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Vancouver Canucks Vs. Nashville Predators – Match Analysis
On Monday night, in NHL Game 6, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Nashville Predators 2-1. By winning the best of seven series 4-2, Vancouver will now meet the winner between the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks.
After finishing on top during the NHL’s regular season, Vancouver began the Cup chase as the 3-1 favorites. The Canucks has not been to a conference final for 17 years.
Roberto Luongo made 23 saves for the Canucks, who last made it to the conference finals in 1994 when they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games to advance to their second Stanley Cup Finals while Mason Raymond and Daniel Sedin had first period goals.
In the second period David Legwand scored. The Predators, who were in the semifinals for the first time in club history after dispatching Anaheim in the first round, Pekka Rinne made 17 saves for them.
Even though a pair of third period goals from Joel Ward helped Nashville win an elimination game for the first time in franchise history, Vancouver had a chance to win the series at home on Saturday. In order to take a 2-0 lead, the Canucks, though, came out on fire and scored two goals less than two minutes apart.
As Ryan Suter turned the puck over in his own end the first goal came at the 7:45 mark. Although Ryan Kesler again got the puck and from behind the left side of the net he centered it for Raymond, who shifted to the backhand and slid the puck in, he grabbed the disc and his first pass attempt was blocked.
On Saturday the Vancouver Canucks’ Western Conference final series will begin.
New York Rangers face Stanley Cup favorite Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday on NBC
In a possible first round playoff matchup, the New York Rangers will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Sunday on NBC (12:30 pm ET).
NHL Betting Odds have the Rangers at 35-1 to win the Stanley Cup while the Flyers are at 11-2.
Currently, the Rangers find themselves in a fight for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York and Buffalo are tied for the eighth spot with eighty seven points, three points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes. Gaining two points in this contest may be crucial to New York’s chances of surviving the first round of the playoffs.
If the Rangers get matched up against the Flyers, not many people will be expecting the Rangers to win that series, especially after New York has won just one of five games so far this year against Philadelphia.
While this game is obviously important to New York for numerous reasons, the Flyers will be trying to get two points as well to help secure first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. That number one seed will allow Philadelphia to have home ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they have 21-11-6 record.
In addition to being in a division race with Pittsburgh, the Flyers are also trying to hold off a red hot Washington team for the best record in the Eastern Conference. With very few games left on the schedule, every chance to gain two points in the standings is amplified.
Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames meet outdoors in Heritage Classic
The 2011 Heritage classic will be held Sunday afternoon when the Montreal Canadiens travel to Calgary to take on the Flames. The game will be held at McMahon Stadium, which is located on the campus of the University of Calgary. This will be the second outdoor game of the year for the NHL with the first one being the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day.
NHL Odds have not yet been posted but look for the flames to be the favorite with their stellar play of late and a big “home ice” advantage.
Aside from the novelty of playing an outdoor game in Calgary, this game has significant meaning in regards to the league’s standings. Currently, the Flames hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference by only one point over bother Los Angeles and Minnesota. In fact, the Western Conference is so competitive this year that while the Flames are in eighth place right now they are only three points out of third place as well. This fact makes each and every game down the stretch extremely important as every team fights for any points they can get.
Montreal is in a similar situation as Calgary. Right now the Canadiens are in fifth place in the standings, but are tied with Boston for the division lead and could move into third place in the conference with just one more point. With both teams in such tight playoff races every game gains more importance as the season rolls on, making the 2011 Heritage Classic one of the bigger outdoor games in recent years.
In NHL Action – Chicago Blackhawks Vs. Anaheim Ducks
This Friday, the Anaheim Ducks will battle against the Chicago Blackhawks. To this point in the year both these teams are struggling through mediocre seasons. As of their mediocre start both teams expect to improve. For both team a win in this game could turn things around.
The offense of the Blackhawks will be one of the keys for this game. In the NHL to this point they have managed to produce the 9th best offense, while they have been struggling to win games. 3 goals for each game, they have averaged. In opposition to the defense of the Ducks they will be going up.
