Posted on 4/4/2008 7:19:11 PM

NHL Hockey Betting - regular season comes to a close

By BetUS Staff

Anyone doing some NHL betting on either the Philadelphia Flyers or the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night walked away disappointed. Both of those clubs were highly motivated to get a win to improve their chances at making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference; however, each of them ended up on the wrong end of the night’s decisions.

The Bruins at least managed to pick up a single point. Boston was in New Jersey to face the Devils, and goals by Dennis Wideman and Milan Lucic gave them a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. David Clarkson then tied the game for the Devils late in the third frame, and Zach Parise potted the shootout winner. Martin Brodeur made 25 saves for New Jersey in regulation time and stoned the Bruins in the shootout. Boston goaltender Tim Thomas stopped 23 of 25 Devils shots in a losing cause on the night.

The Flyers were up against the state-rival Penguins in Pittsburgh, and they got out to early 1-0 and 2-1 leads. However, Philadelphia couldn’t contain the Penguins’ power-play unit, allowing a total of four goals while shorthanded en route to a 4-2 defeat. Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist for the Pens as they wrapped up first place in the Atlantic Division, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves. Martin Biron stopped 25 of 29 shots for the Flyers, who couldn’t keep pace with the Bruins in the East standings.

Boston and Philadelphia will get another chance to pick up some points on Friday night when they face off against division rivals once again. The Bruins will remain on the road, and they’ll be up north in Ottawa to take on the fading Senators. Ottawa wasn’t supposed to be playing meaningful games in the final week of the regular season, but a second-half collapse has their playoff positioning in question and their fans in a panic.

The Flyers will play host to the Devils on Friday night, and New Jersey has already locked down an Eastern Conference playoff berth. Pittsburgh’s win on Wednesday night ensured that the Devils could finish no better than second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean they’ll lay down for the Flyers.

There are four other games on the NHL’s schedule for Friday, including the New York Islanders at the New York Rangers, Nashville at Chicago, and Phoenix at Dallas. As well, the Carolina Hurricanes will get a visit from the Florida Panthers; that will be the Canes’ final game of the regular season as they try to hold off the Washington Capitals.

The Caps are back in action at home against the Panthers on Saturday night for their last game of the year – and Alexander Ovechkin and company are hoping that they still have something to play for after the results of Thursday and Friday have been added to the standings. At the very least Ovechkin will be able to wrap up his Art Ross campaign.

There are three other Eastern Conference matchups on Saturday: Buffalo at Boston, Toronto at Montreal, and Tampa Bay at Atlanta. The rest of the day’s action is out west, with Anaheim at Los Angeles, Columbus at St. Louis, and Calgary at Vancouver. The Flames/Canucks contest should be Saturday’s marquee event for playoff positioning.

The NHL’s regular season then concludes on Sunday with seven games, six of them in the afternoon. Starting things off are Chicago at Detroit at 12:30pm ET, with five more games at 3:00pm ET: the New York Rangers at New Jersey, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, St. Louis at Columbus, Minnesota at Colorado, and San Jose at Dallas. The Ducks will then get a visit from Wayne Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes to finish the week at 8:00pm ET.

Lines for games later in the weekend will depend on the playoff scenarios at that time; check the BetUS NHL betting odds section for all of the latest lines and totals for those contests.

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