{"id":38080,"date":"2011-05-10T11:16:17","date_gmt":"2011-05-10T18:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=38080"},"modified":"2011-05-10T11:16:17","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T18:16:17","slug":"playoff-picks-tampa-bay-lightning-vs-boston-bruins-series-predictions-9511","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/nhl\/playoff-picks-tampa-bay-lightning-vs-boston-bruins-series-predictions-9511\/","title":{"rendered":"2011 Stanley Cup Playoff Picks \u2013 Lightning vs. Bruins"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>NHL Playoff Betting \u2013 Lightning vs. Bruins Series Preview &amp; Eastern Conference Finals Pick<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s NHL PLAYOFFS hockey betting season once again. <a title=\"Hockey Gambling\" href=\"\/nhl\/\" target=\"_self\">Hockey Gambling<\/a> fans sure are getting their money\u2019s worth from the <a title=\"Free NHL Picks\" href=\"\/handicappers\/free-sports-picks\/\" target=\"_self\">free NHL Stanley Cup Playoff picks<\/a> we give out here at Capperspicks.com. <!--more--><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/record.bettingpartners.com\/_TcMlrmSOeQxhg6WO2I1rgWNd7ZgqdRLk\/1\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT BODOG.COM\u2019S NHL HOCKEY BETTING LINES FOR TONIGHTS MATCHUPS!!!!<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><strong>2011 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS SCHEDULE | #3 Boston vs. #5 Tampa Bay<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturday, May 14 at Boston, 8:00 p.m.\tVERSUS, CBC, RDS<br \/>\nTuesday, May 17\tat Boston, 8:00 p.m.\tVERSUS, TSN, RDS<br \/>\nThursday, May 19\tat Tampa Bay, 8:00 p.m.\tVERSUS, TSN, RDS<br \/>\nSaturday, May 21\tat Tampa Bay, 1:30 p.m.\tNBC, TSN, RDS<br \/>\n*Monday, May 23\tat Boston, 8:00 p.m.\tVERSUS, CBC, RDS<br \/>\n*Wednesday, May 25\tat Tampa Bay, 8:00 p.m.\tVERSUS, CBC, RDS<br \/>\n*Friday, May 27\tat Boston, 8:00 p.m.\tVERSUS, CBC, RDS<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;  * denotes if necessary<br \/>\n&#8211;  All Times Eastern<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Odds To Win Cup: Lightning +350, Bruins +225<br \/>\nBruins vs Lightning Odds To Win 7 Game Series: Tampa Bay +120, Boston -165<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Did you predict a Bruins-Lightning Eastern Conference final? Congratulations. You\u2019re Pinocchio and your nose just grew longer than Brad Marchand\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Enough pundits, bettors and fans expected the Boston Bruins to reach the final four. They entered the playoffs with the game\u2019s best goalie in Tim Thomas, who set a single-season record with a .938 save percentage; arguably the game\u2019s best defenseman in Zdeno Chara, who led the NHL in plus-minus; a deep, physical defense corps to back Chara up; two of the league\u2019s best two-way centers in David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron; and a array of hulking, brutal forecheckers on the wings led by Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. Yep, the Bruins fit the \u201cbuilt for the playoffs\u201d bill.<\/p>\n<p>But how many of us saw the Tampa Bay Lighting coming? Their goaltender, Dwayne Roloson, was talented but 41 years old. Some of their two snipers, including Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier, were either slumping or unreliable in crunch-time situations. Their blueline had plenty of size but was underachieving and not as physical as it should\u2019ve been. Many people had Tampa losing to Pittsburgh in round one or at least bowing out to Washington in round two.<\/p>\n<p>Yet here we are at the conference final juncture and Tampa Bay is ready to lock horns with Boston. Roloson has stood on his head for a .940 save percentage in the playoffs. Lecavalier has five goals, including three game-winners, and 12 points in 11 games. Eric Brewer and Matthias Ohlund have stepped up where Victor Hedman has not to be the horses on defense. And, most of all, the Tampa checkers have been absolutely phenomenal. Sean Bergenheim is tied for the league playoff lead with seven goals; he, Dominic Moore and Steve Downie have been a force together.