Archive for the ‘NHL Picks’ Category
The United States and Canada have had quite a history with each other on the ice, but no game has ever been as big as the one on Sunday will be. After five games for the Americans and six for the Canadians, the gold medals will be handed out in one of the most anticipated matchups in hockey history. Team USA will be hoping to notch its first gold medal in ice hockey since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. This team doesn’t resemble that one in terms of talent, as this one is clearly the most talented American squad ever assembled, but it is playing just as loose as the one in 1980 was. The United States has gotten over 100 straight shutout minutes from G Ryan Miller, who has clearly been the best goaltender in this tournament. F Zach Parise carried the USA to the semifinals with his two goals against Switzerland, but it was a team effort in the 6-1 win over Finland. A six-goal outburst was one of the best periods of hockey in the history of the country. The weight of the entire country will be on the shoulders of the Canadians on Sunday. No matter how good or bad these games in Vancouver have been, a gold medal in hockey would make everything worthwhile, while a second loss to the USA would send the entire country into a state of mourning. Goaltending hasn’t been nearly as good for Team Canada. G Martin Brodeur was benched following the first USA game, but since then, G Roberto Luongo has conceded at least two goals in each of his efforts. However, this team has put up more goals than any other the tournament, which is why the team is now in the position to win the gold medals. Team Canada looks like a team that is on a mission right now, and it’s hard to see how the Americans are going to get in front of that train yet again. Unless Miller totally takes over the game and shuts the door time and time again on the star-studded Canadian team, it’s hard to see how Team USA is going to manage to take the gold medals. Not only should Canada get gold, but it should do so in comfortable fashion. Selection: Canada Bookmaker Sportsbook is your home for all of your Olympics betting action. You can find Team Canada at -1 (-120) there for Sunday’s Gold medal game.
United States of America
Canada
Tags: hockey betting, Olympic ice hockey odds, Olympics betting, Olympics ice hockey, United States hockey, USA vs. Canada
The bronze medal will be handed out in the men’s hockey tournament at the Vancouver Olympic Games on Saturday night to the winner of the Finland/Slovakia match. Both of these teams suffered heartbreaking losses on Friday. Finland fell behind 6-0 in the first period to the United States and never got back in the saddle, losing 6-1. Slovakia showed a lot of heart, coming back from a 3-0 third period deficit to the Canadians to make the score 3-2, but it never got over the hump and was able to score the tying goal. G Miikka Kiprusoff had one of the worst games of his entire career against the US on Friday. He conceded four goals amongst the first seven shots that he faced before getting pulled in favor of Niklas Backstrom, who only stopped 16 of the 18 shots that he saw. Kiprusoff now only has a .902 save percentage for the tournament after coming into the semifinals as arguably the hottest goalie in the world. Now, there’s a question whether it was will be him or Backstrom in net on Saturday night with the bronze medals on the line. F Antti Miettinen was the only Finnish player to find the back of the net against the Americans. It was his first goal of the tournament. F Nikas Hagman still leads the squad with three goals and five points. Don’t blame G Jaroslav Halak for any problems that the Slovaks have had in this tournament. Only Switzerland’s Jonas Hiller has faced more shots on net than the Slovakian net minder. Halak has stopped 145 of his 158 tests in these Olympic Games (.918 save percentage), and his only losses came to the Czech Republic and Canada. F Michal Handzus tallied in the third period for the Slovaks, giving him a team-high three goals for the tournament. Fs Marian Hossa and Pavol Demitra lead the team with seven points apiece. The Slovakians are slight underdogs in this game, and for good reason. Team Finland probably has a significantly more talented squad that has simply underachieved for the duration of this tournament. Look for the Finns to come out inspired after getting embarrassed on Friday, which should lead to the blue and white hoisting the bronze medals when the evening is over. Selection: Finland You can find the Finns lined at pk (-140) right now at Bookmaker Sportsbook!
