Betting news, trends, odds and predictions for Monday, April 23, 2018 from various handicappers and websites
The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue Monday with two Game 6's. The Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets need to defend home ice in order to keep their seasons alive and force Game 7. We break down all of tonight's matchups to help you handicap the games like a pro.
Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs (+110, 6)
Bruins lead series 3-2.
One night after Pittsburgh and Nashville both failed to win close-out games on home ice, the Boston Bruins suffered a similar fate in their bid to KO the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Eastern Conference first-round series. The Bruins get another chance to send the Maple Leafs packing when they take a 3-2 series lead into Monday's Game 6 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (53-22-9-3, 39-43 O/U): The Bruins still have the upper hand in the series and have reason to feel confident, having won Game 4 in Toronto (3-1) and knowing it has the luxury of a winner-take-all Game 7 on home ice. Goaltender Tuukka Rask has guided Boston to the Stanley Cup Final (2013) and won a Vezina Trophy, but he lasted only nine shots and was yanked midway through the second period Saturday after giving up four goals to put his team in a catch-up situation. Center Patrice Bergeron was back in the lineup Saturday after sitting out Game 4 but Boston's top line, which amassed 20 points in the first two games, was held off the scoresheet.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (51-29-5-2, 44-36 O/U): The Maple Leafs were demolished in their first two games in Boston by a combined 12-4 count but they scored a pair of early goals and rode a superb 42-save performance by Frederik Andersen to stave off elimination with a 4-3 victory. There was speculation as to whether coach Mike Babcock would switch Mitch Marner to Auston Matthews' line to ignite a spark; instead, Babcock elevated Connor Brown alongside Matthews, moved William Nylander to a newly formed unit with Kadri and Andreas Johnsson, and put Kasperi Kapanen with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. Brown and Johnsson each scored their first career playoff goals and van Riemsdyk also converted.
SERIES PRICE (PER SPORTS INTERACTION):
LINE HISTORY: The Bruins opened as -130 road favorites for Game 6 and as of Sunday night that moneyline has not moved. The total hit betting boards at 6 and has been steady. Check out the complete line history here.
INJURY REPORT:
Bruins - D Brandon Carlo (Out For Season, Ankle), LW Anders Bjork (Out For Season, Shoulder).
Leafs - C Leo Komarov (Questionable, Lower Body), LW Joffrey Lupul (I-R, Conditioning).
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Bruins are 1-5 in their last 6 road games.
* Maple Leafs are 22-8 in their last 30 home games.
* Under is 8-3 in Bruins' last 11 road games.
* Over is 11-5-1 in Maple Leafs' last 17 home games.
* Bruins are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in Toronto.
Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets (-105, 5.5)
Capitals lead series 3-2.
Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella offered the second guarantee of his team's Eastern Conference first-round series, and he hopes it goes as well as the first one served up by Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. Tortorella's Blue Jackets aim to avert a fourth straight loss and stave off elimination on Monday when they host Ovechkin and the Capitals in Game 6 at Nationwide Area.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (52-26-8-1, 49-36 O/U): In addition to his two goals, Backstrom also had an assist to cap a three-point performance to move into a tie with defenseman John Carlson with a team-leading eight points in the series. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his fourth goal in Game 5 to claim the club lead in that department from Russian countryman Ovechkin, who was held off the scoresheet for the first time since the series opener and saw his multi-point streak end at three games. Washington G Braden Holtby has turned aside 95 of 101 shots during his team's three-game winning streak.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (47-31-5-4, 44-43 O/U): "I won't have to say a damn word to (my team). We'll be back here for Game 7." Checking forward Matt Calvert (team-leading three goals) netted his second career two-goal performance in the playoffs in Game 5 and Alexander Wennberg notched an assist in his first game of the series to perhaps instill the confidence needed by Tortorella to make his postseason guarantee. Columbus has seen its power play short-circuit as the team has failed on 13 consecutive opportunities in the last three games after an initial 4-for-8 performance in the first two.
SERIES PRICE (PER SPORTS INTERACTION):
LINE HISTORY: This game opened as a Pick 'Em and as of Sunday night the moneyline has moved slightly in the Caps' direction to -115. The total hit betting boards at 5.5 and has yet to move. Check out the complete line history here.
