Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Thursday 4/11/19
The final three Game 1s will be played in the first round of the National Hockey League playoffs on Thursday, April 11. That starts with an original six battle as the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Boston Bruins. In the other two series, the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche battle the Calgary Flames.
Featured Game
Toronto Maple Leafs (+125) vs. Boston Bruins (-147)
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished with 100 points (46-28-8), while the Boston Bruins finished with 107 points (49-24-9), tied for the second most in the NHL. Toronto is 23-12-6 on the road this season and are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games, including losing their last three. Boston is 29-9-3 at home and they are 6-4-0 in their last 10.
Goaltending Matchup:
Frederik Andersen will start for Toronto. Andersen is 36-16-5 this season with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He had an extremely tough outing in his last start of the season, allowing five goals on 49 shots to the Montréal Canadiens. In six of his final 10 appearances of the season, he allowed at least four goals.
Tuukka Rask Will be in net for the Boston Bruins. Rask is 27-13-4 this season with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. Rask also struggled in his last start of the season, allowing five goals on 21 shots to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has allowed at least five goals in three of his last eight starts and has a 3.00 goals-against average over his last 10 starts.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are…
2-5 in their last seven games on the road.
1-5 in their last six games.
3-7 in their last 10 conference quarterfinals games.
The Boston Bruins are…
51-20 in their last 71 games at home.
20-8 in their last 28 games.
21-7 in their last 28 games at home when facing a team with a winning record on the road.
Stat Pack:
Maple Leafs:
Goals For: 3.49
Goals Against: 3.04
Power-Play: 21.8%
Penalty Killing: 79.9%
Bruins:
Goals For: 3.13
Goals Against: 2.59
Power-Play: 25.9%
Penalty Killing: 79.9%
Prediction
The big story during the Stanley Cup playoffs is goaltending, and neither team is getting solid goaltending at this particular time. However, Boston is the better team defensively, and this is why they have won four of the last five games against Toronto and why they have won six of the last seven meetings in Boston. The home team has won five of the last six meetings, and we look for that to be the case here as well.
The total is set at 6.0 for this contest. The total has gone over in four of the last six meetings in Boston and three of the last five overall. With as poorly as both of these goaltenders have looked of late, going over seems like the smart and sensible decision here. Take the Boston Bruins to jump out to victory in Game 1, 5-3.
Two Games to Watch
Carolina Hurricanes (+130) vs. Washington Capitals (-152)
The Carolina Hurricanes finished with 99 points (46-29-7), while the Washington Capitals had 104 points (48-26-8). Carolina was 22-16-3 during the regular season on the road and finished 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, including winning their last three. The Washington Capitals were 24-11-6 at home this season and finished 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
Why Carolina Wins:
Hurricanes are 4-1 in their last five games.
Hurricanes are 12-5 in their last 17 games on the road.
Petr Mrazek has won his last three starts, giving up four total goals in that span.
Why Washington Wins:
Capitals are 4-0 in their last four conference quarterfinals games.
Capitals are 4-1 in their last five games against teams with a winning record.
Hurricanes are 22-58 in their last 80 games on the road when facing a team with a winning record at home.
Capitals are 8-2 in the last 10 games against Carolina in Washington.
Capitals are 20-8 in the last 28 meetings between these two teams.
Braden Holtby has won five straight starts for Washington, giving up eight total goals in that span.
What About the Total?
Go under 5.5, because…
Total has gone under in four of the last five meetings between these two teams.
Total has gone under in four of the last five meetings in Washington.
Holtby has a 1.60 goals-against average in his last five starts.
Mrazek has a 1.33 goals-against average in his last three starts.
Colorado Avalanche (+165) vs. Calgary Flames (-205)
The Colorado Avalanche earned the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs with 90 points (38-30-14), while the Calgary Flames have the top record in the conference with 107 points (50-25-7). Colorado finished the regular season 17-16-8 on the road and was 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. Calgary was 26-10-5 at home this season and finished 6-4-0 in their last 10.