Finland
Slovakia
Tags: bronze medal game, Finland, Olympics betting, Olympics ice hockey, Slovakia
A spot in Sunday night’s gold medal game for ice hockey will be on the line on Friday afternoon in Vancouver, where the United States will tangle with the Torino runners-up from 2006, Finland. The Americans may have the #1 overall seed in this tournament, but they certainly didn’t look like a #1 seed until the third period in Wednesday’s game against Switzerland. They ultimately won 2-0 to advance. Meanwhile, Finland is seemingly getting the payoff now for losing to Sweden in the final game of the group stage. Instead of having to play in a bracket with Slovakia, Canada, and Russia, the Finnish took out the Czech Republic 2-0 on Wednesday and now get to face the USA as opposed to the hosts, Canada. F Zach Parise was absolutely the hero for the USA on Wednesday. He tallied the game-winning goal and ultimately added an empty-netter to boot for the only two scores of the Switzerland game. The man of the hour under the most pressure on Friday will be G Ryan Miller. The Buffalo Sabres goalie has been absolutely fantastic between the pipes, as he already has a shutout, a .944 save percentage, and a 1.25 GAA to his credit. D Brian Rafalski leads the team in both goals (4) and points (6). This is a Finnish side that is chalk full of veterans who know how to play Olympic hockey at this level. There aren’t many guys with gaudy numbers at this point, but F Niklas Hagman has three goals, including one in the game against the Czech Republic on Wednesday. F Teemu Selanne is always dangerous, as he has fired more shots for the Finns than any other player has (17). For his efforts though, he is still goalless on the tournament. G Miikka Kiprusoff has been just as solid in net as Miller has. The Kipper has only had one bad game, that coming in the 3-0 loss to Sweden on the final day of the group stage of this tournament. In total, he has stopped 71 of his 75 shots faced (.947 save percentage) and has a svelte 1.33 GAA. It’s a little puzzling why the Americans are favored in this game. Yes, it does seem like Team USA has been the darlings of this tournament, but there isn’t an American hockey fan alive that shouldn’t be content with the efforts of this squad even if they are the one team left standing that doesn’t walk out of Vancouver with medals in tote. Finland has the experience and the manpower to get the job done, and if Kiprusoff is as good in net tonight as he was against the Czechs, the United States is finished. Selection: Finland You can find Finland at +145 on the moneyline right now at Bookmaker Sportsbook!
United States of America
Finland
Tags: Finland, hockey betting, Olympics betting, Olympics hockey betting, United States
The semifinals of the Olympic Ice Hockey tournament wrap up on Friday night in Vancouver, where the host nation, Team Canada, will take on the red hot Slovaks. After a dismal effort in the group stage of this tournament, the Canadians have fired back with back-to-back very impressive victories in the knockout rounds. As expected, they pummeled Germany 8-2 in the qualification stage, but in a complete surprise, they absolutely mauled Russia 7-3 in a game that was never close from the start. Slovakia has gotten to this stage the hard way as well. The Slovaks bounced both Norway and Sweden by identical 4-3 score lines. If the Canadians don’t win gold in their own backyard, they certainly don’t have their offense to blame. The unit has been on fire, easily scoring the most goals of any team in the tournament (29). Unlike any other team, Canada can say that all 20 of its forwards and defensemen have scored at least one point. F Corey Perry is the only man to not have an assist coming into the semifinals. F Jerome Iginla leads the squad with five goals even though he has bounced around from line to line. In replacing the benched G Martin Brodeur, Vancouver’s own G Roberto Luongo hasn’t been much to write home about either. He conceded three goals against the Russian in two meaningful periods of hockey, and if not for the fact that his counterpart in that game, G Evgeni Nabokov was miserable, the Canadians may not still be playing tonight. Though the odds are clearly stacked against them, the Slovaks aren’t a team to count out. G Jaroslav Halak has been fantastic in this tournament, posting a 1.97 GAA and a .923 save percentage. There are plenty of NHL names on this roster as well, and even though these guys aren’t up to the skill level of the mighty Canadians, players like Marian Gaborik, Martin Cibak, Miroslav Satan, Richard Zednik, Ziggy Palffy, Pavol Demitra, Marcel Hossa, Andrej Meszaros, and Zdeno Chara certainly aren’t going to be intimidated. This is a team that already has beaten Russia as well in this tournament, so it has the ability to pull off upsets. At this point though, the Canadians just look like an engine that cannot be stopped. The weight of the entire country is on this team’s shoulders, and it just feels like a 2.5-goal spread isn’t going to stop them. Anything less than four goals for an offense which has averaged nearly six per game would be surprising. The question is whether Slovakia has the ability of scoring 2-3 or not. We think not. Selection: Canada You can find the Canadians lined at -2.5 (-120) right now at Bookmaker Sportsbook!
