There are four games on the docket tonight. Let’s take a look at tonight’s NHL Playoff Predictions.
| Bruins vs Senators ML -115 / -105 O/U 5 |
Maple Leafs vs Capitals ML +200 / -250 O/U 5.5 |
| Predators vs Blackhawks ML +145 / -175 O/U 5 |
Flames vs Ducks ML +135 / -165 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Bruins vs Senators: Boston is now 5-1 in their last six road games against teams with a winning home record. They snapped what was a long drought against the Senators. The Bruins had lost six in a row against the Sens and five in a row in Ottawa.
But by staging a comeback victory in Game 1, the Bruins turned the tides. After Bobby Ryan scored the first goal of the game in Ottawa, Frank Vatrano evened up the score five minutes into the third period. with just over two and a half minutes remaining in the game, Brad Marchand buried a rebound goal to put Boston on top to stay.
Charlie McAvoy registered 24 minutes of ice time in his first NHL game. He was solid. He did not make a ton of mistakes and did not take a ton of chances. The real defenseman that stole the show was Zdeno Chara. Chara led the team with over 25 minutes of ice time, threw five hits, fired five shots on goal and was a beast in all three zones. With Krug out, they will need the absolute best out of Chara.
The blueline is going to get even thinner, as Colin Miller will likely miss Game 2.
David Krecji will have to sit out today’s game as well. Krecji did not practice.
Ottawa will need to rebound and how. The bounces were not going their way, but they had their fair share of chances in the first game. Bobby Ryan’s goal was a beauty of a net drive that he managed to get his own rebound from. They played terrific defensively for 40 minutes. Boston did not have a shot on goal in the second period.
Like the Bruins, the Senators will need to break a trend to even the series. They are 1-6 when playing on two days of rest this season.
Marc Methot is a gametime decision.
Prediction: Take the Senators to even things up tonight. Play the under.
Maple Leafs vs Capitals: Toronto turned a lot of heads in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals. The Leafs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. With Mitch Marner, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk entering the zone on the rush, Braden Holtby came out of his net to challenge the cross-slot pass. After making the initial save, Holtby was still overcommitted to the play, leaving his net vacant. van Riemsdyk found Marner in front, who potted the opening goal.
Though the Capitals controlled the pace of play for most of regulation, Toronto still generated plenty of high-danger chances. That is, until Tom Wilson netted the softie to end all softies to end the game in overtime.
And therein lies the difference between a competitive team like Washington and a team still a few years away from being truly elite. Frederik Andersen needs to make that save, period.
So Wilson got his revenge on Mike Babcock, who said that he was “not as much of a concern” as some of his teammates.
https://twitter.com/NHLonNBCSports/status/852721393636651008/photo/1
Granted, Wilson joked that Babcock wasn’t necessarily wrong when he said that, but still, serendipity.
Washington has now won eight of nine against the Leafs.
Prediction: Take the Capitals to go up 2-0 tonight. This series won’t get truly interesting until we head to The Six. Play the over.
Predators vs Blackhawks: Nashville stunned the hockey world by shutting out the Chciago Blackhawks 1-0 in the opening game of the series. An early goal from Viktor Arvidsson off a redirection was the only tally in the matchup.
Chicago outshot Nashville 23-9 in the final 40 minutes of the game. They still could not find a way to break through the Predators’ defense.
It wound up not being a difference, but Ryan Johansen nearly cost his team the victory. Johansen had a rough postseason last year with the primary critique being that he needed to shoot the puck more. In Game 1, he had only one shot on goal, but had a chance to ice the game with an empty netter in the final minute of the game. Johansen looked to have a shot at the net, but instead, he tried to pass it through two defenders to his winger across the ice. He turned the puck over and the Hawks went the other way.
Had the Hawks scored, Johansen would have been the goat.
Instead, Pekka Rinne stopped his 29th shot and the Preds took the series lead.
Chicago has now lost five games in a row. No matter. History indicates that the Blackhawks are not great at opening games, as they are 2-6 in their last eight series openers. If they are to take Game 2, they need to up their game on the man advantage. By going 0-for-2, they are now 2-for-25 in their last seven games.
Jonathan Toews did not have a shot on goal. Nick Schmaltz was awful.
The Preds should have all the confidence in the world. Chicago is feeling the heat, and that could be enough to throw a wrench into their success. Juggling the lineup is always a sign of panic.
Prediction: Take the Predators to win. Play the under.
Flames vs Ducks: It has now been 28 games since the Calgary Flames last won in Anaheim.
The crowd at the Honda Center chanted “You can’t win here” during the first period. Anaheim is not typically thought of as a hostile environment to play in, but it was very cool to see the crowd that alive.
Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were tremendous. Perry had a shadow all night to hinder his ability to get clear shots to the net but he still found a way to create chances.
Brian Elliott had himself a great game, but it was not enough.
Sometimes you just kowtow to history.
Prediction: Take the Ducks to win. Play the over.
