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Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are facing a significant uphill climb in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If they are to stay alive, they will need to start turning things around with a victory tonight on the road against their archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens, at Bell Centre.
Date/Time: Monday, April 18, 7:36 PM ET
Venue: Belle Center in Montreal, ON.
Broadcast: CBC
Money Line: Boston -115 / Montreal -105
Spread: Boston -1 ½
Over/Under: 5
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Never before in the history of the Bruins have they trailed in a playoff series two games to none and rallied to win. They will need to quickly develop an ‘all hands on-deck’ mentality, and this must begin first and foremost with their captain, Zdeno Chara.
At least the B’s know he won’t be arrested. Montreal police sergeant Ian Lafreneire stated on Sunday that no arrest is pending in the on-going investigation stemming from Chara’s hit on Max Pacioretty in February. But the club does need Chara back on the ice after the lumbering defenseman missed Game 2 on Saturday due to a case of ‘dehydration’.
Boston needs someone to start scoring some goals. The big line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic, and Nathan Horton, has yet to register a single point over the first two games, and they have combined for a -6 plus/minus rating.
Tim Thomas, the leading choice to win the Vezina Trophy, needs to tighten things up. He has allowed five goals so far, and has given up some juicy rebounds around the net. If there is one bright spot for Boston, it is their road record this season: the Bruins were 24-12-4 away from home.
For the Canadiens so far this series, they have seen a devilish offensive output from Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez. The two forwards, who were teammates on New Jersey’s championship team in 2003, have combined for two goals and two assists.
Montreal has two players questionable for this contest. Andre Kostitsyn is likely to miss Monday’s matchup, while Jeff Halpern will be evaluated prior to the game.
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 way this series has started reminds me a lot of another first round series that Montreal took part in. Back in 1993, the Habs lost the first two games of that series at home to a significant rival, (Quebec) in which the losing goaltender, considered the best in the league, looked average. I’m not saying that the Bruins will rally to win this series and the Stanley Cup, but they should show up and play with some pride on Monday.
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Boston Bruins Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games
- Boston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- Boston is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- Boston is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing Montreal
Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal’s last 6 games
- Montreal is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal’s last 5 games at home
- Montreal is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing Boston
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