HOME TEAM IN CAPS
All games include OT unless stated otherwise
Boston +1.20 over COLORADO
All the season previews and so-called experts are calling for both these teams to be “bubble” teams in terms of making the playoffs. I see it differently, as I give the Av’s very little chance while the Bruins could be this year’s dark-horse. Colorado lost a few key players including Jeff Fingers, Jose Theodore, Andrew Brunette and Kurt Sauer. None of them are household names but combined they’re the type of players that are needed to succeed. Fingers played 20 minutes a game and was a +12 while Brunette didn’t miss a game and was the second leading scorer on the team. The Av’s picked up Leafs castoffs Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft along with a couple of other useless players and it would appear that the Av’s got a whole lot worse. Goaltending is a definite concern for Colorado and in this league strong goaltending is a must. Meanwhile, the Bruins just keep getting better and added some much needed offense in Michael Ryder. They also get back a healthy Patrice Bergeron and if he’s not gun shy about playing the same style he played before his injury he’s going to give the Bruins a major, major boost. Marc Savard is incredibly talented and might be the most under-appreciated talent in the game. The Bruins will send out three terrific lines and the third one of Blake Wheeler, David Krejci and Chuck Kobasew might end up being the most exciting of them all. Under Claude Julien the Bruins play a strong brand of defense and in fact, had the third best goals against in the conference last year. The Av’s have home ice advantage here but that’s the only edge they have, as the Bruins are simply the better team taking back a tag. Play: Boston +1.20 (Risking 2 units). <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Calgary +1.17 over VANCOUVER
The face of the Canucks has changed dramatically and it’s definitely not prettier. They added about 10 or 12 new faces and lost about the same and it should also be noted that a GM who has no experience in running a hockey team runs the Canucks. The moves he made are questionable at best. Marcus Naslund and Brendan Morrison have both been shipped out in favor of some other aging vets that include Pavol Demitra and a bunch of other stiffs (Kyle Wellwood, LW Darcy Hordichuk, D Nolan Baumgartner, C Ryan Johnson, RW Steve Bernier, D Rob Davison, C Jason Krog and D Lawrence Nycholat). What??!!! So, what we have here is a team that is old, slow, soft and sinking and the only good thing about them is Roberto Luongo. The Flames meanwhile, added perennial sniper Michael Cammalleri from the Kings and Rene Bourque from the Black Hawks. Bourque is a great addition, as he’s a terrific penalty killer and can play several different roles. He can also score goals. The Flames were strong before the off-season moves and one could argue that they’ve been the biggest under-achievers over the past couple of seasons so some locker room moves had to be made. See ya Alex Tanguay, a guy who complained all year, was inconsistent and added nothing to the team. There’s no denying, however, that the Flames are talented in every position, especially behind the blue-line. They definitely got better and they definitely are the far superior team on this night. Overlay. Play: Calgary +1.17 (Risking 2 units). <o></o>
All games include OT unless stated otherwise
Boston +1.20 over COLORADO
All the season previews and so-called experts are calling for both these teams to be “bubble” teams in terms of making the playoffs. I see it differently, as I give the Av’s very little chance while the Bruins could be this year’s dark-horse. Colorado lost a few key players including Jeff Fingers, Jose Theodore, Andrew Brunette and Kurt Sauer. None of them are household names but combined they’re the type of players that are needed to succeed. Fingers played 20 minutes a game and was a +12 while Brunette didn’t miss a game and was the second leading scorer on the team. The Av’s picked up Leafs castoffs Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft along with a couple of other useless players and it would appear that the Av’s got a whole lot worse. Goaltending is a definite concern for Colorado and in this league strong goaltending is a must. Meanwhile, the Bruins just keep getting better and added some much needed offense in Michael Ryder. They also get back a healthy Patrice Bergeron and if he’s not gun shy about playing the same style he played before his injury he’s going to give the Bruins a major, major boost. Marc Savard is incredibly talented and might be the most under-appreciated talent in the game. The Bruins will send out three terrific lines and the third one of Blake Wheeler, David Krejci and Chuck Kobasew might end up being the most exciting of them all. Under Claude Julien the Bruins play a strong brand of defense and in fact, had the third best goals against in the conference last year. The Av’s have home ice advantage here but that’s the only edge they have, as the Bruins are simply the better team taking back a tag. Play: Boston +1.20 (Risking 2 units). <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o><o
></o>Calgary +1.17 over VANCOUVER
The face of the Canucks has changed dramatically and it’s definitely not prettier. They added about 10 or 12 new faces and lost about the same and it should also be noted that a GM who has no experience in running a hockey team runs the Canucks. The moves he made are questionable at best. Marcus Naslund and Brendan Morrison have both been shipped out in favor of some other aging vets that include Pavol Demitra and a bunch of other stiffs (Kyle Wellwood, LW Darcy Hordichuk, D Nolan Baumgartner, C Ryan Johnson, RW Steve Bernier, D Rob Davison, C Jason Krog and D Lawrence Nycholat). What??!!! So, what we have here is a team that is old, slow, soft and sinking and the only good thing about them is Roberto Luongo. The Flames meanwhile, added perennial sniper Michael Cammalleri from the Kings and Rene Bourque from the Black Hawks. Bourque is a great addition, as he’s a terrific penalty killer and can play several different roles. He can also score goals. The Flames were strong before the off-season moves and one could argue that they’ve been the biggest under-achievers over the past couple of seasons so some locker room moves had to be made. See ya Alex Tanguay, a guy who complained all year, was inconsistent and added nothing to the team. There’s no denying, however, that the Flames are talented in every position, especially behind the blue-line. They definitely got better and they definitely are the far superior team on this night. Overlay. Play: Calgary +1.17 (Risking 2 units). <o
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