NHL Eastern Conference Action Dominates Wednesday Night
There were two big Eastern Conference playoff games on Wednesday night, though little suspense divvied up among them. (The closest game still had a three-goal margin.) Here are all the betting trends and storylines from Wednesday’s action.
Boston Bruins Defeat Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1
Before this game, the Bruins had lost seven of their last nine games, all without scoring over three goals. They finally broke out of their slump against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, and fed off the emotion of their home crowd.
“It’s been draining for players to deal with that stuff,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “We’re all sentimental to what happened to this city. It was just a matter of turning the page and getting a fresh start from the regular season. I think, mentally, that was a big difference. I think that’s why you saw a big change in our team. We’ve been through this as a group.”
Boston has much more playoff experience than Toronto, with 17 players left over from their Stanley Cup win in 2011. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, haven’t made the playoffs since 2004, and have 15 players making their first postseason appearances.
“We just self-destructed,” Toronto coach Randy Carlyle said. “We didn’t do a lot of things right. I’ve never seen so many people fall down with nobody around them with situations with our group. Like we said, we know this going to take more than an ordinary effort, and tonight it wasn’t good enough effort.”
Here were some betting trends for both teams heading into last night’s game, courtesy of OddsShark.com:
Toronto Maple Leafs Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 8-2
Before playing San Jose are 5-5-1
After playing Montreal are 5-5
After a loss are 7-3
Boston Bruins Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 7-3
Before playing Ottawa are 5-5
After playing Ottawa are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5
A few Maple Leafs at Bruins trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Toronto’s last 16 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Toronto’s last 13 games when playing Boston
Toronto is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Toronto is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games when playing Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
Boston is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Boston’s last 16 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Boston’s last 13 games when playing Toronto
Pittsburgh Penguins Defeat New York Islanders 5-0
Even without Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked like the best team in hockey on Wednesday night as they simply overwhelmed the eighth-seed New York Islanders, swamping them with five goals.
“It’s one win,” said Pittsburgh’s Pascal Dupuis, who scored twice. “We definitely feel good about it but we’ve just got to put this one behind us and get ready to work for the next one. They’ll definitely look at tape and come out harder, that’s for sure.”
The Penguins were heavy -242 favorites in this game, and their total dominance from start to finish illustrated why this may be a very short series indeed. Here were some of the other betting trends for both teams heading into last night’s game, per OddsShark.com:
New York Islanders Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 3-7
Before playing New Jersey are 4-6
After playing Buffalo are 3-7
After a loss are 6-4
Pittsburgh Penguins Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 6-4
Before playing Ottawa are 5-5
After playing Carolina are 7-3
After a win are 8-2
A few Islanders at Penguins trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Islanders last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the NY Islanders last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the NY Islanders last 9 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
NY Islanders are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games at home
Pittsburgh is 15-2 SU in their last 17 games when playing at home against NY Islanders
Pittsburgh is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing NY Islanders
