Last Updated on April 15, 2010 12:00 pm by drew
Canucks-Kings Pick
Two teams that are going under the radar for the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs meet Thursday when the Vancouver Canucks face the Los Angeles Kings at 10PM ET.
Bet the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Canucks are the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference while the Kings are the No. 6 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book BroburySports.com have made Vancouver the favorites to win the series with a money line of -250 while the Kings have a line of +190.
In four meetings this season, Vancouver won three games while the Kings won one. The one L.A. win was an 8-3 victory on April 1. All but one game was decided by multiple goals.
Vancouver scored 272 goals this season, which was the most of any Western Conference team. The Canucks allowed 222 goals and had 49 wins for 103 points, which won the Northwest Division. Vancouver is 30-8-3 at home on the season. Vancouver has been led by Henrik Sedin, who scored 29 goals with 83 assists. Daniel Sedin added 29 goals and 56 assists while Alex Burrows led the team with 35 goals. Altogether, Vancouver has six players with at least 25 goals on the season. Roberto Luongo has won 40 games in net this season with four shutouts and a goals against average of 2.57 and a save percentage of .910.
Los Angeles scored 241 goals this season while giving up 219. The Kings won 46 games for 101 points and the Kings were 24-14-3 on the road. Anze Kopitar led the Kings with 34 goals and 4 assists while Drew Doughty had 16 goals and 43 assists. Dustin Brown added 24 goals while Ryan Smyth had 22. Jonathan Quick won 39 games in net for the Kings with four shutouts and a goals against average of 2.54 and a save percentage of .910.
The Kings have a solid net minder, but Vancouver has the ability to score quickly and often. Los Angeles got a bad matchup as they are a strong road team meeting up with the best home team in the conference. Look for the Kings to struggle as the Canucks make short work of them in this series.
Our Stanley Cup Series Free Pick for this matchup is: VANCOUVER -250
(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
VANCOUVER is 18-6 ATS (+7.8 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VANCOUVER is 25-12 ATS (+25.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
LOS ANGELES is 46-36 ATS (+4.5 Units) in all games this season.
LOS ANGELES is 22-13 ATS (+37.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
LOS ANGELES is 11-6 ATS (+17.8 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
VANCOUVER is 22-33 ATS (-28.8 Units) in home games in April games since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 149-152 ATS (-71.5 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 7-5-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.1 Units)
Stanley Cup Playoffs Injury Report
LOS ANGELES
No significant injuries.
VANCOUVER
[D] 04/01/2010 – Brad Lukowich out for season ( Shoulder )
[C] 01/15/2010 – Alexandre Bolduc out indefinitely ( Shoulder )
[D] 04/10/2010 – Shane O’Brien probable game 1 of playoffs ( Shoulder )
[C] 04/06/2010 – Ryan Johnson out indefinitely ( Foot )
[D] 04/10/2010 – Sami Salo probable game 1 of playoffs ( Undisclosed )
[D] 04/10/2010 – Willie Mitchell out indefinitely ( Concussion )
Stanley Cup Playoffs Series Odds
Vancouver Canucks -250
Los Angeles Kings +190
Canucks vs. Kings Series Schedule:
Thursday, April 15 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Saturday, April 17 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Monday, April 19 at Los Angeles, 10:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Wednesday, April 21 at Los Angeles, 10:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
*Friday, April 23 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC
*Sunday, April 25 at Los Angeles, TBD CBC, VERSUS
*Tuesday, April 27 at Vancouver, TBD CBC
*If Necessary
Bet the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Posted: 4/15/10 12:00PM ET