Why Colorado Wins:
Avalanche are 8-3 in their last 11 games.
Avalanche are 7-3 in their last 10 games against teams from the Western Conference.
Flames have lost their last four conference quarterfinals games.
Philipp Grubauer is 7-0-1 in his last eight starts and has allowed more than two goals only one time is last 10 starts.
Why Calgary Wins:
Flames are 15-7 in their last 22 games at home.
Flames are 22-10 and their last 32 games against teams with a losing record.
Avalanche are 2-6 in their last eight conference quarterfinals games.
Flames have won the last five games against Colorado in Calgary.
Flames are 8-1 in the last nine meetings between these two teams.
What About the Total?
Go under 6.0, because…
Colorado has gone under in 11 of their last 15 games.
Grubauer has a 1.64 goals-against average over his last 10 starts.
Mike Smith has a 2.04 goals-against average over his last and starts for Calgary.
Calgary has gone under in five of their last seven at home.
Calgary has gone under in eight of their last 12 games.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have posted only two 50-win seasons and the first time, which occurred 30 years ago, ended with the team hoisting the Stanley Cup. The Flames would like to see history repeat itself as they enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and will host the Colorado Avalanche in Thursday night's opener of their first-round series.
Although Calgary returned to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003-04, it will be making only its third playoff appearance in 10 seasons and looking to become the first Canadian franchise to win hockey's ultimate prize since Montreal in 1993. "We are happy with our group but we know it is going to ramp up in the next week, week and a half," Flames captain Mark Giordano said this week. "We've been pretty consistent all year. Our style of play and our details is what helps us every night. We have a lot of depth." The Avalanche dropped all three meetings to Calgary this season but showed their mettle in snagging the second wild card by running off a 10-game point streak (8-0-2) down the stretch despite injuries to two of their top forwards. "I loved our habits and determination down the stretch," coach Jared Bednar said. "So we should be confident. We know we are playing a real good opponent and there are going to be challenges. "I think we are in a good spot and I like what we are doing right now."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, (Altitude), CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS (Calgary) LINE: Flames -2.5
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (38-30-14): Colorado received some huge news on the injury front when it was announced that second-leading scorer Mikko Rantanen, who established career highs with 31 goals and 87 points, will rejoin the lineup in the series opener after sitting out the last eight games. Rantanen will be on the No. 2 line after spending much of the season on an explosive top unit with captain Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon, who also had career bests with 41 goals and 99 points and ended the season with points in his last seven games. Philipp Grubauer supplanted Semyon Varlamov as the starter down the stretch and sparked the drive to the playoffs by going 7-0-2 over his last nine starts.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (50-25-7): While goaltending is the name of the game in the postseason, offense drives the bus in Calgary, which is the only team to feature at least five players with at least 70 points, led by Johnny Gaudreau with 99. Linemate Sean Monahan, who also set career-high totals across the board with 34 goals, 48 assists and 82 points, missed the final two games due to illness but pronounced himself ready to go while Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk were right behind with 78 and 77 points, respectively. Coach Bill Peters declined to name his starter in net -- David Rittich had better numbers during the season but veteran Mike Smith posted a 1.94 goals-against average in his last 11 starts.
OVERTIME
1. Flames F Mikael Backlund had two goals and four points in three matchups this season.
2. Grubauer did not face the Flames this season and is 0-1-1 with five goals allowed in two starts against them.
3. Flames F James Neal, who missed more than five weeks late in the season, has 31 goals and 55 points in 100 playoff games.
PREDICTION: Flames 4, Avalanche 3
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Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals had a lengthy history of underacheiving in the postseason, a reputation they finally put to rest by claiming their first Stanley Cup championship last season. The Capitals are confident they can win back-to-back titles, a journey that starts with Thursday night's Eastern Conference first-round series opener versus the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.