INJURY REPORT:
Capitals - LW Andre Burakovsky (Out Indefinitely, Upper Body).
Jackets - C Alexander Wennberg (Questionable, Upper Body), LW Lukas Sedlak (Out Indefinitely, Head).
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Capitals are 7-0 in their last 7 road games.
* Blue Jackets are 1-4 in their last 5 home games.
* Over is 6-2 in Capitals' last 8 overall.
* Over is 9-2 in Blue Jackets' last 11 overall.
* Capitals are 9-3 in the last 12 meetings.
Preview: Bruins at Maple Leafs
Gracenote
Apr 22, 2018
One night after Pittsburgh and Nashville both failed to win close-out games on home ice, the Boston Bruins suffered a similar fate in their bid to KO the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Eastern Conference first-round series. The Bruins get another chance to send the Maple Leafs packing when they take a 3-2 series lead into Monday's Game 6 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs were demolished in their first two games in Boston by a combined 12-4 count but they scored a pair of early goals and rode a superb 42-save performance by Frederik Andersen to stave off elimination with a 4-3 victory. "Playoff games on the road, sometimes you just have to survive," Toronto's Nazem Kadri said after returning from a three-game suspension. "Now we got some life. It's a 3-2 series and it's going to be a good finish. We got to go home and take care of business." The Bruins still have the upper hand in the series and have reason to feel confident, having won Game 4 in Toronto (3-1) and knowing it has the luxury of a winner-take-all Game 7 on home ice. "I think the momentum is still on our side right now even though they won," Boston forward Tim Schaller said. "We had a good push-back (in Game 5), and we're going to take that push-back and hopefully have a good first five minutes up there in Toronto and go from there."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, NESN (Boston), CBC, TVAS (Toronto)
ABOUT THE BRUINS: Goaltender Tuukka Rask has guided Boston to the Stanley Cup Final (2013) and won a Vezina Trophy, but he lasted only nine shots and was yanked midway through the second period Saturday after giving up four goals to put his team in a catch-up situation. "Probably could’ve stopped more pucks with my eyes closed. That’s about it," Rask acknowledged. "It’s on me, but moving on to the next one and we’ll finish it out in Toronto." Center Patrice Bergeron was back in the lineup Saturday after sitting out Game 4 but Boston's top line, which amassed 20 points in the first two games, was held off the scoresheet.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS: Speaking of No. 1 units, there was speculation as to whether coach Mike Babcock would switch Mitch Marner to Auston Matthews' line to ignite a spark; instead, Babcock elevated Connor Brown alongside Matthews, moved William Nylander to a newly formed unit with Kadri and Andreas Johnsson, and put Kasperi Kapanen with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. Brown and Johnsson each scored their first career playoff goals and van Riemsdyk also converted. "I’m not sure we’re going to have the same lineup," Babcock said Sunday. "With last change at home, might make that different. I don’t know for sure."
OVERTIME
1. Andersen became the fifth netminder in franchise history to make at least 40 saves for a win in an elimination game.
2. Bruins D Torey Krug collected two assists Saturday to boost his point total to eight in the series.
3. The Maple Leafs are 1-14 when trailing 3-1 in a series -- the lone exception coming in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final when it became the first team to erase a 3-0 deficit.
PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Bruins 3
__________________
W/L Trends
Boston
Bruins are 24-9 in their last 33 games playing on 1 days rest.
Bruins are 36-15 in their last 51 vs. Eastern Conference.
Bruins are 21-9 in their last 30 vs. Atlantic.
Bruins are 47-23 in their last 70 overall.
Bruins are 4-11 in their last 15 Monday games.
Bruins are 1-4 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Bruins are 1-5 in their last 6 road games.
Toronto
Maple Leafs are 5-1 in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Maple Leafs are 17-5 in their last 22 games playing on 1 days rest.
Maple Leafs are 22-8 in their last 30 home games.
Maple Leafs are 19-42 in their last 61 vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Maple Leafs are 2-6 in their last 8 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Maple Leafs are 0-4 in their last 4 games following a win.
OU Trends
Boston
Over is 4-0 in Bruins last 4 games playing on 1 days rest.
