Bruins Look For Stranglehold in Cup Final
Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night was by far the least competitive game of the series so far – it was the only game that hasn’t needed extra time to determine a winner. The Chicago Blackhawks will be looking for a strong bounce back effort on Wednesday night when they try to even the Cup Final on the heels of a sound beating in Game 3 in every aspect of the game.
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Chicago Blackhawks (49-12-2-5) at Boston Bruins (42-17-5-3)
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Where: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast: CBC, NBC, RDS
Bruins lead series 2-1
Hawks vs. Bruins Betting Lines from betonline.com
Chicago Blackhawks +1½ -275 +122 Ov 4½ -137
Boston Bruins -1½ +230 -134 Un 4½ +124
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The Boston Bruins are on quite a roll – they have won seven straight games on home ice and are looking more and more like the team that absolutely decimated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the last round.
The Chicago Blackhawks really did nothing right in Game. It’s a good thing for the old adage “there is no such thing as momentum in the playoffs”. The Hawks were outscored 2-0 Monday, they lost 40 of 56 faceoffs and they were outshot badly for the first time in the series. Simply put the Hawks had no answer for the stifling defense of the Bruins or for the stellar goaltending of Tuukka Rask who is quickly rising to the head of the Playoff MVP race.
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Chicago will absolutely need something more from Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane who have a combined one assist in the series so far. Neither looks in sync and neither has looked like a dominant force for Chicago – not a good sign going forward. The late omission of Marion Hossa from Game 3 was also a huge factor Monday. He is expected to play in Game 4 although there still isn’t any word about the injury that kept him out of Monday’s contest. Chicago will definitely need all hands on deck – they haven’t scored since the first period of Game 2!
Do you feel like some more bad news? Chicago went 0-for-5 with the man-advantage in Game 3 including a lengthy 5-on-3 and is now 0-for-11 in the series and 0-for-20 since the last power-play goal scored by Bryan Bickell in a 4-2 Game 2 win against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Final. The Hawks are now just 1-for-27 in road power plays.
It’s a good thing for Corey Crawford who stopped 33 of 35 shots – he was incredible Monday and was the only reason the Game was somewhat close.
The Boston Bruins are absolutely on a roll. Seven straight wins at home and currently on a streak of six of seven games in which they have given up one goal or less. Their depth is unquestionable and their aggressive style is once again proving to be nearly impossible to go up against.
The Boston Bruins were able to do to the Hawks what they did to the Pens – absolutely squash any sort of offensive penetration while at the same time doing just enough in the offensive zone. Boston won 71% of the faceoffs Monday and therefore dominated the puck possession game. Patrice Bergeron himself was 24-4 in the faceoff circle – amazing! [ad-4437448]
Boston’s third line continues to outshine even the top line of the Chicago Blackhawks. Dan Paille, Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin recorded their second straight game winning goal Monday and for the second straight night they were an absolute handful for the Hawks to defend. They have been a difference in the series already and there is no reason to think differently about Wednesday night’s Game 4.
Tuukka Rask recorded his third shutout of the playoffs and looked typically sensational Monday night. Credit Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg and the rest of the Boston defense for their stellar play in front of Rask – there isn’t a whole lot getting through to the Boston keeper – and when it does get through Rask has been there!
Betting Prediction
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A few trends to consider:
• CHI are 49-19 in their last 68 overall.
• Under is 20-8-2 in CHI last 30 road games.
• Under is 5-2-1 in CHI last 8 Wed. games.
• BOS are 7-1 in their last 8 overall.
• BOS are 20-8 in their last 28 home games.
• BOS are 36-15 in their last 51 Wed. games.
The Boston Bruins have a formula for success and that formula has been right on the money the past two rounds. Stifling defense, a balanced and relentless attack and total domination in the faceoff circle isn’t a fluke – the Bruins are built for this time of year. Boston is insane on home ice – it is hard to imagine them losing Wednesday night. Unless Joel Quenville waives a magic wand, it appears that the Bruins are clearly the better team in the Final.
They stretch their home winning streak to eight on Wednesday night and take control of the series.
Pick: Boston Bruins -134