Canada
Slovakia
Tags: Canada, hockey betting, Olympics betting, Olympics hockey betting, Slovakia
On Thursday night, the United States of America and Canada can collect more gold medals for their respective country’s arsenal in the finale of the women’s ice hockey tournament. These have been the two most dominant sides in this tournament by far, as the two squads have combined to outscore their opponents by the aggregate score of 86-4. In order to advance to the finals of the Olympics, the USA took out China 12-1, Russia 13-0, and Finland 6-0 in the group stages, and Sweden 9-1 in the semifinals. F Jenny Potter is leading the team in scoring with six goals. She is one of a whopping 12 players that has put together at least two goals for Team USA. F Hilary Knight and F Natalie Darwitz both have seven assists. G Jessie Vetter has been fantastic in net, stopping 41 of her 42 shots faced for a .976 save percentage. The leading scorer of this entire tournament is Canada’s F Meghan Agosta. She’s scored a stunning nine goals in four games and have five assists to boot. Her line-mates, F Caroline Ouellette and Hayley Wickenheiser both have nine assists, which is tied for the best mark in the tournament as well. The host nation has been just as dominant as the Americans have been. Canada opened up this tournament with an 18-0 win over Slovakia, which was the biggest margin of victory in the history of Olympic women’s hockey. After that, the Canadians won 10-1 against Switzerland a 13-1 against Sweden to wrap up the group stage, and they followed that by beating Finland 5-0 in the semifinals. It’s so hard to separate these two teams. With the way that both teams have played offense and defense, nearly anything is possible. However, it’s hard to ignore the hosts in this one. Hockey means virtually everything in the Great White North, and especially after the disappointment that the Canadians suffered to the United States in men’s hockey, losing isn’t an option. Selection: Canada Bookmaker Sportsbook is your home for all of your Olympics betting action. You can find Team Canada at -165 there for Thursday’s Gold medal game.
United States of America
Canada
Tags: Canada, Olympics betting, United States of America, Women's Hockey
Olympic hockey betting action on the men’s side of the draw kicked off last Tuesday, and it all began with the United States knocking off Switzerland 3-1. On Wednesday afternoon in Vancouver, these two teams will meet for the second time under significantly different circumstances. The Americans are the #1 overall seed in this tournament, and though no one considers them the favorites to win the Gold Medal, they did earn the right to rest yesterday, while Switzerland was busy knocking Belarus out of this tournament by winning in a shootout 3-2. Hockey pundits are comparing this USA team to the one that took the Gold Medal in 1980 in Lake Placid. Even though those were a bunch of kids that came together as a team and this squad has a lot more veterans at its disposal, this does seem to look like an underdog bunch that is consistently beating the odds. G Ryan Miller survived an onslaught against Team Canada in the squad’s most recent game, as he stopped 42 of his 45 shots to lead the US to victory. For the tournament, Miller has stopped a shade under 93% of his shots. Brian Rafalski has been the team’s MVP though, scoring four goals and logging an assist in three games. If Switzerland is taking out the USA, it’s going to be on the strength of its goalkeeping. Jonas Hiller went 20/22 against Belarus on Tuesday, but odds have it, he’ll need to be even better than that against the Americans. A .897 save percentage probably isn’t good enough for a team that has only scored 11 goals in four games and doesn’t have one player that has logged more than two goals in the tournament. This is a can’t miss opportunity for the good old U-S-of-A. Earning the maximum nine points in three games earned them this spot as the #1 overall seed, and there isn’t a squad in the competition that should have an easier time disposing of their competition that they do. Look for the Americans, behind yet another great effort from Miller in net, to take care of the Swiss and march on to the semifinals. Selection: United States of America For all of your Olympic betting lines, sign up for an account right now at Bookmaker Sportsbook!
