The NHL playoffs, much like the NBA playoffs, have lost a lot of steam in the second round after being thrilling and extremely intense over the course of the first round. Will a second-round series heat up on Friday, or will things continue to remain relatively calm?
Game 5: New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Friday, 7:05 PM ET Odds: Penguins -165
This is an elimination game for the Rangers, who trail 3-1 in the series and have been thoroughly outplayed as well. This hasn’t been one of those playoff series in which every game goes to overtime or, at the very least, the final few minutes of the third period with the outcome in doubt. This has been a series in which the Penguins looked bad in Game 1 and have then steamrolled the Rangers. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been one of the more shaky goaltenders in the postseason over the past four years, and yet he shut out New York in Games 2 and 3. The Rangers went seven full periods without scoring in this series, and when they finally did score again in the second period of Game 4, they had already trailed in the game, 2-0. New York never scored a goal that tied the game or gave the Rangers the lead. The only two Ranger goals in Game 4 both trimmed a two-goal deficit to a one-goal deficit. Pittsburgh has not given up a meaningful goal since the overtime winner for New York in Game 1. With Pittsburgh playing at home, it’s going to be hard for the Rangers to play with the toughness and consistency they’ll definitely need in order to extend this series to a Game 6 on Sunday in New York.
Pick: Penguins
Game 4: Chicago Blackhawks @ Minnesota Wild
Friday, 9:35 PM ET Odds: Blackhawks -135
The Blackhawks have watched Minnesota play with more and more effort as this series has gone along. The Blackhawks were pushed for about 50 minutes in each of the first two games before pulling away late. Minnesota could have folded everything up after falling behind 2-0 in the series, but the Wild instead played their best game of the series in Game 3. The Wild shut out the Blackhawks, which is really hard to do when one realizes that Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both play for a loaded Chicago roster. The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions and have the confidence of a great team that also knows how great it is, so Chicago shouldn’t be in much trouble in this game. Yet, Minnesota is exceeding expectations, and as long as this game remains close, the Wild could really benefit from their crowd as the lower seed tries to gain the full belief needed to engineer one of the more incredible upsets in hockey’s long history. In the end, if Chicago gets the second goal of this game (whether or not it also gets the first one), the Blackhawks should become a more stable team as the game continues.
Pick: Blackhawks
