Canadiens vs Bruins -NHL Playoff Free Pick – Thursday April 14, 2011
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Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Date/Time: Thursday, April 14, 7:00 PM ET
Venue: TD Garden in Boston, MA.
Broadcast: Versus
Money Line: Boston -180, Montreal +160
Spread: Bruins -1.5
Over/Under: 5 over -125
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When the Boston Bruins play host to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their 2011 Eastern Conference quarterfinals series, they will be meeting in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 33rd time. And just like most of the others, this series figures to be as contentious as any in the opening round.
These Northeast Division rivals, two of the ‘Original Six’ teams in the NHL, met six times during the regular season. Montreal won four of those six contests, including one in overtime. But the last meeting between the clubs, a 7-0 blasting by the Bruins in Montreal on March 24, garnered significant headlines.
It was in that game that all-star defenseman Zdeno Chara checked Montreal’s Max Pacioretty into the divider between the bench areas. These teams have a history of violent hits that blur the line between clean and dirty, and while most feel this hit wasn’t necessarily malicious, expect there to be some intensity in a rivalry already brimming with it.
The Bruins are led by bruising forward Milan Lucic. He scored a team-high 30 goals during the season and four of those came against Montreal.
Goaltender Tim Thomas figures to be a Vezina Trophy finalist this season for the Bruins. He needs to be better against Montreal in this series than he was in the regular season. In four starts against the Habs, Thomas went 2-1-1 with a 3.21 goals against average.
Montreal is led by Brian Gionta’s 29 goals this season, while Tomas Plekanec had a team-best 57 points. Gionta scored a team-high five goals against Boston this season, while Scott Gomez added two goals and three assists. Pacioretty actually led the Habs in points against the Bruins this season with six points in just four games.
Carey Price has been an interesting story this season for the Canadiens in goal, posting a 4-2-0 mark against the B’s this season.
The odds makers have the Boston Bruins as a -1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 5.
Check out the latest NHL Hockey Odds here.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Bruins – The Bruins have been excellent at home this season, and it’s interesting to note that they have gone the longest of the four major teams in Boston without a championship. Whether or not they end the drought that has existed since 1972 will begin to be answered with their play in this opening game – expect overtime.
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Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal’s last 7 games
- Montreal is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- Montreal is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Boston
- Montreal is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Bruins Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston’s last 9 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston’s last 6 games at home
- Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
- Boston is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Montreal
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