There are three games on tap for tonight. Let’s take a look at the crop of NHL Playoff Predictions.
| Maple Leafs vs Capitals ML +200 / -250 O/U 5.5 |
Predators vs Blackhawks ML +140 / -175 O/U 5.5 |
| Flames vs Ducks ML +155 / -175 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Maple Leafs vs Capitals: All the pressure is on Washington to set the tone in this series. They have the heaviest of expectations levied at them this postseason, as they have done everything in recent years but win a Stanley Cup. They have the roster, they have a second consecutive President’s Trophy, and they have, according to the standings, the easiest opening round matchup in the East.
That said, they cannot sleep on the Maple Leafs. Washington handled them rather easily in the regular season, taking two of three games and averaging four goals a game in the process. But Toronto’s young offense could very well explode running on adrenaline tonight.
Plus, last night was a bad night for home ice advantage. Pittsburgh was the only home team of five games to win. The Capitals, who had the most home wins in the NHL with 32 in the regular season, need to take the opener. It would just be a tremendous weight off their shoulders. They would be able to shed one of the most unique trends they have as well- they are winless in their last seven games after three or more days of rest.
D.C. is coming in hot. Alex Ovechkin has 14 points in his last 15 games, and the Caps went 11-3-1 down the stretch to keep ahead of the Penguins in the standings. Braden Holtby had himself yet another Vezina-caliber season, earning 42 wins and notching a league-leading nine shutouts.
Penetrating Washington’s defense is going to be difficult, but not impossible. Toronto will need A-game from their rookies, to put it plainly. If nothing else, Maple Leaf fans can revel in the fact that this is the first of likely (hopefully) many postseason trips for this crop of players. By the same token, they do have a collection of veterans to lead the way who still have the bitter taste of the 2013 playoffs still fresh in their minds. Nazem Kadri and James van Riemsdyk will need to be leaders.
Frederik Andersen is no Braden Holtby, but he is 17-9-3 in his postseason career with Anaheim with a .916 save percentage. Not too shabby. He will be recovering from a hit to the head late in the regular season, however, so be on the lookout for a possible last-second switch like the Matt Murray situation in Pittsburgh last night.
The key for Toronto will ultimately be discipline. They cannot give the Capitals a home powerplay opportunity. That would take the wind right out of the Maple Leafs’ sails.
John Carlson sat out the last four games of the season as a precaution as he dealt with a lower-body injury, but he is expected to play tonight for Washington.
Even though there are some incredible offensive talents at play here tonight, this will be a very cautiously played game. They will be feeling each other out. I use last year’s opening round matchup of the Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers as a good measuring point. The opening game of that series was 2-0 Washington. I see tonight being a comparable score.
Washington has won the opening game of their respective playoff series in their last three series.
Prediction: Take the Capitals to win. Play the under.
Predators vs Blackhawks: Artem Anisimov is back for the Blackhawks. That could not come at a better time.
It was not too long ago that Patrick Kane returned from a broken collarbone right at playoff time to lead the Blackhawks past these same Predators in the opening round of the postseason en route to a Stanley Cup title. Perhaps some more magic is in the air tonight for Chicago.
Obviously, Anisimov’s return to the lineup lengthens the Hawks’ depth by a significant amount. Anisimov has blossomed into one of the most effective system players in the NHL. Before his injury, he, Kane and Artemy Panarin were clicking on otherworldly levels. Chicago finished as a top-10 offense in the league, even without Anisimov in the lineup for a quarter of the season.
Nashville has a collection of players that are banged up heading into tonight’s game. Among them are Roman Josi, star defenseman, and Colin Wilson, who was one of the best players on the Predators last year in the playoffs. They will need a big night from Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg to lead the way scoring-wise while guys like Mike Fisher and Calle Jarnkrok are dinged up. Johansen had eight points in 14 games last year in the playoffs, which is not bad. He shot 17.4% which is unreal. But he had only four goals, which was an indication that he really could have been shooting more.
Forsberg had only two goals and two assists last year. If David is going to topple Goliath, everyone needs to grab a slingshot.
Much like the Capitals, the Predators are 0-6 in their last six after three or more days of rest. Chicago is 1-4.
Though Nashville won the first encounter of the season, Chicago won the succeeding four.
The opening game of Nashville vs Chicago, Round 1, 2015 went into double overtime. Corey Crawford was yanked after a period and Chicago scored four unanswered to rally back. Duncan Keith got the game-winner.
Prediction: Take the Blackhawks to win tonight. Play the over.
Flames vs Ducks: Calgary is going to give Anaheim more trouble than they think. The Ducks are coming in hot, having won four games in a row and ending their season with a great string of wins.
But there will be some bad blood tonight.
Cam Fowler will miss the entire opening round most likely as he nurses a knee injury. That injury occurred last week when Mark Giordano went knee-on-knee as Fowler tried to break to the net. It was a nasty hit, and its intent has been argued viciously.
Calgary will be sending out Brian Elliott in net. With Chad Johnson hurt, Elliott is working without a safety net. He was tremendous last postseason for the St. Louis Blues, but even despite leading the team to the Western Conference Final, he still was pulled in favor of Jake Allen at several points.
In the opposite crease will be John Gibson, who has made three starts since returning from injury and has looked better and better in each one. He even registered a shutout in his last appearance against Chicago. He started against the Flames on April 4th and stopped 26 of 27 to seal the victory.
Even though I am tempted to take the Flames- very tempted, in fact, if only just because of the road upsets that occurred last night- history indicates that I should stay away. You should too.
Why?
Because the Flames have not won in Anaheim in 27 games. That is not a misprint. Twenty. Seven. Games.
If you’re feeling bold, then the Flames are the pick for you tonight, as they are the team with the best chance of an upset tonight. But I will not test the Hockey Gods so boldly just yet.
Prediction: Take the Ducks to win. Play the under.
NHL Grand Salami: In case you were curious, because I know my good buddy EJ Garr is curious, here are the grand salami odds for tonight:
Home Goals: -2.5 +104
Away Goals: +2.5 -115
Home ML: -279
Away ML: +247
Over 16.5: +114
Under 16.5: -126
I will take the under 16.5 tonight. There will not be a lot of scoring. There rarely is in series openers. Teams are trying to get a feel for the action. And with just how tight the three series on tap will be tonight, I won’t take any chances. For home goals and the overall home money line, I will take chalk tonight and say that the home team will fare much better than last night.