Alex Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP in last year's postseason and followed that up by leading the league with 51 goals, becoming the third player in history to score 50 on eight occasions. "It's going to be different games than the regular year," Ovechkin said. "But, it's a good thing we have experience. What we did last year, we know exactly how we have to play and hopefully we'll play like that again." The Hurricanes lost all four meetings to Washington but they returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2008-09 with a stirring second-half run, going 31-12-2 since New Year's Eve to claim the top wild card. "Obviously, we're underdogs, we're playing against the defending Stanley Cup champions," said Carolina captain Justin Williams, a three-time Cup champion who spent two seasons with the Capitals from 2015-17. "Do we feel like we are (underdogs)? No, we're going to work our tails off and see how good we can be."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, USA, Sportsnet360, TVAS LINE: Capitals -2.5
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (46-29-7): Carolina rode the unlikely goaltending duo of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney -- "We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for both of them," coach Rod Brind'Amour said -- to end the playoff hiatus, but Mrazek is expected to get the nod in Game 1 after winning 11 of his last 13 starts. Leading scorer Sebastian Aho had three of his 30 goals and as many assists versus Washington in 2018-19 but he ended the season in a 14-game goal drought while Micheal Ferland did not have a tally in his last 17. Nino Niederreiter had 14 goals and 30 points in 36 games since he was acquired from Minnesota while Williams has a history of coming up big in the playoffs, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2014 with Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (48-26-8): Ovechkin, who had four goals and a pair of assists versus Carolina this season, has scored 61 times in 121 postseason contests and was a force in the drive to the Stanley Cup last year with 15 goals and 27 points in 24 games. Six other players scored at least 20 goals for coach Todd Reirden, including Ovechkin linemates Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov, who had a playoff-best 32 points on 12 goals and 20 assists in last season's championship run. The Capitals feature a No. 2 line of Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Jakub Vrana that combined for 71 goals while netminder Braden Holtby, who actually entered last year's playoffs on the bench, surrendered only nine goals in winning all four starts against the Hurricanes this season.
OVERTIME
1. Mrazek lost both starts against the Capitals this season, giving up five goals.
2. Kuznetsov collected five of his 51 assists in the four matchups versus Carolina.
3. Carolina lost back-to-back games twice since the All-Star break, including a home-and-home versus Washington on March 26 and 28.
PREDICTION:Capitals 3, Hurricanes 2
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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to prevent history from repeating itself (again) when they open their Eastern Conference first-round series against the host Boston Bruins on Thursday. The Maple Leafs lost in seven games to their Original Six rivals in a spirited first-round set in 2018, five years removed from a demoralizing Game 7 loss in which they squandered a three-goal lead in the third period.
Boston won three of the four encounters versus Toronto this season and enters the playoffs on a 22-7-4 run, highlighted by a 19-game point streak (15-0-4) from Jan. 29-March 9 that allowed the Bruins to pull away from the Maple Leafs in the standings. "It was a hell of a stretch that we put together there. To go (12) games at home without being beaten and then gain points in (19) consecutive games says a lot of the group," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said. Toronto's key offseason acquisition, John Tavares, posted career-best totals in goals (47) and points (88), although he had just one and two, respectively, in the season series against Boston, while Auston Matthews recorded just two in last year's playoff series. "Everybody knows the history between the two teams, but we don't like to dwell on the past," fellow forward Nazem Kadri said. "We want to focus on the future and what we can do from this moment on."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVAS, CBC, Sportsnet (Toronto), NESN (Boston) LINE: Bruins -1.5
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (46-28-8): Frederik Andersen will be under the microscope in the hockey hotbed that is Toronto after he recorded a 3.76 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in last year's playoff series. The 29-year-old Dane posted uneven performances in a pair of meetings in 2018-19, turning aside 38 shots in a 4-2 win on Nov. 26 before getting shredded for a season high-tying amount of goals in a 6-3 setback on Dec. 8. Garret Sparks returned to practice on Wednesday and likely will serve in a backup role with Michael Hutchinson and his wife expecting a baby.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (49-24-9): Boston's top line of Brad Marchand (team-leading 64 assists, 100 points), David Pastrnak (club-best 38 goals, 81 points) and Patrice Bergeron (career-high 79 points) enjoyed stellar seasons and are no strangers to lighting up the scoreboard against Toronto. The group combined for 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in last year's seven-game series versus the Maple Leafs and Marchand (seven assists) and Pastrnak (six goals, three assists) also played significant roles in the four meetings in 2018-19. David Krejci matched his career high with 73 points, with multi-point performances coming in four of his last five games.
