We have two games on tap tonight at the Garden and in Smashville. Let’s take a look at tonight’s NHL playoff predictions.
| Senators vs Rangers ML +147 / -165 O/U 5 |
Blues vs Predators ML +139 / -155 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Senators vs Rangers: To call this game a must-win for the New York Rangers would be an understatement. It’s a must win for a lot of reasons. The first and most obvious one being trailing 3-0 in a series is a death sentence 99 times out of 100, unless of course you are the 2012 Los Angeles Kings.
But it is a must-win in the sense that the New York Rangers are in dire need of a confidence booster. Twice they have held leads against the Ottawa Senators and twice they have blown it with late goals. In Game 1, a narrow 1-0 lead became a tie game, and that tie was broken with a late goal from an impossible angle by Erik Karlsson. Game 2 saw a 5-3 lead become 5-5 within three minutes before the Senators would clinch the game in double overtime.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, fourth-line center for the Sens, had four goals including the game-winner.
When a team blows a lead like that, finger-pointing is a common practice. And there’s plenty of blame to go around. Let’s start with the fact that Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault played youngsters Pavel Buchnevich and Oscar Lindberg five minutes each. Five minutes in an 85 minute hockey game.
Remember when Stu Bickel played three minutes in a triple-overtime game for John Tortorella? Well, Stu Bickel stunk. Buchnevich and Lindberg are quite good. Benching them was not only a foolhardy “trust your vets” old-timey mentality that bit Vigneault in the hindquarters in Vancouver, but it meant only rolling three lines and double-shifting Mats Zuccarello so the team looked exhausted by game’s end.
Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith had an incredible game on the blueline. Skjei even had himself a pair of goals. The problem? They played 13 minutes each through regulation. Smith played 30 seconds in the final 13 minutes as the lead evaporated because Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Nick Holden and Marc Staal were atrocious down the stretch.
Where. Is. The. Sense.
Vigneault said after the game that Smith got “lost” on his bench and that he forgot about him when considering matchups. Lost? “I lost it” doesn’t fly when you’re a kid handing in homework. It looks worse when you are a multi-million dollar head coach trying to win a hockey game.
Does this sound familiar? It should. This is exactly what happened in Game 2 against the Montreal Canadiens, in which Skjei and Smith were a dominant defensive pairing yet saw virtually no ice time in the final 12 minutes of the game. The Rangers blew a lead with 17 seconds to go and the Canadiens won in overtime.
Fool me once, shame on………. shame on you. Fool me……… you can't get fooled again.” pic.twitter.com/vSoJnrF5xP
— Adam Herman (@AdamZHerman) April 30, 2017
Remember in my series preview when I said this?
I’m gonna go ahead and check that one off as completed.
Vigneault has not said whether Tanner Glass will re-enter for Pavel Buchnevich, though since he said earlier this week that he might want to “put a checker on their checker” (meaning Pageau), that would likely mean yes.
For frame of reference, their checker had 33 points in the regular season which is about a third of what Glass has in his nine-year career. Pageau is a modern “checker” that can, you know, do things in a hockey game. But if neutralizing him is such a concern, what about Kyle Turris? Or Mark Stone? Or the actual scorers on the Senators? Boucher has won the coaching battle just by tricking Vigneault into thinking he has some big secret weapon on the fourth line when really, he just has a role player doing his job who had a legendary game.
Ottawa is impossible to kill. Every single playoff game of theirs has been decided by one goal. Their series with Boston prepared them well for back-and-forth lead changes so that they can keep a level head through it all.
Game 2 was a rough one for both goaltenders, but Craig Anderson in particular continues to be a heart attack waiting to happen when fielding the puck. Anderson is not very good when handling the puck behind his own net and has caused several turnovers that nearly shot his team in the foot. All this playing against Henrik Lundqvist, one of the worst puckhandlers in the league. Sens fans will be able to breathe a little easier if he cuts down on the mental mistakes.
The Sens had no problem winning three road games at TD Garden. The Rangers historically have struggled in their own building come playoff time, though have won their last two home games. Home teams have won five of the last six meetings between these two teams. The one exception? A 2-0 snoozefest of a win by the Sens at the Garden this past November.
Prediction: Take the Rangers to win…barely. Play the under. If you wanted to cash in on the Sens being such severe underdogs, I would not blame you one bit.
Blues vs Predators: Hockey in Nashville has become something really cool. Not to take anything away from St. Louis, because they have quietly become one of the best playoff buildings in the NHL in recent years. But the atmosphere at Bridgestone Arena has had less time to develop. And it really is only in the last 10 years, maybe less, that the Preds have created a place where opposing teams dread playing.
17K in the building. 44th sellout of the season. 60% of Nashville watching. Nat'l TV audience.
Preds have come a long way since 2007.
— x – On The Forecheck (@OnTheForecheck) May 1, 2017
The Predators were in control from beginning to end in Game 3 Sunday, as the boys in yellow walked away with a 3-1 victory over the boys in blue.
Ryan Ellis got the ball rolling with his third of the postseason. As a Nashville powerplay expired, Ellis fired one last shot on goal before the Blues were able to get their fifth man back into the zone. The shot had eyes. Subban picked up his fifth assist of the postseason and his fourth point of the series.
Cody McLeod potted what might very well prove to be the most impressive goal of the series early in the second period. Yes, the name in that sentence is not a misprint. Colton Sissons flipped a saucer pass to the low slot where McLeod was charging. McLeod batted the pass out of mid air and banged home his own rebound to give the Preds a 2-0 lead.
P.K. Subban joked after the game that Nashville acquired McLeod for his “scoring touch.” Hockey is weird.
Alexander Steen would prevent the Blues from being shut out, but Roman Josi would tack on one more to secure a 3-1 victory for the Predators.
St. Louis had a very hard time breaking through Nashville’s defenses. The Preds played a very fast game and limited scoring chances, as evidenced by their second period in which they outshot the Blues 18-4.
I guess Subban dancing in warmups wasn’t that detrimental, eh Milbury?
It's round 2, game 2, and I'm hoping to see @PKSubban1 show us some moves! We love it when you dance, PK! #STLvsNSH #dancing #Preds #sign pic.twitter.com/PqKBchcMO9
— Preds Warmup Signs (@PredsSigns) April 30, 2017
Fans in St. Louis are livid with the team’s lack of execution, as well they should be. Year after year, the Blues beat writers could copy and paste articles about how the team needs to “keep it simple” and “stick to the plan.” They need to “respond.” They need to “step it up in the playoffs.”
And it’s frustrating, because this team is more than capable of doing do.
It’s just doing it that poses a problem.
The Blues have lost their last four in Nashville. What needs to change? Well, someone call Lil Jon, because they need shots. It starts with the second line. Other than Vladimir Sobotka, the Blues depth has run bone dry. David Perron and Patrick Berglund have been non-factors. In general, the forecheck needs to be far more aggressive. The Predators’ defensemen are able to spread the puck at will- having Josi and Subban on different pairs will help that. Take the body and force pressure.
Can they do it? For sure. Can they do it on the road? I would say not.
Prediction: Take the Predators to push the Blues against the wall tonight. Play the under.
To make a play on these NHL playoff predictions, visit our sportsbook at https://www.betdsi.eu/gms-hockey.
