2013 Stanley Cup Playoff predictions

With action underway in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, teams are beginning to approach the finish line of this NHL season.

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Here are four teams that may be worth a closer look as they navigate the road to the Stanley Cup.

Chicago Blackhawks +250

The Blackhawks would have loved to have moved the playoffs up to February when they couldn’t seem to lose a game, but they’re certainly capable of putting together another solid run.

Goaltender Corey Crawford has shown that he can carry the load in net for the Blackhawks. The Hawks haven’t allowed opponents to score on the power play, remaining perfect on the penalty kill, but they also haven’t gotten a goal from captain Jonathan Toews.

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We have yet to see the Blackhawks play their best hockey in the playoffs, but if they get on a roll like they did at the start of the season, they could cruise to their second Stanley Cup in four years.

Los Angeles Kings +500

The defending champions opened the postseason at 14/1 odds to repeat, but a decisive series win over the Blues has bettors back in their corner.

The Kings surprised many when they won the Stanley Cup a year ago as the eighth-seeded team in the West. They certainly won’t catch anyone off guard this year, but they appear to have again found that extra gear that made them so tough to beat a year ago.

Surely they’ll need to improve on their 1-3 mark on the road, but if Jonathan Quick continues to play as well as he has, the wins will come.

Boston Bruins +500

Just two years removed from winning the Cup themselves, the Bruins appear to be on a similar path to the one that saw them finish the season as champions in 2012, gutting out a Game 7 win in overtime to cap off round one, and now opening the second round with back-to-back wins.

Goaltender Tuukka Rask has filled in nicely for Tim Thomas, and the B’s have taken a big step forward offensively, averaging 3.3 goals per game in the postseason.

If they can get Tyler Seguin going, they’ll be the team to beat.

Ottawa Senators +2500

After opening the postseason at 40/1 odds to win it all, the Sens haven’t been able to sway many bettors over to their side despite a first round rout of the second-seeded Canadiens.

Ottawa was able to weather a barrage of injuries during the regular season, and the team is getting healthy at the right time. Goaltender Craig Anderson had a long overdue coming out party on Sunday night when he stopped 49 of the 50 shots that came his way.

If you’re looking to back a team at long odds, you could do a lot worse than the Senators.

This lockout shortened season is nearing its end, but there’s still time for savvy bettors to cash in.

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Kings vs Sharks NHL Spread/Handicapping

The San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings get back at it Tuesday night after a thrilling Game 3 at the Shark Tank saw the home team win yet again in the series. The home teams have won all three games so far this series and both teams are undefeated at home in the postseason this year.

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Los Angeles Kings (33-17-3-4) at San Jose Sharks (90-18-3-4)
When: 10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Where: HP Pavillion at San Jose, San Jose, California
Broadcast: RDS, TSN, NBCSN
Kings lead series 2-1
Kings vs. Sharks Betting Lines from Sportsbook.ag
Los Angeles Kings +1½ -290 +119 Ov 4½ -135
San Jose Sharks -1½ +245 -131 Un 4½ +123

Matchup | Preview

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Sharks Look to Hold Serve and Even Series Against Defending Champs

The Sharks have been dominant all season on home ice, going 17-2-5 in the regular season that included two wins over Los Angeles. Penalties at key stages have been the difference in the last two games – discipline looks like it will be key Tuesday night.

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The Los Angeles Kings came close to breaking the “home team streak” in Game 3 but penalties – one at the end of regulation and one in overtime were directly responsible for the Sharks gaining momentum and scoring the winner. Los Angeles did some good things in Game 3 but discipline at precisely the wrong moments was the difference.

The Kings only got one past Antti Niemi in Game 3 after scoring six in the first two games of the series. They generated an OK 27 shots but couldn’t deliver the knockout blow even when Sharks forwards Logan Couture and Martin Havlat were in the dressing room receiving treatment for various ailments.

But we know that this team doesn’t need a whole lot of scoring to succeed – Jonathan Quick can lead them to victory all by himself. Quick has stopped 101 of 106 shots in this series including 38 in Game 3 for the Kings, a .953 save percentage so far in the three games. He has a 1.49 goals against average in his last four games and is officially looking like that keeper that led the Kings to the Cup last year.

The San Jose Sharks continue to be a force on home ice. They have lost just twice in regulation all year long – unbelievable! The biggest reason for the home success has been a potent power play that has been far more efficient at the Shark Tank than on the road. San Jose has scored on an NHL-best 28.4 percent of power plays at home during the regular and postseason compared to just 13.6 percent on the road. In the playoffs the Sharks are 8-for-20 on the power play at home including two goals in Game 3 and just 1-for-16 on the road, including 0-for-7 the first two games in Los Angeles. San Jose is home again Tuesday night where they have looked like world beaters all year long.