Over is 4-1-2 in Bruins last 7 overall.
Over is 4-1-2 in Bruins last 7 vs. Atlantic.
Over is 4-1-2 in Bruins last 7 vs. Eastern Conference.
Under is 7-2 in Bruins last 9 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Over is 9-3-1 in Bruins last 13 Monday games.
Over is 3-1-3 in Bruins last 7 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Over is 3-1-2 in Bruins last 6 vs. a team with a winning record.
Under is 8-3 in Bruins last 11 road games.
Toronto
Under is 3-0-1 in Maple Leafs last 4 games following a win.
Over is 8-1-1 in Maple Leafs last 10 vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Over is 6-1-1 in Maple Leafs last 8 Monday games.
Over is 5-1-2 in Maple Leafs last 8 vs. Atlantic.
Over is 15-5-1 in Maple Leafs last 21 games playing on 1 days rest.
Over is 3-1-1 in Maple Leafs last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Over is 19-7-2 in Maple Leafs last 28 vs. Eastern Conference.
Over is 21-8-2 in Maple Leafs last 31 overall.
Under is 7-3 in Maple Leafs last 10 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Over is 11-5-1 in Maple Leafs last 17 home games.
Head to Head
Over is 4-1-1 in the last 6 meetings.
Home team is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
Bruins are 4-9 in the last 13 meetings.
Bruins are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in Toronto.
Preview: Capitals at Blue Jackets
Gracenote
Apr 22, 2018
Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella offered the second guarantee of his team's Eastern Conference first-round series, and he hopes it goes as well as the first one served up by Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. Tortorella's Blue Jackets aim to avert a fourth straight loss and stave off elimination on Monday when they host Ovechkin and the Capitals in Game 6 at Nationwide Area.
"I won't have to say a damn word to (my team). We'll be back here for Game 7," Tortorella said moments after Nicklas Backstrom capped a two-goal performance by scoring 11:53 into overtime in Saturday's 4-3 win to give Washington a 3-2 series lead. First things first for Tortorella's charges, who made Ovechkin look like a modern-day Nostradamus when the Capitals made good on his word with a pair of victories in Games 3 and 4 in Columbus to return the series to Washington tied at 2-2. Checking forward Matt Calvert (team-leading three goals) netted his second career two-goal performance in the playoffs in Game 5 and Alexander Wennberg notched an assist in his first game of the series to perhaps instill the confidence needed by Tortorella to make his postseason guarantee. "Well, what else are you going to say?" Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "That's good. He wants to get it out there (that) he believes in his team, just as I believe in my team. So it's our job for that not to happen, and we're going to try to do that."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CNBC, Sportsnet, TVAS2, NBCS Washington, FS Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: In addition to his two goals, Backstrom also had an assist to cap a three-point performance to move into a tie with defenseman John Carlson with a team-leading eight points in the series. "We need to come out a little harder and play way better for 60 minutes," the 30-year-old Swede said. "... Sixty minutes, complete game on Monday, but you know it's going to be rocking there in Columbus." Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his fourth goal in Game 5 to claim the club lead in that department from Russian countryman Ovechkin, who was held off the scoresheet for the first time since the series opener and saw his multi-point streak end at three games.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS: While Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the third period, Columbus was unable to do more damage despite outshooting Washington 16-1 in the session before Backstrom's overtime winner put the Blue Jackets' bid for the franchise's first series win in peril. "Our backs are against the wall, right?" captain Nick Foligno said. "If you can't play your best game come Monday, then that's disappointing. I don't have any worries at all about our group going into Monday." Defenseman Seth Jones followed down that same path, saying "it's do or die. Desperation level is at an all-time high. We feel confident going on our home ice."
OVERTIME
1. Washington G Braden Holtby has turned aside 95 of 101 shots during his team's three-game winning streak.
2. Columbus has seen its power play short-circuit as the team has failed on 13 consecutive opportunities in the last three games after an initial 4-for-8 performance in the first two.
3. The Capitals are 8-for-24 with the man advantage in the series.
PREDICTION: Blue Jackets 4, Capitals 3
__________________
W/L Trends
Washington
Capitals are 7-0 in their last 7 road games.
