Rory Gold

The Bruins and Canucks both advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with 4 straight wins.

Boston swept away with their Original Six foes from Montreal and along with it the  spectre of a 3 series losing streak to the Candiens. Tim Thomas was solid but never needed to be spectacular as Montreal wasn’t a threaten to take a game in this series.

Vancouver swept a 4 games series for the first time in franchise history. It will give high profile addition Mats Sundin time to rest his “lower body injury.” I’m guessing it’s his hip or groin.

Both teams will rest their bodies and wait for their next opponents.

There is still plenty games to bet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

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Bruins-Canadiens

Every Boston Montreal series is intense but this time the grudges go beyond tradition. Claude Julien, fired by Montreal in 2006 is the head coach of the conference champions.

Boston finished at the top of the Eastern Conference with but they’ve been in this position before against Montreal, posting more than 100 points in 02 and 04 only to drop their first round series to the underdog Canadiens. They hope that Tim Thomas who led the league in Goals against and save percentage will continue his magical season and carry them past the Habs.

This will mark the 32nd time Montreal and Boston have met in the playoffs with the Habs holding a huge 24-7 advantage in the meetings. And have continued that dominance recently winning the past 3 in 2002, 2004 and again last season.
Like the Western Conference, we could see another conference champ golfing after the first round. When these two teams meet in the playoffs history has shown us, the regular season records don’t matter but this time the Bruins will pull it out with the help of Tim Thomas.

Rory Says, “NHL Betters should take Boston in 5.”
Read more

The marathon to the Stanley cup begins Tuesday with some powerhouse clashes, Cinderella possibilities and a couple teams that are just happy to be there. Let’s have a look at the first round match-ups and see if there are some good betting opportunities or some series that you might want to avoid.

Sharks-Ducks
This will be the first time since the 1969 epic battle between the LA Kings and the now defunct California Seals where two California teams have faced off in the NHL playoffs. That series went seven and so should this one. The 2007 champion Ducks are playoff savvy and they proven they know how to win when it counts.

The San Jose Sharks are the Presidents Trophy winner but have failed time and time again to get over the playoff hump. The Sharks added 7 players with rings this season and the name that standout the most on the list is Claude Lemieux, as much as I hate the guy he has been through the wars and knows what needs to be done to win. He won’t provide much support on the ice but the experience he brings could push the Sharks over the top.

The 2007 champion Ducks are playoff savvy and they proven they know how to win when it counts. The Ducks haven’t been themselves this season but they still have the key players from there run 2 years ago. If there will be an 8 vs. 1 upset this year the Anaheim are the team to do it.

This series could be decided by a single bounce of the puck, the added veterans to the Sharks lineup should ensure the bounce goes there way.

Rory says “San Jose in 7 games.” Read more