OVERTIME
1. Toronto C Mitch Marner collected four of his 68 assists and five of his 94 points against Boston.
2. Bruins D Torey Krug scored a goal and set up five others in the season series versus the Maple Leafs.
3. Toronto D Morgan Rielly recorded a career-high 20 goals, but he failed to score in each of his final 10 games.
PREDICTION: Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 3
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Thursday, 11 April 2019 • 04:30 PM
13 CAROLINA @ 14 WASHINGTON
Play under CAROLINA on the total in All games revenging a loss versus opponent
The record is 3 Overs and 16 this season (+12.65 units)
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Thursday, 11 April 2019 • 07:00 PM
15 COLORADO @ 16 CALGARY
Play over CALGARY on the total in All games in a home game where the total is 6 or more
The record is 23 Overs and 10 this season (+11.9 units)
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NHL
Long Sheet
Thursday, April 11
TORONTO (46-28-0-8, 100 pts.) at BOSTON (49-24-0-9, 107 pts.) - 4/11/2019, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 20-23 ATS (-21.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
BOSTON is 13-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) in home games after a division game this season.
TORONTO is 13-7 ATS (+5.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
BOSTON is 290-244 ATS (-155.4 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 11-8 (+4.2 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 11-8-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
9 of 17 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.4 Units)
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CAROLINA (46-29-0-7, 99 pts.) at WASHINGTON (48-26-0-8, 104 pts.) - 4/11/2019, 7:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 67-101 ATS (-44.1 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
CAROLINA is 23-33 ATS (-14.5 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 26-54 ATS (+86.2 Units) in road games after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
CAROLINA is 16-44 ATS (+74.0 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 114-75 ATS (+193.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 66-45 ATS (-0.6 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 44-24 ATS (+9.3 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 44-23 ATS (+10.7 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 23-8 ATS (+12.6 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 61-42 ATS (+2.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 37-26 ATS (+6.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 30-14 ATS (+10.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
CAROLINA is 19-8 ATS (+7.7 Units) after a division game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 9-3 (+4.4 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 9-3-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.6 Units, Under=-0.3 Units)
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COLORADO (38-30-0-14, 90 pts.) at CALGARY (50-25-0-7, 107 pts.) - 4/11/2019, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 38-44 ATS (-15.0 Units) in all games this season.
COLORADO is 16-52 ATS (+100.3 Units) in road games second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 0-6 ATS (-7.3 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
CALGARY is 8-1 (+7.0 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 8-1-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.1 Units)
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NHL
Thursday, April 11
Trend Report
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Toronto is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games
Toronto is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Toronto is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto's last 6 games on the road
Toronto is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Toronto is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Toronto is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Boston
Toronto is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Bruins
Boston is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
Boston is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Boston's last 9 games
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
Boston is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Toronto
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Carolina's last 8 games
Carolina is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Carolina is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Carolina's last 6 games on the road
Carolina is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Washington
Carolina is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing Washington
Carolina is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Carolina is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Capitals
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 8 games
Washington is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games at home
Washington is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games at home
Washington is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Carolina
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Carolina
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Carolina
Washington is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games
Colorado is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Colorado's last 15 games
Colorado is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Colorado is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Colorado's last 7 games on the road
Colorado is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Calgary
Colorado is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Calgary
Colorado is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Calgary
Colorado is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Calgary
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 6 games when playing on the road against Calgary
Calgary Flames
Calgary is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Calgary's last 11 games
Calgary is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games at home
Calgary is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Calgary's last 6 games at home
Calgary is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Colorado
Calgary is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Colorado
Calgary is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
Calgary is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Calgary's last 6 games when playing at home against Colorado
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