Pack your bags, Los Angeles.
Or don’t, because you’re already in Los Angeles.
But get ready somehow for the championship round because the Kings are just a win away from their first Stanley Cup final in 19 years after taking a 3-0 series lead last night. The NHL’s “team of destiny” has destroyed the western conference with 11 wins in 12 games and have a chance to set the league record for winning-percentage in a single postseason. Continue reading
Henrik Lundqvist is human after all.
After barely even reaching him in Game 1, the New Jersey Devils scored in each period en route to a 3-2 win in Game 2 and now look to take their first lead when the series returns to New Jersey on Saturday.
Bovada’s Rangers vs. Devils Betting Lines are giving New Jersey a 1 1/2-point edge in Game 3 with a -135 moneyline. Continue reading
The Phoenix Coyotes haven’t had much of an answer for the Los Angeles Kings so far. No one has really. The Kings, in the midst of the greatest NHL Playoff run in league history, have made light work of every team they’ve faced this postseason, winning 10 of 11 games for a .909 winning percentage, and look to continue their dominance Thursday night.
We’ve already discussed the history Los Angeles can make if it continues to win, but the only thing that matters is tonight when it returns home for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. The Kings took the first two games in Phoenix, bombarding Coyotes’ goaltender Mike Smith with 88 shots in the first two games. Continue reading
If the Stanley Cup final goes according to plan, we’re in for a really nice match-up between to teams with completely different styles. The Los Angeles Kings are making light work of the Phoenix Coyotes in the west by pounding goaltender Mike Smith in each of the first two games.
In the east, the New York Rangers have locked down the New Jersey Devils with an air-tight defense that has made goaltender Henrik Lundqvist’s job easy. Lundqvist, favored by Bovada’s NHL Awards Betting Lines to win the Vezina Trophy, only faced 21 shots in Game 1, turning away all of them. He got plenty of help from his defense which blocked another 26 of New Jersey’s shots on Monday. Continue reading
The Los Angeles Kings should not be underdogs in any game the rest of the playoffs. Home or away, the Kings are clearly drinking something good and have won nine of their first 10 games and took a big first step over the weekend, winning Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Coyotes.
And so, for Game Two the Kings, favored to win the entire thing in NHL Stanley Cup Betting Lines, actually have the advantage despite being on the road. Los Angeles is favored in Kings vs. Coyotes Game 2 Betting Lines by 1 1/2 goals with a -125 moneyline. Continue reading
At long last, the New Jersey-New York border was has returned the NHL Playoffs. It’s been 18 years since the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers faced off in the Eastern Conference Finals when Stephane Matthau scored the winner against Martin Brodeur in Game 7 to send the Rangers to the finals.
Now the teams return tonight at Madison Square Garden with another trip to the championship on the line. Bovada’s Game 1 Betting Lines are favoring the Rangers at home by 1 1/2 goals, with a -125 moneyline. Continue reading
While we wait for the Rangers/Capitals series to wrap up, it’s about time we start turning our attention to the western conference, where the outcome of the finals will provide a great storyline regardless. Either the Los Angeles Kings will complete an amazing run after squeaking into the playoffs as an eight seed, or the Phoenix Coyotes will win their first conference final in franchise history in a season that already saw them win their first division and finally get a buyer. Continue reading
It’s awards time people. Just as the NHL Playoffs are still about two weeks away from wrapping up, it’s time to start projecting the winner of the league’s individual trophies for performances during the regular season. Huge performances in the playoffs by players like Henrik Lundgvist have done a lot to solidify our beliefs already, while other candidates are still trying to stay in memory.
Lundqvist has his team just a game away from reaching the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993-94 and is favored to go home with a handful of trophies in June. He’s became the first goaltender in franchise history to go seven-straight years with 30 or more wins, and is way due to win something. Continue reading
The importance of a goaltender can’t be overlooked. All three of this year’s Vezina Trophy finalists made it to the conference semifinals, while Jonathan Quick and Henrik Lundqvist are favored to win their conferences. It would seemed destiny if it is so. All year it felt like a showdown between the two for the trophy, and it was only recently Pekka Rinne sneaked in the picture with a sparkling 43 wins in 72 games.
Lundgvist has slowly built himself into a consistent wall, Quick made more with less and Rinne had better stats than any of them. Continue reading
Calgary fans: start dumping your Jerome Iginla gear now.
If we are to believe Bovada’s Calgary Flames Futures Odds, he will be part of a sweeping change in the locker room where to Flames are hoping to erase the memory of another miserable season. The Flames have been stuck in a tough spot for a few years now, failing to reach the playoffs in three years under Darryl Sutter despite having a veteran lineup. But they weren’t bad enough to get any elite players in the NHL Draft.
After another disappointment in 2012, it looks like the team is ready to blow apart and start over again. After the team and Sutter reached a mutual agreement to cut ties, there has already been a through search for the new head coach. Troy Ward is the front runner to land the job at 7/4, according to Bovada, followed by Bob Hartley (5/2) and Craig MacTavish (6/1). Jacques Martin is the longshot at (15/1). Bill Boughner looks to be a dead bet at 9/1 after telling the Calgary Sun he isn’t likely to leave the OHL Windsor Spitfires. Continue reading