6-22-13

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DCI Pro Hockey
The Daniel Curry Index

06/22/13 Prediction

Season: 320-198 (.618)

Stanley Cup Finals
Game 5, best-of-7
CHICAGO 3, Boston 2

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Today's NHL Picks

Boston at Chicago

The Bruins look to bounce back from their 6-5 loss in Game 4 and take advantage of a Chicago team that is 5-14 in its last 19 games after allowing 5 goals or more in the previous game. Boston is the pick (+130) according to Dunkel, which has the Bruins favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Boston (+130). Here are all of today's picks.

SATURDAY, JUNE 22 Time Posted 8:00 a.m. EST (6/21)

Game 59-60: Boston at Chicago (8:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Boston 13.940; Chicago 12.987 Dunkel Line & Total: Boston by 1; 6 Vegas Line & Total: Chicago (-150); 5 Dunkel Pick: Boston (+130); Over

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roxxy wnba

CHICAGO SKY -2
Seattle@ Tulsa - OVER 146.5

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Bruins at Blackhawks: What bettors need to know

Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks (-147, 5)

Best-of-seven series tied 2-2.

Corey Crawford did his best to pick up for his ailing glove with a funny quip. On Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks will look for the goaltender's performance to do the talking on Saturday when they host the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final. Crawford has yielded 12 goals in the series - with eight coming from the glove side.

"Last series they were talking about my blocker," Crawford joked on Friday. "Both sides are bad, I guess." The netminder could afford to make light of the situation after defenseman Brent Seabrook scored 9:51 into overtime as the Presidents' Trophy-winning Blackhawks evened the series at two games apiece with 6-5 triumph on Wednesday. Venturing past regulation has been the norm in this series, as three of the four contests have been decided after 60 minutes - with Game 1 spanning into triple overtime.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS

ABOUT THE BRUINS: Boston takes considerable pride in its fourth line - or "Merlot" line, if you will. So, when Gregory Campbell suffered a broken leg while blocking a shot in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final, coach Claude Julien has been left to mix and match players to fill the void. Rookie Carl Soderberg donned the merlot-colored sweater during Friday's practice, while Kaspars Daugavins wore the green jersey which signifies regularly scratched players. "Just trying something else here," Julien said of Soderberg, who hasn't played in the postseason. "I'll make that decision (Saturday). But just (getting) a different look at what that would look like, that's all."

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Marian Hossa returned after being a late scratch prior to Game 3 by collecting one assist and mustering four shots on goal in just over 19 minutes of ice time on Wednesday. The veteran admitted that he was limited in that contest due to the upper-body injury and even missed practice on Friday. Despite his absence, coach Joel Quenneville admitted that "Hossa is fine" and didn't seem overly concerned. "(We're) very happy to use him. I think everybody has different limitations, but everybody is giving it their all."

TRENDS:

* Bruins are 3-7 in their last 10 Saturday games.
* Under is 5-0 in Bruins’ last five after allowing five goals or more in their previous game.
* Under is 6-1 in Blackhawks’ last seven when their opponent scores five goals or more in their previous game.

OVERTIME

1. Boston's Patrice Bergeron has scored three of his team's four power-play goals versus Chicago. His nine tallies have him tied with fellow C David Krejci for the team lead.

2. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and RW Patrick Kane were reunited on the same line and scored just over two minutes apart in Game 4.

3. Bruins C Brad Marchand has failed to secure a point in the Stanley Cup final.

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Life after hoops: Catch up on MLB's best/worst bets

The NBA season is over and NHL is soon to follow. Now what are you betting on?

If you’ve been ignoring baseball for hoops and hockey, let us get you caught up on what you missed through the first three months of the MLB season.

Bucs bets are the best

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been in this position the past few seasons, stringing together a nice stretch of games at discount moneylines and jumping to the top of the MLB breadwinners. However, there is usually a tipping point for the Bucs. Last year it was September, when the Pirates went 7-21.

Pittsburgh has won +17.67 units on the moneyline and +17.35 units on the runline (baseball’s version of the spread), but bettors are waiting for the other shoe to drop. The All-Star break has been a reliable yield sign for Bucs backers, with the club going 87-140 following the Mid-Summer Classic over the past three seasons.