United States of America
Switzerland
Tags: hockey, olympics, switzerland, usa
A day after disposing of the Germans 8-2, the Canadian hockey team will have to take to the ice once again when they face off with their arch-rivals from Russia. Many thought that this would be a potential Gold Medal game down the road, but thanks to the fact that the United States stole Group A from the host nation, the Russia/Canada match is a quarterfinal 3/6 clash. The Russians won Group B by edging out the Czech Republic on Sunday, and they’ve intently been watching as Canada and eight other teams had to battle it out in qualification yesterday. Apparently, Team Canada really has seen enough of G Martin Brodeur, as it turned to backup Roberto Luongo against the Germans. Luongo wasn’t fantastic, but allowing two goals, neither of which had any real consequence in an 8-2 victory that was decided really from the get go, still can’t be comforting considering the fact that the Russians have a very explosive offensive. Seemingly all of the stars shined brightly on Tuesday night for the red and white. Rick Nash, Scott Niedermayer, Mike Richards, Sidney Crosby, Jerome Iginla (2), and Joe Thornton all lit the lamp against the hapless German goalkeeper, Thomas Greiss. Russia had its troubles in the group stage, losing to Slovakia 2-1. But as the Slovaks are proving, they may not be pushovers in this tournament either, as they marched on the quarterfinals in hopes of medaling in this event as well. All of the power and force of the Russian team shined brightly against the Czechs on Sunday, as Evgeni Malkin scored twice, and Viktor Kozlov and Pavel Datsyuk followed in suit with a goal each of their own. G Evgeni Nabakov has only allowed four goals and has stopped 91.1% of his shots on net so far in this tournament. Any time you can see this many stars on the ice at one time, it’s a game that can’t be missed. Even though the weight of the entire country is on their shoulders, this doesn’t seem like a game that Canada is going to win. The Russians are significantly tighter in net right now than the Canadians are, and considering the fact that the de facto visitors in this game are rolling without having gotten a major contributions from most of their stars, this should be a bloody exit for Team Canada that will inevitably have the entire country stirring. Selection: Russia You can find the Russians lined at pk +150 right now at Bookmaker Sportsbook!
Canada
Russia
Tags: Canada, hockey, Olympics ice hockey, russia
The qualification round of the 2010 Winter Olympics for ice hockey takes place on Tuesday in Vancouver, and the premier showdown that the nation’s eyes will be glued to will be between Canada and Germany. The Canadians finished the group stage at a very disappointing 1-1-1. They missed out on a chance to get a bye to the quarterfinals when they lost 5-3 to Team USA on Sunday night. Meanwhile, Germany has had a miserable go of it in these games, losing all three games by an aggregate score of 12-3. All three goals came in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to Belarus. Will Team Canada elect to make a change at goalie? After watching G Martin Brodeur concede four goals against the United States (the fifth goal was with an empty net), the host nation may be inclined to turn to hometown hero, Roberto Luongo, who is in charge of the goalkeeping duties for the Vancouver Canucks during the NHL season. Offensively, there’s nothing to fear on this team. The Canadians put in three goals against the USA on Sunday night and outshot the Americans by nearly a 2-1 ratio. During several instances in the third period, it looks as though the hosts may tie the game at four goals apiece before conceding the empty-netter. F Dany Heatley’s four goals leads the team, while F Jerome Iginla and C Sidney Crosby are the only other two multi-goal scorers on the squad. Whereas the Canadians have a team full of All-Stars at their disposal, the Germans have very few NHL-caliber players. That’s why they struggled so badly in their first three games and while they’ll probably have a tough time just possessing the puck against Team Canada. Germany only has 85 shots on net in three games. Whereas Canada has three multi-goal scorers on its roster, the Germans only have three goal scorers in total. Though this is a true David vs. Goliath match in every single sense of the word, this is a ridiculously hefty goal-line for the hosts to cover. Though Canada could really use a landmark victory, it realizes that it is going to have to play once again tomorrow, and after watching this team struggle against Switzerland, the possibility is there that they may be caught napping against the Germans. Expect the boys in red and white to advance, and they’ll probably advance easily, but take the Europeans to cover this hefty line. Selection: Germany You can find the Germans lined at +4.5 (+105) right now at Bookmaker Sportsbook!
