NHL Picks

Good Friday NHL Parlay –Go to church Bobcat

I’ve never done a parlay for my picks before but since it’s Good Friday and I’m feeling extra ‘holy’ I figured, “why the hell not?”.  Now feel free to do as you wish with this little parlay I’ve served up for you.  Don’t leave me the pissed off comments if Stamkos scores 6 goals and Tampa destroys my parlay while destroying Montreal.  I don’t care if your kids won’t have food for a few days and I definitely don’t care if you just lost a limb to some bookie. Probably shouldn’t have been gambling in the first place then, asshole.  In all honesty though, I think this is a solid parlay.  The first 2 picks all by themselves won’t give you much in return for your bet.  Throw all 3 of these together though and now were talking.

3 Team Parlay (+467) (L)

Montreal (+1.5, -300) @ Tampa (WINNER!)

The first game of this series was a battle of who could make the fewest mistakes.  The big question for Tampa: can Anders Lindback transform himself into a playoff caliber goaltender.  During the regular season, Lindback started 18 games and recorded a 2.90 GAA with a 0.891 SV%, compared to starter Ben Bishop (63 games stated) who put up a 2.23 GAA with a 0.924 SV%.  In game 1, Tampa was thoroughly outshot (44-25) putting pressure on their fill-in goaltender right from the gate.  Bishop will not be an option for some time meaning Tampa is potentially facing a crisis.  As Red Wings’ head coach Mike Babcock put it a few years back, if you’re changing your goalie this time of year, you probably won’t be playing much longer.  Tampa might sneak out a win at home tonight but don’t expect any blow outs.  As much as I do love Stamkos (trust me, I do) he can only do so much.  Montreal covers the spread and most likely heads home up 2-0 in the series.  Sorry Tampa.

Detroit (+1.5, -160) @ Boston (WINNER!)

The last of the playoff series to start just happens to be the best one.  Typically when you win the President’s Trophy and the first seed in your respective conference you can count on a first round that will be nothing more than a warm up.  That is definitely not the case for the Bruins this year.  Detroit slipped into playoffs at the end of the season but they are no 8 seed.  The Wings’ got a combined 144 games out of their top 3 players this season.  They’ve been battling injuries since the first month of the regular season.  The upside of that for Detroit is a whole bunch of guys got to see what it’s like in the big leagues this year that normally wouldn’t have gotten a chance.  With Datsyuk back in the line-up and Jimmy Howard healthy, Detroit could be the upset pick of the year.  However, tonight I do think Boston will win.  It should be a close game though and Detroit should cover.

Dallas @ Anaheim (-1.5, +155) (L)

How ‘bout that first period on Wednesday?  I actually thought the final score was going to be 15-0 Ducks.  The Stars battled back though and showed that they weren’t about to get humiliated.  I don’t think it will mattertonight though.  The Ducks are way too damn good; their offense is arguably the best in the league, their defense does their job, and their goaltending is solid. The Stars’ game plan is trying to figure out ways to beat the Ducks; holes they can expose.  The Anaheim game plan, on the other hand, is just to play their game; the game they’ve played all year long but with a little more intensity. Bottom line, Dallas is outmatched and the Birdemic is going to bring it hard tonight at home.