Wednesday NHL Free Pick
(The Spread) – After the Red Wings bounced them from the postseason last year, the Coyotes will have revenge on their minds when they take the ice tonight.
View Current NHL Playoff Betting Odds
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Red Wings –167 money line favorites in Game 1 against the Coyotes, who are +154 on the ML. The puck will drop tonight at 7:00PM ET for this first round playoff matchup.
The Coyotes enter Wednesday night’s game with a 43-26-7-6 record overall, and finished 22-13-3-3 on the road during the regular season. According to latest NHL trends, the over is 42-36 in all Phoenix games this season and 20-18 when the Coyotes have played on the road.
The Red Wings enter tonight’s contest with a 47-26-6-4 overall record and are 21-14-4-2 at Joe Lewis Arena this season. The over is 43-39 in all Detroit games in 2011 and 24-17 when they’ve played at home.
NHL Free Pick: Despite having home ice advantage last year, the Coyotes lost three of four games against the Red Wings last year and were bounced out of the first round. This year, I think they can “sneak” a win out in Game 1. These clubs split their four matchups this season but have met just once since November 8. Each team won once on the road and Detroit needed overtime to beat Phoenix in each of its wins. The Red Wings come into this game a little banged up, as Henrik Zetterberg will miss at least the series opener tonight with a knee injury. The road team is 5-2 in the last seven meetings between these two teams and given Detroit’s injury concerns, I like Phoenix.
WEDNESDAY NHL PLAYOFFS FREE PICK: PHOENIX COYOTES +154
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