Canada
(1-1-1-0, 5 pts)
Germany
(0-3-0-0, 0 pts)
Tags: Canada, Dany Heatley, Germany, Jerome Iginla, Martin Brodeur, Olympics betting, Olympics hockey betting, Roberto Luongo, Sidney Crosby, Winter Olympics betting
Olympic hockey betting will be on display on Sunday afternoon in Vancouver, where the United States and Canada will duke it out for the right to win Group A and clinch a berth into the quarterfinals of the tournament. Depending on how the games between the Czech Republic and Russia and Finland and Sweden go, the USA may still be able to qualify with a defeat in regulation. An overtime loss or better paired with a Finland/Sweden game that doesn’t go to overtime will also get the job done for the stars and stripes. Canada can backdoor its way into the quarterfinals with an overtime loss, a Russia loss, and a non-overtime Finland/Sweden game as well. A regulation loss will put Canada in the qualification round. Team Canada wasn’t expected to struggle at all in these Olympics until at least the quarterfinals, if not the semifinals of this tournament. Instead, their star-studded lineup chalk full of NHLers had to fight tooth and nail with Switzerland just to salvage two points in their most recent game. C Sidney Crosby failed in his first effort in the shootout, but came back and netted the game-winner to earn that second point for the Canadians. The host nation has outscored its first two foes 11-2, which is the most goals and tied for the high average margin of victory of any team in the field. F Dany Heatley is the only player on the team to have scored in both games, but Jerome Iginla is tied with Heatley for the team lead in goals with three. Had you asked any American hockey fan what they were hoping for coming into these Olympics, an automatic berth into the quarterfinals and a point against Canada would’ve been fantastic. To win the group highlighted by the heavily favored host nation seemed like a bit of a pipe dream, but that dream can become a reality with a win. F Ryan Malone of the Tampa Bay Lightning has a goal in each of the victories for Team USA, but G Ryan Miller has really been the story, stopping 23 of his 25 shots faced. If you’re talking about the puck line, the Canadians are favored by a goal and a half. A 60-minute tie seems like a very possible option in this one, and though the hosts will probably ultimately walk away with the extra points for coming up with the victory, the Americans should take a strong point into the quarterfinals. Selection: United States of America You can find the United States lined at +1.5 (-130) right now at Bookmaker Sportsbook!
Canada
(1-0-1-0, 5 pts)
United States of America
(2-0-0-0, 6 pts)
Tags: hockey betting, Olympic ice hockey odds, Olympics betting, Olympics ice hockey, United States hockey, USA vs. Canada
NHL All-Star Game Betting Preview The 57th Hockey betting All-Star game should have a lot of excitement surrounding it simply because of the venue in Montreal. There are not many places in the world where hockey is more important than in Montreal. The Montreal fans will have a lot to cheer about as many of the Canadiens made the Eastern Conference squad including goaltender Carey Price and forward Alexi Kovalev who was named team captain. San Jose’s Joe Thornton will captain the Western Conference team. “I’m shocked and excited,” said Thornton. “It’s a big honor to be named captain of an All-Star Team. Unbelievable. There are so many good players on the team. They must have picked me because I’m getting old.” Check out the current line for this game at SBG Global. Kovalev struggled to start the year for the Canadiens but has come on strong of late. “I came out this year and felt pretty good, so I felt like I could do a little bit extra. But it was time to go back and not try to do everything by yourself, and use your partners a little bit.” Kovalev said. Kovalev will be making his third All-Star appearance and he does not take making the team lightly. “This is the only way you know the reaction of the fans and the way they appreciate what you do on the ice,” Kovalev said. “It is always important.” The Eastern Conference will be without superstar Sidney Crosby for the second straight year as Crosby was replaced on the roster by Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis. Crosby has been dealing with an injury to his left knee and he is still not at full strength. Crosby is second in the NHL in points behind teammate Evgeni Malkin. Crosby was the top vote getter this season and his vote total shattered the previous record held by Jaromir Jagr. The Hockey betting Eastern Conference has won four of the last six All-Star games. They have scored an average of 7.33 goals per game while the Western Conference has averaged 6.5 goals per game. Last season the East outscored the West 8-7 as Eric Staal was named the MVP. The previous season the West won 12-9. There was no All-Star game in 2005 or 2006. The East won 6-4 in 2004 while the West won 6-5 in a shootout in 2003. Pick: East 3 out of 5 units
Western Conference vs. Eastern Conference
Sunday, 6:00 pm Eastern – CBC, Versus
