Last Updated on April 15, 2010 10:00 am by drew
Capitals-Canadiens Pick
The expectations are high for the Washington Capitals and they begin their 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens.
Bet the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Capitals are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference while the Canadiens are the No. 8 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com have made Washington the heavy favorites to win the series with a money line of -700 while the Canadiens have a line of +450.
The season series between these two teams featured four games, which were split equally. Three of the four games were decided by just one goal with the winner scoring at least three goals in each contest.
Washington scored a league-high 318 goals on the season while allowing 233. The Capitals won 54 games on the year for 121 points and were an impressive 30-5-6 at home on the season as they won the Southeast Divison. Washington was led by superstar Alex Ovechkin, who had 50 goals and 59 assists during the season. Nicklas Backstrom added 33 goals and 68 assists while Alexander Semin had 40 goals and 44 assists. Four other Capitals scored at least 20 goals on the season. Jose Theodore won 30 games in net for Washington with a 2.81 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
Montreal scored 217 goals on the year but allowed 223. The Canadiens won 39 games for a total of 88 points. Montreal was 20-16-5 at home this season. Tomas Plekanec scored 25 goals and had 45 assists to lead the Canadiens while Scott Gomez had 12 goals and 47 assists. Michael Cammalleri added 26 goals and Brian Gionta had 28 goals for the Canadiens. Jaroslav Halak won 26 games in net for Montreal as he had five shutouts and a goals against average of 2.40 with a save percentage of .920.
The Canadiens have played Washington well this year, but they simply don’t have the fire power to keep up with Washington. The Capitals almost never lose at home, meaning the Canadiens will have to be perfect at home, and we don’t see that happening. The odds may not be attractive, but look for Washington to advance.
Our Stanley Cup Series Free Pick for this matchup is: WASHINGTON – 700
(Note: This free pick is for the entire seven game series and is not to be confused with our daily NHL picks, which are for individual games.)
Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Trends
MONTREAL is 19-33 ATS (-19.3 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 23-8 ATS (+23.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
WASHINGTON is 24-34 ATS (-30.9 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 7-13 ATS (-12.3 Units) in home games in the first round of the playoffs since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 7-5 (+0.5 Units) against the spread versus MONTREAL over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 7-5-0 straight up against MONTREAL over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.5 Units)
Stanley Cup Playoffs Injury Report
MONTREAL
[D] 03/19/2010 – Paul Mara out for season ( Shoulder )
[C] 03/30/2010 – Glen Metropolit expected to miss 6-8 weeks ( Shoulder )
[LW] 04/10/2010 – Sergei Kostitsyn "?" ( Lower Body )
WASHINGTON
[D] 04/10/2010 – Milan Jurcina is downgraded to doubtful Sunday vs. Boston ( Hernia )
[RW] 04/05/2010 – Boyd Gordon expected to miss rest of regular season ( Back )
[D] 04/10/2010 – Tyler Sloan is downgraded to expected to miss a week ( Upper Body )
Stanley Cup Playoffs Series Odds
Washington Capitals -700
Montreal Canadiens +450
Capitals vs. Canadiens Series Schedule:
Thursday, April 15 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
Saturday, April 17 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
Monday, April 19 at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. TSN
Wednesday, April 21 at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. TSN
*Friday, April 23 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
*Monday, April 26 at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
*Wednesday, April 28 at Washington, TBD TSN
*If Necessary
Bet the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Posted: 4/15/10 10:00AM ET