Posted on
4/11/2008 2:41:30 PM
NHL Sportsbook Hockey Betting – Will Washington Capitalize?
By BetUS Staff
The sports betting faithful are aware Alexander Ovechkin has picked up 163 goals and 310 points during the regular season in his three years in the National Hockey League, but he has yet to step foot on the ice during the league’s postseason. That all changes on Friday night, when Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals play host to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. So what do NHL bettors think about the Caps’ chances?
Well, Washington was listed as a -160 favorite to win this series at BetUS in the early going, and that’s not much of a surprise considering how well the Capitals finished the season. The Caps’ playoff chances were all but written off a couple months ago, but they managed to win nine of their last 10 contests to claim a playoff berth in the East.
And not just any berth – the No. 3 seed. That’s because the Capitals ended up passing the Carolina Hurricanes for top spot in the Southeast Division (and they knocked the Canes out of the playoffs entirely in the process). Washington actually finished one point behind Philadelphia in the East standings, but because they won their division they’ll get home-ice advantage in this series (they were 23-15-3 in their own rink overall).
The Flyers also had to play well over the last couple weeks of the regular season to get into the playoffs, and they had to battle through injuries to Daniel Briere (knee), Jason Smith (shoulder), and Derian Hatcher (leg). Philly, though, got back-to-back shutouts from Martin Biron in their last two games of the year to grab the No. 6 seed in the conference, and they’ll be looking to get healthy and take a crack at slowing Ovechkin.
That could mean just limiting the NHL’s scoring leader to one goal a game, which they managed to do during the regular season. In four games against Philadelphia this year Ovechkin picked up three goals and five points; those are decent totals, but the superstar forward torched some of the league’s other teams. The Caps and the Flyers split their four-game set 2-2 this season, with each club winning two games on the road.
Olaf Kolzig was between the pipes for the Caps in three of those games, and Brent Johnson got the call for Washington in the other one. However, Cristobal Huet, who came over from the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline, is now the team’s starting goaltender. He played once against Philadelphia as a member of the Habs, allowing two goals on 19 shots in a Montreal win back on November 1. Biron had some trouble against the Capitals this year, going 1-1-1 and allowing four goals each contest.
Three other series will play Game 2’s on Friday, with Ottawa at Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers at New Jersey, and Colorado at Minnesota. Each of those seven-game sets got underway on Wednesday night, with the Pens topping the Sens 4-0, the Rangers dispatching the Devils 4-1, and the Avalanche beating the Wild 3-2 in overtime.
Here is the complete National Hockey League playoff schedule for this weekend:
Friday, April 11th - Game 1 - Philadelphia at Washington, 7 pm ET
Friday, April 11th - Game 2 - Ottawa at Pittsburgh, 7 pm ET
Friday, April 11th - Game 2 - NY Rangers at New Jersey, 7 pm ET
Friday, April 11th - Game 2 - Colorado at Minnesota, 9 pm ET
Saturday, April 12th - Game 2 - Nashville at Detroit, 2 pm ET
Saturday, April 12th - Game 2 - Boston at Montreal, 7 pm ET
Saturday, April 12th - Game 2 - Dallas at Anaheim, 10 pm ET
Sunday, April 13th - Game 2 - Philadelphia at Washington, 2 pm ET
Sunday, April 13th - Game 3 - Montreal at Boston, 7 pm ET
Sunday, April 13th - Game 3 - New Jersey at NY Rangers, 7 pm ET
Sunday, April 13th - Game 3 - San Jose at Calgary, 10 pm ET
Check the BetUS NHL Betting lines page for all the latest postseason odds, totals, and futures.
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