<\/p>\n<p>Crazily enough, this looks like it will be a long series, difficult to forecast. The reason: each team will give the other a look it hasn\u2019t seen so far in these playoffs.  <iframe allowtransparency='true' src='http:\/\/ff.connextra.com\/Bodog\/selector\/client?client=Bodog&#038;placement=Ext_RS_Sports_250x250&#038;cxt_aff_id=151627&#038;tclk=http:\/\/www.bodog.eu\/welcome\/151627\/' class=\"alignleft\" style=\"margin: 1px; border: 3px solid #FFFFFF;\" width='250' height='250' scrolling='no' frameborder='0' style='border-width:0'><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p>Tim Thomas is freakishly athletic at his advanced age but so is Roloson. The Bergenheim line has gotten under everyone\u2019s skin but the Bruins can match that disruptive force with Lucic and especially Brad Marchand. The Bruins haven\u2019t faced superstar-caliber forwards like Tampa can throw at them with Stamkos, Lecavalier and, perhaps most of all, Martin St. Louis. The Lightning haven\u2019t faced anything remotely close to a shutdown defender like Chara or the shot-blocking prowess of Dennis Seidenberg. It feels like each team is about to meet its maker.<\/p>\n<p>For that reason, I see this series becoming a seven-game war. In the end, I like Boston to edge Tampa. With respect to what the Lightning have accomplished, I just don\u2019t think they\u2019ve been pushed \u2013 or pushed back \u2013 the way Boston can.<\/p>\n<p>The Bergenheim line wreaked havoc on the Capitals \u2013 the physically soft, unfocused Capitals. Do you really think Chara, Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid, and Andrew Ference will be intimidated in the same way?<\/p>\n<p>On the flipside, Pittsburgh\u2019s depleted forward corps and Washington\u2019s slick group of forwards didn\u2019t pound on Brewer, Ohlund, Hedman and Pavel Kubina the way Boston\u2019s forwards will. The road won\u2019t be easy for Boston; its power play has struggled for most of the playoffs and Roloson could frustrate their forwards, who don\u2019t have All-Star finishing ability. Dealing with the skill level of Tampa\u2019s snipers will be an adjustment as well.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, though, I still believe the Bruins are the tougher, bigger, more tested team \u2013 even if Patrice Bergeron\u2019s concussion keeps him out. Don\u2019t be surprised if this is a surprisingly entertaining series, with multiple overtime games. And pick Boston.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lightning vs Bruins prediction: <\/strong>Bruins in 7<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"\/handicappers\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR HOCKEY HANDICAPPING PLAYS FOR THIS YEARS PLAYOFF ACTION &#8212;&#8211;&gt;<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2011 NHL Playoff 7 game series in the 3rd round between the #5 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #3 Boston Bruins opens on Saturday night, here\u2019s the odds and our free Series prediction for the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals playoff matchup\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":36963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[28750,31544,48133,28979,13920,21458,49031,49032,49033,49034,49035,13318,49036,28528,49037,27691,27692,27674,49030,13802],"class_list":["post-38080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl","tag-28750","tag-2011-stanley-cup-futures","tag-2011-stanley-cup-playoff-picks","tag-conference-finals","tag-eastern-conference-finals","tag-hockey-betting-picks","tag-lightning-bruins-lines","tag-lightning-bruins-picks","tag-lightning-bruins-predictions","tag-lightning-vs-bruins","tag-lightning-vs-bruins-series-preview","tag-round-3","tag-round-3-predictions","tag-series-picks","tag-series-prediction","tag-stanley-cup-playoff-picks","tag-stanley-cup-playoff-prediction","tag-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-tampa-bay-lightning-vs-boston-bruins-predictions","tag-tampa-bay-vs-boston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38080"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38111,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38080\/revisions\/38111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}