Capitals are 6-0 in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Capitals are 15-5 in their last 20 overall.
Capitals are 6-2 in their last 8 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Capitals are 23-8 in their last 31 Monday games.
Capitals are 5-2 in their last 7 vs. Metropolitan.
Capitals are 10-4 in their last 14 games following a win.
Capitals are 72-29 in their last 101 games playing on 1 days rest.
Capitals are 50-24 in their last 74 vs. a team with a winning record.
Capitals are 67-33 in their last 100 vs. Eastern Conference.
Columbus
Blue Jackets are 4-0 in their last 4 Monday games.
Blue Jackets are 11-4 in their last 15 vs. Eastern Conference.
Blue Jackets are 2-5 in their last 7 overall.
Blue Jackets are 2-6 in their last 8 vs. a team with a winning record.
Blue Jackets are 5-15 in their last 20 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Blue Jackets are 1-4 in their last 5 home games.
Blue Jackets are 0-6 in their last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
OU Trends
Washington
Over is 4-1 in Capitals last 5 games following a win.
Under is 4-1 in Capitals last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Over is 6-2 in Capitals last 8 overall.
Under is 3-1-1 in Capitals last 5 road games.
Under is 6-2-1 in Capitals last 9 Monday games.
Over is 18-7-1 in Capitals last 26 vs. a team with a winning record.
Under is 5-2-1 in Capitals last 8 games playing on 1 days rest.
Columbus
Under is 4-0 in Blue Jackets last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Over is 9-2 in Blue Jackets last 11 overall.
Over is 4-1 in Blue Jackets last 5 Monday games.
Over is 7-2 in Blue Jackets last 9 vs. Metropolitan.
Over is 6-2 in Blue Jackets last 8 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Over is 5-2 in Blue Jackets last 7 games playing on 1 days rest.
Under is 5-2 in Blue Jackets last 7 home games.
Over is 5-2 in Blue Jackets last 7 vs. Eastern Conference.
Over is 5-2 in Blue Jackets last 7 vs. a team with a winning record.
Head to Head
Under is 4-1-1 in the last 6 meetings in Columbus.
Capitals are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Columbus.
Capitals are 9-3 in the last 12 meetings.
Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
Road team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
NHL(17) BOSTON @ (18) TORONTO | 04/23/2018 - 7:05 PM
Play UNDER BOSTON on the total in Road games vs. division opponents
The record is 3 Overs and 13 Unders this season (+9.90 units)
__________________
NHL
Monday, April 23
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Bruins
Boston is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games
Boston is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Boston's last 11 games on the road
Boston is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing Toronto
Boston is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Boston is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto Maple Leafs
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Toronto's last 25 games
Toronto is 17-3 SU in its last 20 games at home
Toronto is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing Boston
Toronto is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston
Toronto is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston
Washington Capitals
Washington is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 8 games
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Columbus
Washington is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 7 games when playing Columbus
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Columbus
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Columbus is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games
Columbus is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Columbus's last 11 games
Columbus is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Columbus is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games at home
Columbus is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Columbus's last 7 games at home
Columbus is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
Columbus is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 7 games when playing Washington
Columbus is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
MLB
Long Sheet
Monday, April 23
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSTON (53-22-0-12, 118 pts.) at TORONTO (51-29-0-7, 109 pts.) - 4/23/2018, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 36-41 ATS (-17.8 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 20-11 ATS (+32.6 Units) when trailing in a playoff series since 1996.
TORONTO is 141-148 ATS (-49.8 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 10-8 (+4.4 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 10-8-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.3 Units, Under=-0.5 Units)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON (52-26-0-9, 113 pts.) at COLUMBUS (47-31-0-9, 103 pts.) - 4/23/2018, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 53-35 ATS (+8.1 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 20-13 ATS (+6.7 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
WASHINGTON is 9-1 ATS (+7.8 Units) in road games in April games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 17-9 ATS (+7.7 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 29-17 ATS (+9.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WASHINGTON is 9-4 ATS (+13.6 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
COLUMBUS is 21-40 ATS (+65.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 12-6 (+3.5 Units) against the spread versus COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 12-6-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
8 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.5 Units)