Live and Die in L.A.

Despite having massive payrolls, rosters packed with All-Star talent and some of the best baseball weather in the world, Los Angeles’ MLB clubs just plain stink. And if you’ve been betting either the Angles or the Dodgers, that’s the smell of money burning.

Los Angeles’ two teams are currently ranked as the two worst bets in the majors, with the Dodgers eating up -19.55 units and the Halos wasting -19.34 units heading into Friday. The pair are a combined 63-81 and still command hefty price tags on the moneyline based on name alone.

AL West totally awesome

The American League West is home to the best over and under teams in the big leagues.

While the Angels are draining bankrolls on the moneyline, they’re making a mint for over backers with a 42-30-1 over/under mark heading into Friday. The Halos rank 10th in scoring (4.55 runs per game) but allow 4.30 runs against (26th) an outing.

On the other end of the scale, the Texas Rangers have become the best under play in baseball with a 26-43-4 over/under count. The Rangers have actually leaned toward the over versus AL West rivals, going 15-14-3 O/U, but are 11-29-1 over/under (72 percent under) against the rest of the majors.

Brewers bust on runline

Good thing there’s plenty of beer in Miller Park. The Brewers are one of the worst bets in baseball, burning through more than 15 units on the moneyline but doing real damage to runline fans. Milwaukee is a costly -20.23 units against MLB’s version of the spread with a 27-44 ATS record.

Things aren’t getting any better for the Brew Crew either. Milwaukee just dropped a series to the lowly Houston Astros and could be without slugger Ryan Braun for longer than expected after injuring his thumb. The Brewers welcome the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves this weekend.

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Confederations Cup betting: Day 6 matches

The final whistle will be blown on the group stages this weekend. A pair of games Saturday will end Group A action as Italy battles Brazil to see who wins the group, while Japan faces Mexico in a battle to avoid last place.

Brazil v Italy (-175, +280, +500)

Site: Salvador

The Italians were threatened by a very good Japanese side that probably deserved to win Thursday. The Azzurri escaped with all three points in hand and will now face Brazil with first place on the line. Italy was very mistake prone at the back against the Japanese which, ironically, is very un-Italian of them. Brazil has been flying high in the tourney having beaten Japan 3-0 and Mexico 2-0. Neymar, as advertised, has undoubtedly been the star of the show. The Barcelona-bound forward has a pair of excellent goals after the first two games. Neymar should return to the starting eleven, but both sides will probably rest a lot of their starters and go with a "B" team for this one.

The two sides played a friendly in March which ended in a 2-2 draw.

* The usually reliable Riccardo Montolivo is passing at a rate of just 78.3 in the tournament. The AC Milan midfield lynchpin had a passing percentage of 86.4 during the Serie A season.
* Neymar has bagged two goals and an assist in the Brazilian attack.


Japan v Mexico (+150, +240, +170)

Site: Belo Horizonte

The Japanese hung with the Italians in their last match and were unlucky to come out with no points. Both of the teams have nothing to play for here, except for not finishing bottom of the group. Both squads will look to end the tourney on a high, but morale will be low after exiting the Confederation Cup a bit too early.

Japan and Mexico last played in 2005. Mexico prevailed 2-1.

* Japan's Shinji Kagawa averages 59 passes per match and 4.5 accurate long passes after the first two games.
* Mexico's Gio dos Santos has just one shot thus far in the tournament.

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Mighty Quinn

Mighty hit with the Cubs Friday. Saturday it’s the Cubs.

The deficit is 727 sirignanos.

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NHL Finals Shifts to Chicago for Saturday

2013 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

BOSTON BRUINS
at CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Stanley Cup Finals
Game 5 - Series tied 2-2
Puck Drops: Saturday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Chicago -150, Boston +130, Total: 5

After tying up the NHL Stanley Cup Finals in a wild Game 4, the Blackhawks return home Saturday to host the Bruins in an crucial Game 5.