Antti Niemi was typically solid in Game 3 – nothing less should be expected on Tuesday night. He is 5-2-0 with a 2.06 GAA and .926 save percentage in his last seven games. Los Angeles will bring it in Game 4 and there is nobody the Sharks would rather have between the pipes that Mr. Niemi.

Betting Prediction

:

A few trends to consider:

• LA are 1-9 in their last 10 road games.
• Under is 8-2-2 in LA last 12 overall.
• Under is 5-1-3 in SJ last 9 vs. Pacific.
• Over is 5-1-2 in SJ last 8 home games.
• Under is 5-2-3 in SJ last 10 Tue. games.
• Home team is 12-1 in the last 13 meetings.
• LA are 10-26 in the last 36 meetings in San Jose.

The San Jose Sharks outplayed the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 and maybe should have deserved a better fate than they received in Game 1 and 2. Truth be told, they have been the better of the two teams in the series so far by a slight margin. Jonathan Quick has been the difference maker for the Kings.

Expect Quick to be spectacular again but for his offense to let him down Tuesday and for the Sharks to eke out another close, low scoring win. How can you bet against a team that has lost twice in regulation all year? I know I can’t!

Pick: San Jose Sharks -131

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Bruins vs Rangers NHL Spread/Handicapping

For the second straight postseason series, the New York Rangers return home in a, 0-2 hole needing to win just to keep their heads above water. Their second round opponent the Boston Bruins have been clicking on all cylinders ahead of Game 3 – the Rangers are in tough against a team that boasts depth up front, a ton of talent on defense and wealth of playoff experience on the roster.

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Boston Bruins (34-17-3-3) at NY Rangers (30-20-3-4)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Broadcast: RDS, TSN, NBCSN
Bruins lead series 2-0
Bruins vs. Rangers Betting Lines from betonline.com
Boston Bruins +1½ -260 +124 Ov 5 +112
New York Rangers -1½ +220 -137 Un 5 -123

Matchup | Preview

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Rangers In Virtual “Must-Win” in Game 3 Versus Bruins

It is hard to imagine New York coming back in this series – but we said the same thing at this point of their series against Washington!

The Boston Bruins have already put eight goals past Henrik Lundqvist in the two games of the series – their offense has continued to shine during the playoffs.

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Brad Marchand leads the Bruins with four points on two goals and two assists in two games against the Rangers. Rookie Torey Krug has chipped in with two goals and an assist and both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have three assists so far in the series.

Unlike in their first round series, the Bruins are getting solid contributions from two lines – not just the Krejci, Lucic, Horton line. All said, the Bruins are plain scary on offense right now and also trot out their patented strong defense and goaltending for Game 3.

Boston will have some decisions to make ahead of Game 3. Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski – all rookies have filled in admirably for injured veterans Andre Ference, Wade Redden and Dennis Seidenberg – the latter two could return to the lineup Tuesday. It doesn’t figure to matter wither way – the veterans will be a welcome addition but the youngsters have been playing more than adequately in their place.

While the problems for Boston are good ones, the ones for the Rangers are deep and are threatening to take them right out of the postseason. First is the play of Henrik Lundqvist who admitted that his shoulder may be giving him problems. Before Sunday, Lundqvist hadn’t allowed five goals in 151 consecutive games, dating to a 5-2 loss at Anaheim on March 9, 2011.

He also had never yielded more than three goals in any of his 31 previous games against the Bruins – evidence that something just isn’t right with New York’s best player.

Secondly there is the power play that has chugged on at an ugly 5.6 % in the playoffs. They were 0-for-5 with seven shots on goal Sunday. They are 0-for-8 against Boston and 2-for-36 in the playoffs – not good.

Rik Nash finally scored his first goal of the playoffs and they did generate a few odd man rushed in Game 2 and as John Tortarella said – they were much better than the 5-2 score suggested. Still, they made too many mistakes, they didn’t score nearly enough and fell victim to the relentless and opportunistic Bruins yet again.

Betting Prediction

A few trends to consider:

• Over is 6-2-2 in BOS last 10 overall.
• Under is 8-3-1 in BOS last 12 vs. Atlantic.
• NYR are 2-7 in their last 9 vs. Northeast.
• Over is 5-2-3 in NYR last 10 home games.
• NYR are 52-25 in their last 77 home games.
• BOS are 3-12 in the last 15 meetings in New York.

