Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Tuesday 4/23/19
They say that hell hath no fury like a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Tuesday, April 23 will have two of them on tap. It starts with the Boston Bruins staying alive in their series to host the Toronto Maple Leafs. The San Jose Sharks have won the last two games to force a Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights in California.
Featured Games
Toronto Maple Leafs (+115) vs. Boston Bruins (-135)
Things looked to be going the way of the Toronto Maple Leafs when they won Game 5 in Boston, but the Bruins would respond with three unanswered goals after falling behind 1-0 on their way to a 4-2 victory. Brad Marchand continues to prove his leadership for the team, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in the victory. Tuukka Rask was stellar in net, stopping 22 of the 24 shots he faced.
Goaltending Matchup:
Frederik Andersen will continue to be in net for Toronto. Andersen allowed three goals on 40 shots in the Game 6 loss. He has allowed 16 total goals through the first six games of this series, and just four in the last two games combined. The Toronto goaltender finished the regular season 36-16-5 with a 2.77 goals-against average.
Tuukka Rask will continue in net for Boston. Rask has allowed two goals in each of the last two games and has allowed 15 total goals in the series. The Boston goaltender finished the regular season 27-13-4 with a 2.48 goals against average.
Trends to Watch:
The Toronto Maple Leafs are…
2-5 in their last seven games on the road.
3-5 in their last eight games against teams with a winning record.
7-3 in their last 10 games on Tuesday.
The Boston Bruins are…
23-11 in their last 34 games.
52-22 in their last 74 games at home.
26-7 in their last 33 games on a Tuesday.
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 Toronto Maple Leafs have to be kicking themselves about not winning this series on home ice, but Boston has never lead in the series. One has to wonder if Toronto has one more go-ahead game in the series to grab, as they look to walk away with all the marbles. This is a tough game to call, but Rask has looked so good in the last two games, so we give him the edge here and take the Boston Bruins.
The total is set at 5.5 for this contest. These two teams have gone over that total in two of the last three games, but we expect this to be a low-scoring affair. Both teams are going to be a bit nervous early on and no one is going to want to make mistakes. Look for the Boston Bruins to win, 3-2.
Vegas Golden Knights (-110) vs. San Jose Sharks (-110)
After falling behind 3-1 in this series, the San Jose Sharks have roared back with two straight victories, including a double-overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6, 2-1. San Jose scored first on Logan Couture’s fourth goal of the series which is nine seconds left in the first frame, but Jonathan Marchessault would tie it with his third goal of the series a little over 11 minutes into the second. It stayed tied at one into double-overtime, when Tomas Hertl would capitalize on a big mistake by Vegas while they were on the power-play, scoring the shorthanded goal to force a Game 7. After being mediocre in Games 3 and 4 in Vegas, Martin Jones was spectacular, stopping 58 shots in Game 6.
Goaltending Matchup:
Marc-Andre Fleury looked outstanding in net for Vegas, allowing just two goals on 29 shots, but it was not good enough on this night. Fleury has given up 16 total goals in the series and has a shutout to his credit. He finished the regular season 35-21-3 with a 2.51 goals-against average.
Martin Jones has been absolutely spectacular over the last three games, allowing a total of five goals. He has also given up 16 total goals in the series and finished the regular season 36-19-4 with a 2.94 goals-against average.
Stat Pack:
Golden Knights:
Goals For: 3.00
Goals Against: 2.78
Power-Play: 16.8%
Penalty Killing: 80.9%
Sharks:
Goals For: 3.52
Goals Against: 3.15
Power-Play: 23.6%
Penalty Killing: 80.8%
Prediction
The San Jose Sharks have three things going their way: they are at home, they have won the last two games, and their goaltender has looked brilliant over the last two contests. The Stanley Cup playoffs are all about momentum, and San Jose clearly has it going their way. Vegas has to feel like they gave away their opportunity by not winning Game 6 at home, and that it could be the case.
The total dropped from 6.0 to 5.5 for this contest, but these two teams have only gone under that number two times in the series, that was in Game 4 and Game 6. Now the pressure is on, as neither team will want to make a mistake early. That usually leads to a defensive battle, which is what we expect in this contest. Take the San Jose Sharks to win and advance, 3-1.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins Preview and Predictions 04-23-2019 in NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs are doing their best to keep their focus on the future rather than what has transpired in the past. With a pair of demoralizing Game 7 losses lining their recent history, the visiting Maple Leafs hope the third time is the charm on Tuesday when they play the winner-take-all finale of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Boston Bruins.
Toronto's painful Game 7 history came rushing to the forefront mere moments after it dropped a 4-2 setback on Sunday, although coach Mike Babcock wasn't interested in hearing about the team's 5-4 overtime loss in Boston in 2013 or its 7-4 defeat in 2018. "I'm not a big believer of living in the past. I don't carry a lot of stuff around from the past at all," said Babcock, who has lost three straight Game 7s to fall to 3-6 in that contest in his career. While the Bruins secured home-ice advantage by finishing seven points ahead of the Maple Leafs in the regular season, Toronto has gotten the better of Boston at TD Garden in the series. "Probably the only (advantage of hosting Game 7) is home ice, but they've already won twice there," Boston forward Jake DeBrusk said. "It's one of those things, where you try and forget the past, whether it's this series or last year's series, and understand they are going to come out with everything they've got and so are we."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS: Defenseman Morgan Rielly answered his snub of being a Norris Trophy finalist with a goal on Sunday to extend his point streak to four games (one goal, four assists) while Auston Matthews also tallied, giving him five goals and an assist during that same stretch. Mitch Marner, however, has mustered just two assists in his last five contests after setting career highs in goals (26), assists (68) and points (94) during the regular season. "I just think the biggest thing for Mitch is you're playing against real good players and just breathe, don't spend a whole lot of time worrying about what everyone else thinks, just breathe and play hard and enjoy yourself," Babcock said on Monday.