3 goals for each game, the Ducks defense has been surrendering and in the NHL, this is good for the 20th best defense. The Blackhawks may be competent to put the game out of reach from the Ducks if they can start things out with a bang.
For every game, the Ducks have only been able to average 2.5 goals. They have been outscored by their rival, while they have a 10-10-3 record.
For the Ducks their power play has been the strength in the game. In the NHL they are the 7th best team in terms of converting on the power play. In order to keep all of their players in the game, the Blackhawks will need to be careful. When the Ducks don’t have power play opportunities they haven’t been so hot on offense.
This season, the Blackhawks have been even improved on the power play. In the NHL, 3rd best power play conversion rate have been managed by them. The factor which decides this game could be the power play.
Tagged Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, NHL
At The Verizon Center –Philadelphia Flyers Vs. Washington Capitals
On Saturday at the Verizon Center (7 pm ET, COMCAST, CSN), the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals meet for the second time this season.
With the Flyers at 12-5-2 and the Capitals with a 14-4-1 record, both teams are near the top of the NHL Eastern Conference standings. The Flyers are favorites in hockey betting odds.
With the Capitals the highest scoring, averaging 3.68 goals per game, and the Flyers not far back at 3.32 GPG, both teams are among the highest scoring in the league.
The Flyers have allowed the third fewest goals in the league at 2.2 per game as Philadelphia is also among the league leaders on defense.
The Flyers are without forwards Dan Carcillo (Out Indefinitely, knee injury), Ian Laperriere (Out Indefinitely, concussion), goalie Michael Leighton (Out Indefinitely, back injury), and defensemen Matt Walker (Out Indefinitely, hip injury) on the injury front.
Capitals’ defenseman goalie Semyon Varlamov is Out Indefinitely (groin injury) and Tom Poti is Day-to-Day (groin injury).
In the last 10 meetings head-to-head Washington is 6-2-0-2 and the over/under is 4-4-2. When the Capitals edged the Flyers 3-2 and cashed as a -190 moneyline favorite, the teams last squared off on Nov. 7. Under the over/under total of 5.5 what the score stayed.
In Original Six Matchup, Boston Bruins Meet Montreal Canadians
On Thursday night, this week, one of the better NHL hockey games will take place in Boston, when the Montreal Canadians come to town to take on the Boston Bruins. In this young NHL season, both the Canadians and Bruins are off to a good start and currently sit 1st and 2nd respectively in their division.
By relying on their excellent defense, and surprisingly efficient offense, Boston to get off to a 7-3-1 start. Overall the Bruins rank 2nd in Goals Against at 1.7 goals per game and have the best penalty kill in the NHL at 92.9%.This season, Boston’s offense, which was considered to be the weak spot on their team, ranks 7th in the league in goals per game with an average of 3.0 and the 9th best power play at 21.4%.
To help them win games and get off to an 8-5-1 start, Montreal on the other hand has been relying solely on their defense. While their power plays has been a dismal 6.4% good enough for 30th in the NHL, the Canadians rank 25th in the league in scoring averaging just 2.4 goals per contest. While Montreal used a 6-1 stretch in the middle of October to take an early division lead, the Canadians rank 7th in goals against with 2.4 per game and have the league’s 5th best penalty kill at 87.9% even though the Canadians have struggled a bit as of late winning only once in their last 4 attempts.
Thursday night match up should be a good one between two original six teams. The Boston Bruins are looking for a little payback in the first meeting of the 2010-2011 seasons as Montreal won last year’s season series 5 games to 1.
Tagged Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadians, NHL
Season Preview – NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins
On Thursday, NHL Hockey action features an Original Six matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
In recent seasons, Toronto is off to one of its best starts, going 5-2-1 SU in its first eight games. Boston are out of the gate with a 4-2-0 SU record, despite being hit with a rash of injuries early in the season.
Forward Colby Armstrong, who is out indefinitely with a hand injury in included in the Maple Leafs’ injuries. Marco Sturm (knee surgery), defenseman Johnny Boychuk is out indefinitely with an arm injury, and forwards Marc Savard (concussion) and Trent Whitfield (achilles surgery), are also all out indefinitely for the Bruins.
