The New York Rangers return home Monday night with some work to do – down 2-0 to the Washington Capitals and struggling to find any sort of offense. The Rangers perhaps deserved a better fate in Game 2 but lost in overtime to put them in the 2-0 hole. A low scoring game is predicted once again – the teams scored a total of four goals in Game 1 and were held goal-less during regulation of Game 2.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have two games under their belts – playoff jitters are not an excuse anymore and if they improve in Game 3 like they for Game 2, Leafs fans could go home very, very happy Monday night.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a much more difficult time with the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarter final than most thought – but the result was what almost everybody predicted. Minnesota played almost the perfect road game, they held one of the best offenses in the game to one goal during regulation with their backup goalie, they stayed out of the penalty box and they still lost.
The biggest mismatch of the postseason continues Friday night when the New York Islanders attempt to gain a little respectability against the Pittsburgh Penguins – a team that beat them in relatively easy fashion in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter final. Sound easy?
The Los Angeles Kings find themselves in an unfamiliar position – trailing in a series! That’s right – LA won the Cup last year while going 16-4 and not trailing at any point along the way. But there is a reason that the Blues are up 1-0 – they outhit, outshot and completely outhit the Kings on Tuesday night for their first win versus the Kings in nine games.
Two of the hotter teams down the stretch of the NHL’s regular season meet in the Nation’s Capital Thursday night when the Washington Capitals entertain the New York Rangers in a playoff series for the fourth time in the last five years. Both teams heated up at precisely the right time in order to qualify for the postseason – the Rangers went 10-3-1 while the Caps went 11-1-1.
The PGA TOUR pros move to North Carolina this week for the Wells Fargo Championship. Six former champions tee it up this week on a seemingly ever-changing Quail Hollow. Fairways are among the hardest to hit among all courses on the PGA TOUR and getting it close to the hole is always a serious challenge.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, perhaps the biggest surprise in the NHL this season begin their first playoff series in nearly a decade Wednesday night when they travel to Boston to play a Bruins team that limped into the playoffs.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are right where they thought they would be – the #1 seed in the East and looking like the team to beat in the Conference. The New York Islanders on the other hand surprised many by qualifying for the playoffs since 2007.
The President’s Trophy winning Chicago Blackhawks look to carry their stellar Regular Season play into the post season when they kick off the Stanley Cup playoffs Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild – a team that most thought would be significantly better that they were this year.
The Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks begin their first round playoff series Tuesday night having taken completely different paths to the postseason. For the Ducks, they cruised into the playoffs looking average the last couple weeks of the season.
It’s hard to believe that the season is over and that it started with such strife and low expectations. A shortened season certainly wasn’t short on intrigue, on surprises and on disappointments. Ya – I’m talking to you Philadelphia Flyers!
Next up. The N.Y. Giants. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
The falloff that everyone was expecting from Baltimore hasn’t happened…yet. Right now they are being sustained by a fantastic start from slugging first baseman Chris Davis, who is in the top 3 in the Majors in homers, RBI and average.
The Angels are struggling to get going in April. They let some key players go over the offseason and the replacements aren’t doing much.
Thursday April 25
Safeco Field – Seattle, WA
10:10
Probable Starters:
LAA: Garrett Richards (R)
SEA: Brandon Maurer (R)
Moneyline: Los Angeles -135, Seattle +125 at Bovada
O/U: 8
ATS Matchup Stats | Gambling Insight!
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They focused on offense in bringing in Josh Hamilton from Texas and that move hasn’t really borne much fruit.
They also elected to go with a new cast of starting pitchers at the back end of the rotation and even though it is not all their fault the team ERA is the second worst in the league. Slow start or long term indicator? We will have to wait to see.
L.A. starter Garrett Richards has been kicking around as a prospect with the Angels for a while but it looks like he might be finally getting a chance. He started the season in the pen but he has made two starts now, including a very sharp outing in shutting out Detroit in which he yielded just 2 hits over 7 innings.
The Angels have a pretty good track record grooming Major League pitching so it may finally be his time.
The American League West is going to be a tough division. But it is going to be especially tough if the Mariners don’t figure out a way to beat the Astros. After yesterday’s loss they are 2-4 against Houston, contributing to their 6-11 record against division foes so far.
They can try and improve on that this weekend as they host the Angels, a team that is having some struggles of their own as well. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Mariners starter Brandon Maurer is getting his first taste of the Majors this season. His first two outings were forgettable as the A’s and Astros feasted on him but he has dealt quality starts his last two times out, both against Texas.
He is not great but don’t be completely fooled by that 7+ ERA. Giving up 6ER in 2/3 of an inning will kill your numbers this early in the season.. He is not as highly touted as Richards though.
L.A. is the better value play as a medium favourite in this one. They are the better team on the whole with the better arm on the mound. Seattle is one of the more frustrating teams to try and figure out and when King Felix is not on the mound it is probably best to stay away.
If you win early maybe put a small play on the Angels.
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Los Angeles 6 – Seattle 5
It is hard to believe that the Regular Season hasn’t ended and we are talking about the New Jersey Devils’ last home game of the season but that is the situation Thursday night as they host the injury-riddled Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that they have owned at the Prudential Center the past few seasons.
