Bruins at Flyers Game 2 Odds and Predictions – Free NHL Picks 5-2-11

Free NHL Playoffs Picks and Odds – Game 2 Boston Bruins at Philadelphia Flyers Favorite, Moneyline, Total and Predictions 5/2/11: After dropping their first two contests to commence their playoff run, the Boston Bruins have been on a tear ever since. Their 7-3 thumping of the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night was a highlight reel of hockey and many insiders believe they haven’t hit their top speed yet. It was a nice sign to see the Bruins top line being productive on Saturday night, a line that has received much scrutiny due to its’ ineptness thus far. The combination of Milan Lucic, David Krejci , and Nathan Horton were noticeably more lively in their shifts and they afforded themselves scoring opportunities throughout the tilt. In the end the line tallied three points and had a +/- rating of +3 for the night, look for this line to a fixture for the duration of this series. For all of the good that came out of Saturday nights debacle there was some cause for concern on the side of the Bruins. Penalties, and ignorant infractions to say the least, will have to be addressed before puck drop tonight. The Bruins committed 24 minutes in penalties but were bailed out by Tim Thomas for all but 2 of those minutes. Brad Marchand led the club with 4 minutes of his own, each of which were completely unnecessary and were entirely the result of tempers flaring. Claude Julien has shown in the past that he is not afraid to sit productive players in order to prove a lesson so it will be interesting to watch if any changes are made for game two or if the message has been garnered to the Bruins players. Tim Thomas, who had no penalty minutes of his own, provided a great outing between the pipes for the B’s and his streak of solid play continues. After a shaky start to the Canadiens series, Thomas has rebounded with 5 consecutive Vezina caliber performances and it will be imperative for the Bruins success that he continues on this pace going forward.

It was quite evident early on that the Philadelphia Flyers were not prepared to take part in game 1 of the second round. The Bruins opening tally, less than two minutes in, set the pace for an ugly outing on the part of the Flyers. They were sluggish, committed ignorant infractions, and were out of sorts on the special teams. Their rather quick trip through the first round might have worked in the favor of the Bruins rather than themselves. The Flyers were slow out of the gates and their week off was quite evident in their play. Brian Boucher was certainly not on his game on Saturday night, but the loss was certainly not his fault. He was peppered with shots early and often and was eventually chased from the game in the second period. He will most likely get the starting nod for game two but he will be on a short leash. After returning from wrist injury, Chris Pronger may be the Philadelphia Flyers weakest link and he is in dangerous need of a strong performance to avert the risk of being a healthy scratch for the first time in five years. He has a -3 rating through three games of action and he is contributing nothing to the power play.

The complimentary selection tonight lies with the UNDER(Check the latest NHL Odds at SBG Global Sportsbook) in game two. Both of these clubs poses excellent goaltenders who are capable of shut out performances on each given night. Brian Boucher was roughed up by a momentous club in the Bruins who were just coming off of an exhilarating game 7 overtime win. I look for him to bounce back with a monster game two performance. Tim Thomas, on the other hand, has been riding a streak of solid outings and I do not expect it to let up tonight. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games on the road and has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games at home. We will consider game two to be a much more tightly contested affair and I believe the goals will be few and far between. Cheers!

Free Pick: UNDER 5.5
Get expert NHL handicapping picks and predictions daily from World Champion Handicapper Sonny LaFouchi(aka The LEGEND) only on NSAwins.com