NHL History & News

This weekend the Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Boston Bruins in the first game of their 7 game series. These teams may be tired by the end of this series as they just got done playing in a couple of very difficult matchups.

In hockey betting lines the Flyers are a -135 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 5.5.

Both of these teams needed all 7 games to finish off their opponents in the first round of the playoffs despite being two of the best teams in the league. Against the Buffalo Sabres the Flyers were engaged in a difficult series for now. They managed to close out the series with a convincing 5-2 victory over Buffalo while the series was close.

In the Eastern Conference, during the season these teams were the 2nd and 3rd best teams. They should both be ready for a hard fought series as both of these teams were solid at home and even better on the road.

In terms of playing on both sides of the ice the Bruins are a slighting more well-rounded team. They are the 2nd best team in the NHL in goals against as they are the 5th best team in the league in goals per game. Even though the Flyers are just the 11th best team in the league in goals against, they are a slightly better team offensively, as they are the 3rd best team in the league in goals per game. If they hope to take the victory in this series they will need to buckle down defensively.

As both of these teams have all of the tools necessary to win this series this may be the best series in the playoffs this season.

The San Jose Sharks will take on the Los Angeles Kings this Thursday. These teams have already had an intense series and they are set to play their 4th game of the best of 7 games series on Thursday.

In online sportsbook, NHL Odds have the Sharks as a -125 favorite and the over/under total at 5.

The Kings are down 2-1 in the series, but they could have easily been up 3-0. The Kings have had control of games 1 and 3, but they have allowed the Sharks to come back and steal the games. The Kings did managed to preserve a shutout in game 2, but they will have a very hard to beating the Sharks after giving them 2 games out of the first 3.

In game 3 the Kings were winning 4-0 and it appeared that they had the game put away. The Sharks came roaring back and scored 5 goals in regulation and the game was tied 5-5 going into overtime. The Sharks put another goal in the net in overtime and made a full comeback from their 4 goal deficit.

The Kings will need to play a near-perfect series after allowing the Sharks to crawl back into contention. The 4th game of the series will be huge for both teams. If they Kings are able to grab another win they might be able to get some more momentum. However, if the Sharks are able to take the game, they will likely win the series without too much of a fight from the Sharks.

The game is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles at 10:30 Eastern time. In free picks the San Jose Sharks are favorites to win this match.

In what could be a potential first round playoff matchup, the Detroit Red Wings will skate into Chicago on Sunday afternoon to do battle with the Blackhawks. Detroit is at 8-1 to win the Stanley Cup in NHL Odds and NHL Betting. The Blackhawks are at 18-1 in NHL Picks. This game will actually be the second of a home and home series to close out the 2010-2011 regular season for both teams.

Surprisingly, with only two games remaining for both clubs there is still a lot left to be decided when it comes to playoff berths and seeding. Chicago helped its chances of making the playoffs again this year with a crucial victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. That overtime victory puts the Blackhawks in seventh place in the Western Conference, four points ahead of Dallas who is in ninth place and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Chicago will really help secure its playoff status with at least one point during the weekend series with Detroit. On the other hand, the Red Wings are already locked into a playoff position after winning the Central Division last weekend.

With this year’s playoff berth, the Red Wings have made the postseason for a record twenty years in a row. This streak is also the longest streak for any team in all of the four major sports. While the Red Wings are gearing up for another long playoff run, Detroit still has a chance to jump into the number two seed in the Western Conference. Currently, the Red Wings trail San Jose by one point in the standings, and if the Red Wings would like to secure home ice for the first two rounds, they will need to try their best to win these last two remaining games against Chicago over the weekend.