NHL Hockey Betting: Stanley Cup Preview for April 14, 2016
Four Stanley Cup playoff games on Thursday night:
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS AT WASHINGTON CAPITALS:
Both teams face a tough task. For Washington, they’ve got to ‘turn it on again’ after they put the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference titles away with weeks to go in the regular season. The team has a history of playoff collapses following great regular season performances and they’re looking to re-write that script this year. That’s one of the reasons they brought in Justin Williams hoping that his clutch performances in playoffs past will give confidence to the rest of the team. Head coach Barry Trotz is in his second season with the team and has brought the Caps newfound grit and toughness. He sounds confident and is looking forward to changing the team’s postseason identity. And even their most ardent supporters didn’t expect the Caps to just dominate this season en route to the Presidents’ Trophy for best record in the league. The team is healthy though T.J. Oshie left Wednesday’s practice with an unspecified injury. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to go here.
The Flyers will be playing to honor the memory of team owner Ed Snider, a much loved and respected figure around the city of Philadelphia and NHL. The Flyers looked like the were going nowhere at midseason but used a furious second half surge to make the playoffs. That’s great and all but it’s tough to sustain that kind of momentum now that they’re here. Minnesota pulled a similar stunt last season and managed to upset the St. Louis Blues in the first round before wilting against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Philadelphia is a notoriously undisciplined team–a marked contrast to the way that the Capitals’ Trotz coaches. Philly head coach Dave Hakstol says he isn’t worried but even if he *were* would he say so?
Philadelphia could win a game or two in this series but Washington is just too good, too deep and too well coached. They’ve got a huge edge in net with Braden Holtby. They’d have a huge edge in net with Phillip Grubauer. They’ll win this game and win this series.
BET WASHINGTON CAPITALS -210 OVER PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
NEW YORK ISLANDERS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS:
The Florida Panthers get no respect. For years, they didn’t deserve any but this is a very talented hockey team that plays the right way on both ends of the ice. They’ve got a great mix of youth and experience–young stars like Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov along with veterans like goaltender Roberto Luongo and Jaromir Jagr. Jagr is more in a class of his own–a legitimate legend who can still outplay men half his age. The Islanders are a tough team to figure–lots of injuries including starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak though Thomas Greiss has played well in his stead. Panthers were very quietly one of the best home teams in the league at 25-11-5 and they should get the victory here.
BET FLORIDA PANTHERS -140 OVER NEW YORK ISLANDERS
MINNESOTA WILD AT DALLAS STARS:
Two teams that are enigmas to me. The Stars score goals in bunches but are very mediocre defensively. That’s not supposed to win in the Western Conference but here they are, winning the tough Central Division and the West. They roared into the playoffs in great form with eight wins in their last ten games though Minnesota has been a tricky opponent in recent years. The Wild have split the last 14 meetings with Dallas including winning 3 of 7 on the road. Concern about Minnesota’s form as they lost their last five regular season games after no-nonsense interim head coach John Torchetti had them on a nice run. Their problem has been scoring goals–they scored a total of six during their final five games. Still not sold on Dallas in many ways and they’re definitely vulnerable. But can the Wild without Zach Parise pull the upset? I’ll give them a shot.
BET MINNESOTA WILD +150 OVER DALLAS STARS
SAN JOSE SHARKS AT LOS ANGELES KINGS:
Two maddeningly frustrating teams that both have the ability to play as well as anyone in the league. Los Angeles lost 7 of their final 11 games while San Jose won 5 of their last 7. The reason the Sharks are frustrating is their bizarre home/road breakdown. They had the best regular season road record in the NHL at 28-10-3. At home, only three teams in the league won fewer games. The Edmonton Oilers finished in last place in the Western Conference and *they* had a better home record than the Sharks. It does give us some guidance on how to play this series–we’ll back the Sharks on the road and then reassess the situation when the series heads to San Jose for Game 3.
BET SAN JOSE SHARKS +130 OVER LOS ANGELES KINGS