2011 NHL Playoffs Picks – Canadiens at Bruins Game 2 Odds and Predictions – Free NHL Picks 4/16/11

Free NHL Playoffs Picks and Odds: Game 2 Montreal Canadiens @ Boston Bruins Favorite, Moneyline, Total and Predictions 4/16/11: The Montreal Canadians are feeling pretty good after their opening game win over the Boston Bruins in their eastern conference best of seven series. Montreal was able to get a quick goal in the opening minutes of the first minute and then settled for a jump and chase affair. They were quite content after clinching the opening tally to sit on the lead and play a conservative minded game. They did not over exert themselves on the fore-check and the defense rarely pinched. They also afforded the opportunity for goalie Cary Price to earn a, rather effortless, shut-out. Price was able to see the majority of his shots and the Montreal defense did a fantastic job of clearing the puck after the initial shot. The fourth year goaltender looked calm and collected between the pipes for the duration of the match and he was there when he needed to be. Scotty Gomez may have had his best performance of the year on Thursday night and he will be called on to repeat that effort on a nightly basis for the Habs’. Gomez notched two assists in 19 minutes of action, the gritty forward also sacrificed his body on a multiple occasions. He had a regular season of frustration and despair, but his performance on Thursday night embodied the idea of the postseason being an entirely new season.

For a team with so much offensive prowess and ability, they looked anything but on Thursday night. They generated traffic around the net of Montreal on a regular occasion but it was uncoordinated and no none was able to capitalize. The offensive ineptness goes back into the regular season, actually, the Bruins were in the bottom 10 in scoring the final month of action. Their power play is abysmal and it will have to be addressed if this club has any Stanley Cup aspirations. Tomas Kaberle, who was specifically brought in to move the puck from the back end on the power play, has looked miserable and vulnerable on many occasions. Zedeno Chara is not putting the puck on net when he is shooting from the point and the Bruins are not getting themselves open during the man advantage. Goalie Tim Thomas also needs to be much better in game two in order to stave off a 2-0 hole. The veteran puck stopper let in two questionable goals on Thursday night and he was caught out of position on numerous occasions. He is protruding from the net way too far and I expect the Canadians have already picked up on this tendency. The Bruins did dictate the majority of the play on Thursday night, but they seldom tested the Canadians and found themselves out of sorts.

We will recommend a play on the OVER in game two on Saturday night. Yes, there is little reason to believe, from game 1, that goals can be produced in game two. However, lets not forget the collection of games that these two clubs had during the regular season. These two original six franchises hit the OVER in 80% of their games this year, games that saw tallies of 7-0 and 8-6. The Bruins will be fired up to pound the Canadians in game two and I expect the goals to be a plenty. Cary Price is a fine goaltender, but his calm and collected attitude has come to haunt him in years past. I expect the Bruins to move the puck more on the powerplay and test the upper half of Prices’ range. The Canadians are experts at capitalizing on teams’ mistakes and they will get their opportunities tonight. We will consider the OVER tonight(check the latest odds at SBG Global) as both clubs are now loose and accustomed to the atmosphere. Cheers!

Free Pick: OVER 5 Goals
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