NHL Hockey Betting: Wednesday Stanley Cup Playoff Preview
The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday night with three games on the schedule. One game is currently ‘off the board’ and we’ll talk about that in a moment. The bloodletting at the end of a NHL hockey season isn’t as brutal as at the end of a NFL football season but the ax has already started to fall for some underachieving coaches and general managers. In Ottawa, there’s a new GM (Pierre Dorion) who is taking over for Bryan Murray. Murray is stepping down after nine seasons as the Senators’ GM due to an ongoing battle with cancer. He’s taking an ‘advisory role’ with the team. Dorion didn’t waste any time cleaning house–two days after he was announced as Murray’s replacement he fired head coach Dave Cameron along with assistants Andre Tourigny, Rick Wamsley and Jason Smith.
The Arizona Coyotes also made some changes, sending general manager Don Maloney packing after the team missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. The timing is somewhat curious–Arizona improved by 22 points this season and has a slew of talented young players. He also had the challenge of running the team while under the ownership of the league for four seasons. Given that significant burden he did a nice job in my opinion. Head coach Dave Tippett is staying though it’s unclear whether its due to his performance (which like Maloney has been pretty solid given the situation) or the fact that he’s got two years remaining on his deal.
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS FOR WEDNESDAY:
DETROIT RED WINGS AT TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:
I’m not really sure why everyone hates Tampa Bay all of a sudden. They’re banged up heading into the playoffs but with the exception of the Steven Stamkos injury (blood clot) none seem particularly serious. Ryan Callahan, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson are all on the injury list but have all been upgraded to ‘probable’. Lightning goalie Ben Bishop has always been monstrous (6’7″) but this season he’s become really good–when a guy of Bishop’s size learns to use it as a weapon he becomes a very dangerous goaltender (see Rinne, Pekka). He’ll match up in this series against the Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard–incidentally, both Howard and Bishop are products of the University of Maine. Simply put, the Red Wings don’t have the statistical profile of a serious playoff contender. 17th in team goals against average, 23rd in goals scored per game, 13th on the power play and 14th on the penalty kill. Had Boston not imploded down the stretch the Wings would likely be at home watching the playoffs on TV. Tampa Bay’s power play sucks (#28th) but they’re very good defensively (#5 goals against per game) and on the kill (#7). They’re not the high scoring juggarnaut of recent vintage but that’s not necessarily a bad thing–plus it’s not like they can’t score. They finished the regular season #12 in the league. The Red Wings are reportedly ‘juggling lines’ heading into this game after ‘juggling goaltenders’ during the stretch run. That isn’t a sign of confidence before the playoffs have even started. If the Washington Capitals don’t make the Stanley Cup Finals out of the Eastern Conference don’t be surprised to see Tampa Bay back for another shot at the crown. Throwing a little something on the Lightning +2100 to win the Stanley Cup isn’t the worst idea, even just to set up a potential hedge.
BET TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING -150 OVER DETROIT RED WINGS (GAME ONE)
BET TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING -150 OVER DETROIT RED WINGS (SERIES)
NEW YORK RANGERS AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS:
This game is currently off the board pending the status of the Penguins’ goaltenders. Left Wing Lock–the go-to site for goaltending assignments–has Marc-Andre Fleury listed as the starter though they give no indication of how likely that is to transpire. He did practice on Monday which is a good sign. He’s officially listed as a ‘game time decision’. While Fleury was on the shelf recovering from his second concussion of the NHL season he was replaced by 21 year old rookie Matt Murray who played about as well as a 21 year old rookie goaltender could possibly play. As in 9-2, 2.00 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. He also won seven straight games during that stretch. Murray hasn’t practiced this week and is listed as ‘day to day’ with an ‘upper body injury’. If Pittsburgh has either Fleury or Murray between the pipes they’re the play for Game One and the series against the overrated New York Rangers.
NO LINE
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS AT ST. LOUIS BLUES:
This should be a great series between these two rivals. Chicago scores more goals and is better on the power play, St. Louis is better on defense and on the penalty kill. Chicago didn’t look great down the stretch during the regular season last year and then turned it on during the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup. Don’t automatically think they can do it again this year–there’s a reason why back to back Stanley Cups are so rare these days. The last team to go back to back was the 1997 and 1998 Detroit Red Wings. The Blues have a legacy of early Stanley Cup exits but we’ll back them here.
BET ST. LOUIS BLUES -120 OVER CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (GAME ONE)