Habs vs Bruins Playoff Betting?
Habs and Bruins Kick Off Round 2 Thursday Night
After long layoffs, two of the most impressive teams in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs – the Habs and the Bruins, meet in Boston for Game 1 of Round 2 on Tuesday night. It’s the 34th meeting between the clubs in Stanley Cup playoffs history and it should be a classic as per usual.
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Montreal (50-28-5-3) at Boston (58-20-3-6)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, May 1, 2014
Where: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
In Canada? Try Pinnacle Sportsbook
Broadcast: CBC, RDS, NBCSN
Habs vs. Bruins Betting Lines
Montreal Canadiens +1½ -190 +166 Ov 5 +106
Boston Bruins -1½ +165 -183 Un 5 -117
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Game 1 Thursday night – it should be a beauty!
The Montreal Canadiens were certainly impressive in their first round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning en route to a four-game sweep. Surprisingly it was goal scoring and specifically secondary scoring that was the difference in that series – Carey Price was OK, not great in the four games.
We all know about Montreal’s top line of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek – they were terrific in Round 1 but Montreal’s third line was even better than their top line in terms of scoring. Lars Eller, Brian Gionta and Rene Borque scored twice as many goals (6) as top liners – incredible.
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The Habs has 10 different players score against Tampa and had 16 different players register at least a point in the series. A balanced attack is what is required against the Bruins – that is what the Habs have been working toward and accomplished in spades in Round 1.
Carey Price was a bit of a disappointment in the first round – we can expect a huge bounce back from him in Round 2 – a good performance in Game 1 will go a long way in determining where he and the Habs stand going forward. Price has been in the pressure cooker all season long and has succeeded on the biggest stages thus far.
The Boston Bruins did exactly what was expected in Round 1 – the won four straight games en route to a five-game series win over Detroit. Boston’s physicality, their depth and their strong defense was on display in that series – something that should carry on as we head deeper into the playoffs.
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The Bruins were predictably stingy defensively in Round 1 – just six goals surrendered in the five games – Tuukka Rask was terrific and Boston’s defensive corp. was stout, they were nasty and were a nightmare to play against.
Like the Habs, the Bruins had 10 different players score against Detroit and 14 players record at least a point. The power play went 6-for-16 in Round 1 and the PK surrendered 2 goals on 20 chances.
Boston WILL roll four lines effectively Thursday and their Special Teams will likely be Special again – the Habs better be ready!
Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• MON are 14-2 in their last 16 vs. Atlantic.
• MON are 8-2 in their last 10 road games.
• Over is 7-2-1 in MON last 10 Thu. games.
• Under is 5-1-2 in BOS last 8 Thu. games.
• BOS are 40-13 in their last 53 home games.
• Under is 3-1-4 in BOS last 8 overall.
• Road team is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
• Under is 7-3-1 in the last 11 meetings in Boston.
Montreal is 8-2 in its last 10 road games, and has won its last four games in Boston including both this year (one in OT). The Bruins are 8-2 in their last 10 home games. Both teams should be rested and both should be ready to terrorize once again.
If there is a team that matches up well with the size and physicality of the Boston Bruins it is the speedy Canadiens. I expect the Bruins to come out of the gate a little slowly like they did against Detroit – it may take a game to adjust to the speed Montreal will bring.
At +166, I just can’t resist a Montreal team that has gotten the better of Boston the last couple of years.
While Montreal likely won’t win the series, I like them to take Game 1 and provide a wake-up call to Boston.
Pick: Montreal Canadiens +166
