Philadelphia Flyers at Buffalo Sabres
Monday, April 18, 2011 at 7:00 pm EST on Versus
Spread: Sabres -1.5
Money Line: Philadelphia +105 / Buffalo -125
Over/Under: 5.5
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The No.2 Philadelphia Flyers and the No.7 Buffalo Sabres shift their best-of-seven first-round matchup in the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs to the HSBC Arena in Buffalo for Game 3 tonight with the series tied 1-1. The puck drops at 7 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast on VERSUS.
Philadelphia salvaged a split at home with a 5-4 win in Game 2 on Saturday as a 158 home favorite after losing the first game of the series 1-0 as a 160 home favorite. The Flyers finally found some offense after averaging just 2.5 goals a game over its past 11 games. The total stayed ‘under’ the 5.5 total line in Game 1 and went well ‘over’ the five-goal line in Saturday’s contest.
Claude Giroux, who led the team in points during the regular season with 76, broke Philadelphia’s scoring drought with a goal four minutes into Saturday’s game. Danny Briere put the Flyers up 5-3 at the end of the second period and the defense held Buffalo in check in the third to secure the much needed victory.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made his Stanley Cup playoff debut in net for Philly in Game 1 and stopped 24 of 25 shots, but was pulled in Saturday’s game in favor of backup Brian Boucher, who stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced. It looks like Boucher will get the call in this game as Flyers’ head coach Peter Laviolette has decided to go with the more experienced goaltender. Boucher had a goals-against-average of 2.42 and a .916 save percentage in 29 previous starts this season. Philadelphia has also missed the presence of Chris Pronger on defense, who is still recovering from a broken hand and is listed as doubtful for this game.
Buffalo only managed to score one goal in Game 1 but it was all it needed after Patrick Kaleta’s wrist shot early in the third period found the back of the net to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead they never relinquished. Thomas Vanek, who led Buffalo with 32 goals and 73 total points, tallied two goals in the first period of Game 2 and Andrej Sekera’s goal midway through the period gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead. They could not hold off Philadelphia’s offensive attack to keep the series from being knotted at one game apiece.
Ryan Miller was spectacular in goal in the series opener; stopping all 35 of the Flyers’ shots. His performance in Game 2 was less than perfect; giving up five goals on 34 shots. His .928 save percentage through the first two games is still slightly better than is .916 percentage in the regular season.
The odds makers have the Buffalo Sabres as a -1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 5.5.
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Prediction: Philadelphia is 11-8 as an underdog this season and the total has stayed ‘under’ in 54.9 percent of its games. Buffalo is 24-21 as a favorite and the total has gone ‘over’ in 51.2 percent of its games. Head-to-head, they have now split the six games they have played with the Flyers going 1-1 at the HSBC Center in the regular season. With Boucher in goal, stick with the Flyers to gain the edge in this series with a win tonight.
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Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends:
- Philadelphia is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games when playing Buffalo
Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends:
- Buffalo is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo’s last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo’s last 7 games at home
- Buffalo is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
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