Yeah, the Kings work hard and hard work counts for something but there is a hungrier and vastly superior team waiting for them and in position for the proverbial passing of the torch.
It was June 19, 2006. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1. The Oilers got so close to winning their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history but fell two goals short but surely there would be more for Oilers fans to cheer about. Their team was set to be dominant for years to come, right? It didn’t work out that way. Playoff miss after playoff miss was the rule, as the Oilers plummeted to the bottom of the league.
Now, a little more than a decade and seven head coaches later, the Oilers have a chance to return to the playoffs for the first time since that Stanley Cup Final appearance. If they beat the Kings here, they will clinch a spot in the postseason and long-suffering fans can begin exorcising the memories of last-place finishes and first-round draft-pick busts. With only one win needed to sew up the spot and seven games left on the schedule, the Oilers are a shoo-in for the playoffs at this point but to finally get that clinching “x” next to the team’s name in the standings will be hugely motivating and to do it against a team that has been abusing them for years would be extra gratifying but it’s more than that. Connor McDavid gives the Oilers that “it” factor and it is in precisely these types of games in which the best of the best shine and display that refuse to lose attitude. The arena will be electric tonight and the Oilers will be jacked up and raring to go. The Oilers are hot and getting hotter. They have scored seven goals three times over their past seven games and have also won six of their past seven. Since coming back from its bye week on Feb. 11, the Oilers have 16 power play goals in 50 opportunities, a 32% rating, which ranks first in the NHL over that time.
L.A. does not want the Oilers to clinch on its watch but this market has been saying similar things about the Kings for two years now. In must win games, the Kings have rolled snake-eyes too many times over the past two years to trust them to prevent the Oilers from clinching. Los Angeles is now the weaker team in this matchup that this determined Oilers’ bunch should be able to impose their will against. The Oil will not be denied, at least not by this visitor.
Pass NCAAB