The Rangers seem, like most teams in the NHL, have serious issues with the speed and the depth of this Boston Bruins team. Sure Boston can look bad but when they are on they look like the most difficult team in the NHL to contend with. New York has owned the Bruins in recent meetings in the Big Apple but you just can’t look past the way Boston is playing in all areas of the game.

If there is a more complete team in the East, I’d like to see them.

Pick: Boston Bruins +124

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Wings Hope to Ride Wave Of Confidence to Game 3 Victory

To a man the Detroit Red Wings said they would be better in Game 2 of the Western Conference semi final after losing Game 1, 4-1 and they backed up their claim in a big way for Detroit’s first win against Chicago in nine tries – the Red Wings’ first in regulation since April 2011.

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Chicago Blackhawks (41-8-1-5) at Detroit Red Wings (29-19-4-5)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, May 20, 2013
Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Broadcast: CBC, RDS, NBCSN
Series tied 1-1
Hawks vs. Wings Betting Lines from from Bovada
Chicago Blackhawks -1½ +225 -131 Ov 5 +104
Detroit Red Wings +1½ -265 +119 Un 5 -115

Matchup | Preview

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The Blackhawks were on a 9-0-2 run against the Wings in 11 games prior to Saturday’s contest. Chicago, the best team in the NHL during the regular season must now find a way to win at least one game in Detroit in order to move on. But momentum is not exactly on their side ahead of Monday night’s showdown.

Chicago didn’t look like the team that steamrolled through the regular season and the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. They were outworked and outmuscled at every turn and only managed 21 shots on goal against Jimmy Howard – their least output a Stanley Cup Playoff game since April 27, 2009. Do we give them a mulligan or is there something to the game plan that the Wings were able to execute?

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Chicago has to hope to get more out of Jonathan Toews who inexplicably has disappeared in the playoffs yet again – just three assists in seven games so far. Toews is in an eight-game playoff scoring slump that dates to last year. He has just three goals combined in three postseasons since scoring seven goals to help Chicago win the Cup in 2010.

Not sure what to make of that! Brent Seabrook is pointless in the playoffs so far and Viktor Stalberg, arguably the fastest Hawk is pointless in four but should return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first two games of the series.

It’s a good thing for Patrick Kane who scored his first goal of the playoffs Saturday but continues to provide more than his share of helper. Kane now has seven points in seven games, Patrick Sharp has a six game points scoring streak and Marion Hossa continues to be dangerous with four points in his last three games.

Chicago absolutely has to be better defensively in Game 3 as well. Frequent mistakes and some uncharacteristically sloppy play in their own end were directly responsible for the four goals against Saturday. Corey Crawford had his worst game in eons in Game 2 – just a .867 save percentage. Count on a bounce back game from him.

The Wings’ youngsters are getting it done! Rookie Brendan Smith scored the winning goal Saturday and Damien Brunner scored another goal after also scoring in the series opener. Gustav Nyquist has a game winner in the playoffs and Joakim Andersson ranks among rookie scoring leaders.

Detroit is surprisingly deep and of course they have their leaders that showed up in a big way and delivered in Game 2.

Henrik Zetterberg set up a pair of goals, including the game-winner Saturday. Zetterberg had 10 points in the final four games of the regular season, each a Detroit win, as the Red Wings secured a playoff berth on the final day. He had five points in two elimination games to help the Red Wings upset the second-seeded Ducks in seven games.

To say he’s raising the level of his game is a colossal understatement! And then there’s the best player in the NHL Pavel Datsyuk who has been quiet but is certainly due to break out against Chicago.

As surprisingly dangerous as the Wings have looked on offense they have been good defensively as well with Jimmy Howard leading the way. He only had to make 19 stops on Saturday but he has been dependable as they come the last month or so for the Wings.

He looked good Saturday, and like many Detroit players gained a ton of confidence against a team that had absolutely owned them the last couple of years.

Betting Prediction

A few trends to consider:

• Under is 7-0-1 in CHI last 8 road games.
• CHI are 39-12 in their last 51 vs. Central.
• CHI are 21-7 in their last 28 road games.
• Under is 7-2-3 in DET last 12 vs. Central.
• Under is 13-5-8 in DET last 26 overall.
• DET are 4-10 in their last 14 vs. Central.
• CHI are 8-1 in the last 9 meetings.
• Under is 17-6-3 in the last 26 meetings.

Chicago didn’t lose two straight games all year long and I can’t see them starting now. Sure the Wings brought the game to them on Saturday but the Hawks won’t be caught off guard again. Call it a “wake-up call” or call it a necessary loss – Chicago is too good to look so bad two games in a row.

The Wings were vulnerable at home this season shockingly and will have all sorts of trouble with a motivated Chicago team in Game 3.

Pick: Chicago Blackhawks -131

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