In recent head-to-head matchups, Boston has dominated, going 8-1-0-1. On April 3 last season, the teams last met, when the Bruins edged the Maple Leafs 2-1. A +105 home underdog had been Toronto.
The Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday, in their last game, cashing as a -160-moneyline favorite. After the club had won its first four games of the season, the win ended the Leaf’s 3-game losing streak.
Since Saturday, Boston hasn’t played, when it was upset 3-2 by the New York Rangers, losing as a -180-moneyline favorite in NHL betting.
NHL 2010-11 Preview: Boston Bruins
After last season’s meltdown against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals (in which they led three games to zero and game seven 3-0), the Boston Bruins return youth and firepower that should lead the club to hoisting the Stanley Cup at the end of the year.
Despite the loss of Marc Savard due to injury (post-concussion syndrome), Boston has the right blend of experience (Recchi, 42 years old) and youth (Sanguin, 18) to get it done at the next level.
The offense is a balanced, if pedestrian, attack that was 30th last year in goals scored while converting only 7.47% of shot opportunities. With the loss of Savard, Patrice Bergeron moves up to the first line at center to lead a balanced attack that also includes David Krejci and Mark Recchi. Bergeron (19 goals, 33 assists, 52 points), Krejci (17,35,52), and Recchi (18,25,43) numbers should go up with the addition of Nathan Horton at RW from Florida, listed first line on the current depth chart.
The defense is the cornerstone of the Bruin attack and is led by team captain Zdeno Chara. The unit was second in the league in goals allowed and third in the penalty kill and with Tuukka Rask listed as lead goalie (1.97 GAA and .931 save pct.) defense will again shine for Boston.
“Offense wins games, defense wins championships”. Boston appears “loaded for bear” as management has put together a young club that should improve on last year’s playoff surge.
New York Rangers Drury out four weeks due to injury: NHL
For the New York Rangers, it did not take long to suffer their first injury as NHL training camps opened on the weekend.
On Monday, Center Chris Drury was hit with a broken finger during a training-camp scrimmage and will be out at least four weeks, the NHL club said Tuesday.
The team captain, Drury is coming off a horrible season. In the 2009-10 season, he scored a career-low 14 goals and 32 points and the Rangers failed to advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
To the Flyers, a 2-1 shootout loss in the season finale left the Rangers in the Eastern Conference’s ninth spot.
According to the team’s website, Drury said last week, “The only thing worse than going through that as a team would be not learning from it. When you go through something bad as a team and you don’t learn from it, and you don’t come out better for it, then that’s strike three as far as I’m concerned.”
Drury, 34, as his left index finger heals, he will miss the regular season’s first four games.
Tagged Chris Drury, New York Rangers, NHL, Stanley Cup
Three free agents signed by Toronto Maple Leafs – NHL
The signing of three unrestricted free agents has been announced by the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is big announcement for the hockey betting news. Right winger Joey Crabb, defenseman Danny Richmond and Center Mike Zigomanis are the players.
Dave Poulin, Vice President of hockey operations released a statement that said the Maple Leafs have added depth. The players signed will provide leadership for the organization’s younger players and they have National Hockey League experience.
With Peoria and Rockford, Richmond, 25, played in the American Hockey league, last season. Stints with Chicago and Carolina for a total of forty-nine games, includes in his NHL experience. In the 2nd round, Richmond was drafted, 31st overall by Carolina in 2003. Last year, Zigomanis, 29, played for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL and also played with Djurgardens of the Swedish Elite League. With Carolina, St. Louis, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh, he has played in 189 games in the NHL. In the 2nd round, Zigomanis was drafted 46th by Carolina in 2001.
In the NHL, Crabb, 27, has played in twenty-nine games with the Atlanta Thrashers. Crabb was born in Anchorage, Alaska, he scored twenty-four goals, twenty-nine assists and spent last season with the Chicago Wolves (AHL). In 2002, he was drafted by the New York Rangers in the seventh round, 226th overall.
After failing to make the playoffs last year, Toronto is looking to rebound.
Tagged Danny Richmond, Joey Crabb, Mike Zigomanis, NHL, Toronto Maple Leafs