Canucks (-209) vs. Kings (+187) Series:
Game 1 Line- Canucks -171 vs. Kings +157
I think this is going to be a very close series and I think a tough opponent like the Kings is good because the Canucks will be very focused and will be involved in low-scoring playoff hockey right off the bat. Vancouver has done well recently in low-scoring contests winning 1-0 over both Colorado and LA, 2-1 over Dallas, taking the Bhawks to OT at 1-1, the Coyotes to OT at 1-1, beating the Devils 2-1 and Blues 2-0. So I think the Canucks don’t mind playing these types of games.
The Kings are a very dangerous team. 2 years ago they took the Canucks to 6 games in their first postseason trip in a while and had a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 at home before blowing it. Last season the Kings lost in 6 games to the Sharks WITHOUT KOPITAR and lost 3 games in overtime. This year, LA have added Carter and Richards that have taken a 7 seed to the finals and a 6 seed to the 3rd round. They also have a Coach in Sutter that took the number 6 Flames to the final about 8 years ago. They have a battle-tested team with some new pieces to give them the confidence to pull off a big upset. The big problem with the Kings is that they were the worst in the league at winning games when trailing after 2. I’m not interested in touching the Canucks at this price with a banged up Sedin (Canucks won without him but a lot of the teams were not of playoff caliber) and the fans in Van tend to get down on the goalies or team if anything bad happens more than other cities. Don’t wanna touch the Kings for Game 1 or Series with their scoring problems and the Canucks Game 1 dominance. Will prob play MLs for either team during the series no interest in GM 1 or series. (CANUCKS in 7 games)
Blues (-155) vs. Sharks (+145) Series:
Game 1 Line- Blues -156 vs. Sharks +144
Here we have an impressive and rugged Blues team that played phenomenal hockey finishing 2nd in the West facing a Sharks team that disappointed badly at the start of the year but really picked it up afterwards. The Blues have been relatively consistent since Hitchcock took over, but really struggled towards the end of the season losing 6/9. The Blues lost badly to Phoenix and Detroit at home and sounded rather relieved that they finally got a win. David Backes hasn’t been producing much of late and the Blues, who have many undersized forwards that are tough may be wearing down. When I look at SJ, they never panicked throughout the year and they really start to pick it up down the stretch beating quality teams like the Kings, Yotes, Bruins, Wings, and Preds. I know that the Blues won the season series 4-0 but none of those games were in the last month and I think SJ is motivated to show them that they are a new team. The Sharks have always been a contender, and this is the first season where they are an afterthought. I really like their mindset going in.
The Sharks got rid of some of their slow, shitty players like Heatley and brought in some more toughness and speed. Galiardi and Winnik are rugged and Havlat is much quicker than Heatley. When I look at the Sharks forwards they are similar to STL expect that they are bigger. I just think STL is wearing down and having doubts of their standing and are going up against a motivated team that is relishing the underdog role. The Blues also play 2 goalies, 1 in Elliot who had a career year and 1 in Halak who had a miraculous run with the Habs a few years back, I just think they might have a slip up here with some doubt as to who’s playing when. Niemi has been playing solid of late. I’m leaning towards making a series play on the Sharks at +145 and possibly Game 1 as their will be a nervous Blues team in the playoffs for the first time in a while (SHARKS in 6 games).