ABOUT THE BRUINS: Although Brad Marchand collected two goals and an assist on Sunday to record his second three-point performance in three contests, the speedy forward was quick to skate past history playing a role in Game 7. "Nothing matters about the past," the 30-year-old Marchand said. "We're not going to look at anything that's happened in the past. We're going to play hard, they're going to play hard. One team is going to win, one team is going to lose." Linemate David Pastrnak set up a pair of tallies to give him five points (two goals, three assists) in his last three games, although he has just two assists in the three contests in the series at TD Garden.
OVERTIME
1. Tuesday's winner advances to face Columbus, which swept Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay in the first round.
2. While Boston's power play is 7-for-16 in this series, Toronto has gone 3-for-14 with the man advantage overall and 0-for-5 on the road.
3. The Maple Leafs are vying for their first postseason series victory since 2004.
PREDICTION: Bruins 3, Maple Leafs 2
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Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks Preview and Predictions 04-23-2019 in NHL
Tomas Hertl insisted that the San Jose Sharks were the better team following a win in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Whether the Sharks are indeed better is debatable, but they have to chance to complete a stunning comeback and eliminate Vegas when the teams clash in Game 7 on Tuesday night in San Jose.
Hertl had backtracked on his guarantee that the Sharks would force a deciding Game 7 but then he ensured it would happen by scoring the game-winning short-handed goal in double overtime in Sunday night's 2-1 victory. "It feels great," Hertl said after scoring three times in the past two games to help San Jose rally from a 3-1 series deficit. "You know, everyone will say there's a guarantee for Game 7 and everything. Well, there is the guarantee: Game 7. Now we have to go and finish it." The Golden Knights have to regroup after owning a staggering 59 to 28 margin in shots on goal Sunday, but they won Game 2 on the road and eliminated the Sharks in Game 6 in San Jose last year. "Everybody knows there's no tomorrow after tomorrow," coach Gerard Gallant said Monday. "Play your game. Win the hockey game, you move on. You lose, you're gone for the summer. I assume our guys will be ready to go."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportnet, Sportsnet360, TVAS, AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain (Las Vegas), NBCS California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: After piling up 16 goals in winning Games 2-4, Vegas has been limited to three tallies in the past two contests, prompting Gallant to consider a lineup change for the winner-take-all Game 7. "That's definitely a possibility. I'm not saying we're going to do it, just saying we're talking about it," said Gallant, who would likely choose from among forwards Ryan Carpenter, Brandon Pirri or Nikita Gusev, signed earlier this month after earning MVP honors in the Kontinental Hockey League. Defenseman Shea Theodore collected his sixth assist of the series Sunday night.
ABOUT THE SHARKS: Coach Peter DeBoer resisted the urge to switch goaltenders after Martin Jones was yanked early in Games 2 and 4 and was pierced for six goals in Game 3, but the perseverance has paid off for San Jose. Jones turned aside 30 of 32 shots in Game 5 and registered a playoff career high with 58 saves Sunday night to fend off the relentless Golden Knights. "The confidence in this room in Martin Jones has not wavered once," forward Logan Couture said. "I'm sure the media has written and talked about what they wanted, but the main thing is the confidence in this room never wavered."
OVERTIME
1. Vegas Fs Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny and Mark Stone have been held off the scoresheet in the past two games after combining for 28 points in the first four.
2. Hertl has five goals in the series for San Jose, which is 3-1 at home in Game 7.
3. Golden Knights G Marc-Andre Fleury is 3-3 in Game 7 situations, all with Pittsburgh.
PREDICTION: Sharks 4, Golden Knights 2
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9Toronto -10 Boston
TORONTO is 20-22 ATS (-17.5 Units) against poor defensive teams - opponents average 29.5+ shots on goal in the 2nd half of the year in the current season.
11Vegas -12 San Jose
VEGAS are 4-16 ATS (-12.5 Units) in road games against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game in the current season.
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NHL
Long Sheet
Tuesday, April 23
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TORONTO (49-31-0-8, 106 pts.) at BOSTON (52-27-0-9, 113 pts.) - 4/23/2019, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 49-39 ATS (-14.4 Units) in all games this season.
TORONTO is 23-26 ATS (-20.8 Units) second half of the season this season.
BOSTON is 20-6 ATS (+10.3 Units) on Tuesday nights over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 15-8 ATS (+23.2 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
BOSTON is 291-246 ATS (-155.2 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 14-11 (+4.2 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 14-11-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
12 of 23 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.3 Units)
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VEGAS (46-34-0-8, 100 pts.) at SAN JOSE (49-30-0-9, 107 pts.) - 4/23/2019, 10:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 12-8 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 12-8-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
13 of 20 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.4 Units)
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NHL
Tuesday, April 23
Trend Report
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Toronto's last 11 games
Toronto is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games on the road
Toronto is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 7 games when playing Boston
Toronto is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Boston
Toronto is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Bruins
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 7 games when playing Toronto
Boston is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Toronto
Boston is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Toronto
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vegas's last 7 games
Vegas is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Vegas is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vegas's last 5 games on the road
Vegas is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Vegas's last 8 games when playing San Jose
Vegas is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vegas's last 5 games when playing on the road against San Jose
San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 4-14 ATS in its last 18 games
San Jose is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 7 games
San Jose is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games when playing Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 8 games when playing Vegas
San Jose is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 5 games when playing at home against Vegas
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