2011 NHL Playoffs Picks – Canucks at Blackhawks Game 3 Odds and Predictions – Free NHL Picks 4-17-11

Free NHL Playoffs Picks and Odds: Game 3 Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks Favorite, Moneyline, Total and Predictions 4/17/11: The Vancouver Canucks are showing the hockey world why they were the best club in the regular season. There is fire in the eyes of all Canuck players that hasn’t been scene in years and the attention to detail that this club is following is prolific. There 4-3 victory over the Hawks on Friday night was a lot closer on the scoreboard then it was on the ice. Vancouver outworked Chicago in every facet of the game once again and it has rendered the Blackhawk’s with little to lean on for game three. The Sedin twins are just starting to heat up and once they hit full stride this team has the potential to win out-right all the way to the finals. They are also staying disciplined, which is crucial for postseason success. Vancouver had four minutes of penalties on Friday night, 2 minutes of which were highly questionable. Areas of concern heading into game three in Chicago are few and far between, but the club will have to decide whether or not to reinsert Cody Hodgson into the lineup. The rookie has brought the city much hype and hope for the future, but he may very well be over his head this year. He had ten minutes of ice time on Friday night and was caught well out of position on one of the Blackhawk’s tallies that rendered him -1 on the night. Also, Roberto Lulongo knows he could have performed much better and there were signs of his playoff demons coming back into effect. He will be crucial for him to rebound on Sunday night with a great performance in order to curbside and long bouts of ineptness.

The Chicago Blackhawk’s are models of why it is so hard to win consecutive championships in today’s NHL world. Losing key parts to their 2010 Stanley Cup team in the off-season they have been unable to fill those spots with players already in the system. Dustin Byfuglien may have been the biggest loss on this team as the Hawks just do not posses the tenacity and strength on defense that they did a year ago. Cory Crawford is finding that he has to cover every shot immediately because there is no longer any presence to clear the puck. Duncan Keith has been exposed in the two games already for his sluggish approach in front of his own goal and he has paid the consequence in ice time. He had a -2 +/- rating on Friday night, two goals that could have been prevented if not for his play. If the Hawks want back into the series they will have to win out at home and push it back to Vancouver all tied up. One bright spot for the Hawks has been the rising play of Patrick Sharpe. He has constantly been hit and shadowed for the duration of the series thus far but it has not prevented him from setting up key scoring opportunities and peppering 11 shots on net already. He has been by far the most productive forward for Chicago with Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews not registering in the series as of yet.

We will consider the UNDER(Check the latest NHL Odds at SBG Global Sportsbook) in tonight’s crucial game three affair. The series is now pushed into the windy city where the Hawks hope they can rebound from the deficit they find themselves in. The defense of the Hawks has been publicly ridiculed for two straight games now, but I expect the corp. to step up in this one. Cory Crawford has actually been playing quite well and the four goals on Friday night were not all his fault. The Canucks have a tendency to play low scoring games on the road and I expect them to continue this remedy to success on Sunday night. We will consider the goals to be few and far between on Sunday night in the all important battle of these western conference hopefuls. Cheers!

Free Pick: UNDER 5.5 Goals
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