Sports Betting Overview
They say that the regular season does not mean anything when the NHL playoffs begin. The truth is that trends and patterns that occur in the regular season can be used to help predict playoff outcomes. But if you want to disregard the regular season to predict how this first game of the series between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks will play out, then the Canucks’ recent playoff history is not very reassuring for Vancouver fans. If you are betting on these playoffs without considering the regular season, then you can look at the last three years which have seen the Canucks bounced out of the playoffs with no championship.
In Vancouver’s defense, the team did reach the Stanley Cup finals last year despite another tumultuous playoff run from goaltender Roberto Luongo. The price per head sports experts will always point at Luongo’s playoff failures as the key indicator for the fate of the Canucks. Luongo has played brilliantly in some playoff games, but his performance in key games has been suspect for many years now. The Canucks are hoping that this is the year that Luongo gets the playoff monkey off of his back and helps take Vancouver to its first Stanley Cup victory in team history.
Los Angeles Kings
Up to now, little has been said about the Los Angeles Kings and its chances of making the playoffs. When the Kings grabbed the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, there were not a lot of headlines. But the Kings have made a few changes to the roster at the trade deadline that helped significantly. Sportsbook reviews of the Kings’ problems for the last few seasons show that Los Angeles has had problems scoring goals. The team brought in Jeff Carter to go along with former Philadelphia Flyers’ captain Mike Richards who signed with Los Angeles in the offseason. Carter was injured in late March, but hopes to be back for this game. Carter and Richards add a little of that scoring punch that the Kings have so desperately needed.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks built up serious momentum at the end of the regular season by going 8-1-1 in the last 10 games and winning the President’s Trophy for the second year in a row. But winning the President’s Trophy has been anything but good luck for the Canucks. Vancouver is hoping to carry its momentum into the playoffs, but the four day break between Vancouver’s last game and this opening playoff game will cause some problems for the Canucks.
The Bottom Line
Because of its history of playoff failures, the Canucks open itself up to being the victim of a potential upset in this series. NHL fans in Los Angeles know that if the Kings can split the games in Vancouver, then that makes the rest of the series very interesting. The Kings have the goaltending and defense to stop the Canucks. It just remains to be seen of the Kings’ offense can come to life or not.
Pick: Los Angeles Kings
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