NHL Wednesday Betting Preview

The first round of the NHL playoffs comes to a close on Wednesday night, and bettors couldn’t be treated to a more intriguing matchup.

The Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens meet in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at the Verizon Center, and the outcome is far from a sure thing for the favorites.

Most analysts expected the Capitals to make quick work of the Canadiens in the first round, but a hot goaltender and cold powerplay later, and Washington is facing a do-or-die Game 7 against the eighth seed in the East.

Jaroslav Halak made 53 saves in the Habs’ 4-1 win over the Caps in Game 6 on Monday night at the Bell Centre, as Montreal cashed as +180 underdogs.

Halak essentially stood on his head in the win, especially after the first period. Washington outshot Montreal 54-22 overall – including 36-12 in the final two frames – but it didn’t get anything past Halak until the dying minutes.

Mike Cammalleri had two goals and an assist for the Canadiens, who opened up a 2-0 advantage in the first period before turning the game over to their netminder. Cammalleri leads the series with five goals and five assists for 10 points.

Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau is expected to stick with Semyon Varlamov between the pipes for Game 7. Varlamov allowed a pair of questionable goals on Monday night, but Boudreau doesn’t appear confident in Jose Theodore, who lost Game 1 at home before being pulled in the early stages of Washington’s overtime win in Game 2.

The Capitals have struggled with the man-advantage in the series after leading the league with a 25.1% success rate during the regular season. After going 0-for-6 in Game 6, Washington is a dismal 1-for-30 (3.3%) against Montreal. If the Caps can’t get it going on the powerplay, it could be lights out against Halak and the dogged Habs.

Alex Ovechkin has played well in spurts for Washington, and has five goals and four assists in the series. Too bad Ovechkin can’t rub off on Alex Semin, who hasn’t found the back of the net in six games despite leading the Capitals with 36 shots on goal.

Tom Poti (eye) will miss Game 7 for Washington after he was struck with a puck on Monday night. Poti leads the Caps with a +9 rating in the playoffs, and was part of their top defense pairing along with rookie John Carlson.

Jaroslav Spacek (virus) is questionable for Montreal after missing the last three games. He’s expected to be a game-time decision on Wednesday night.