This series has already been incredibly close, with three of the four games going to overtime and the teams separated by just one goal. The Blackhawks were able to tie up the series on Wednesday with a 6-5 overtime win, scoring more in one night (six goals) than they had in the first three games combined (five goals). D Brent Seabrook was the hero with the overtime goal at 9:51 of the extra period. Chicago outshot the Bruins by a hefty 47-33 margin in Game 4 and won 49% of the faceoffs, a huge improvement from its 29% faceoffs won in Game 3. The Blackhawks also scored their first power-play goal of the series (1-of-15) on Wednesday, but Boston capitalized on two of its five chances with the man advantage. Now the series goes back to United Center where Chicago is 10-2 during the postseason. However, the Bruins are 6-3 on the road during these playoffs, including a 2-1 overtime win in Game 2. But there are plenty of trends favoring the Blackhawks to win again, as they are 19-2 coming off a road win this season, including a perfect 9-0 mark when that road win was by a one-goal margin. On the flip side, Boston is just 1-6 off a home loss by a one-goal margin this season.

The pick here is CHICAGO to win on its home ice.

This three-star FoxSheets trend also likes the Blackhawks to earn another victory:

CHICAGO is 9-0 ATS (+9.0 Units) after scoring 6 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
The average score was CHICAGO 3.4, OPPONENT 1.2 - (Rating = 3*).

Even with allowing six goals on 47 shots (.872 Sv Pct.) on Wednesday, Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask (14-6, 1.83 GAA, .941 Sv Pct. in playoffs) has had a great series so far, saving 161-of-172 shots (.936 Sv Pct., 2.09 GAA). And in his past four road games, Rask has turned aside 147-of-153 shots (.961 Sv Pct.). There were many offensive heroes for Boston in Game 4, especially C Patrice Bergeron, who netted two goals to give him a series-best four tallies on a team-high 19 shots on goal. Three of those goals have been on the power play, where his team is an excellent 4-for-14 (29%) in the series. LW Milan Lucic also has four points in the series (3 G, 1 A), but three occurred in Game 1, as his goal on Wednesday snapped a two-game point-less skid. But he also delivered a game-high eight hits in the Game 4 defeat. LW Daniel Paille (2 G, 1 A) is the only other multiple-goal scorer for the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals, but he was held without a point and without a shot in Game 4. Four different players each have three assists and zero goals in the series -- C David Krejci, C Tyler Seguin, D Zdeno Chara and RW Jaromir Jagr. Krejci still leads all NHL players with 24 points (9 G, 15 A) during the postseason, and Chara and Jagr had two helpers each in Game 4. But Jagr, who has 78 career playoff goals, has yet to score a single goal in any of the 20 games during these playoffs. Boston has four players that have logged at least 27 minutes per game during the NHL Finals, including two that are over 30 minutes -- D Dennis Seidenberg (33:46 avg. ice time) and Chara (32:31). Seidenberg has blocked eight shots in his past two games, and also delivered seven hits in Wednesday's loss.

Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (14-7, 1.86 GAA, .931 Sv Pct. in playoffs) saved just 28-of-33 shots (.848 Sv Pct.) in the Game 4 win, but his numbers are still decent for his first Stanley Cup Finals series where he's posted a .920 Sv Pct. and 2.29 GAA. Crawford has been outstanding at home during this postseason though, going 10-2 with a .938 Sv Pct. and 1.58 GAA. Thirteen different Chicago players scored at least one point during Game 4, but only three had multiple points -- RW Patrick Kane (1 G, 1 A), LW Brian Bickell (2 A) and D Michal Rozsival (2 A). C Patrick Sharp is the only Blackhawks skater with more than one goal in the series, tallying two goals on his series-most 25 shots on goal. Sharp leads all scorers in the postseason with 10 goals, and it was his power-play tally in the third period on Wednesday that snapped the Bruins streak of killing off 30 straight penalties. In terms of the Stanley Cup Finals, only three Chicago players have at least three points -- Kane (1 G, 2 A), Rozsival (0 G, 3 A) and C Dave Bolland (1 G, 2 A). The Blackhawks really need more out of C Jonathan Toews (1 G, 0 A in series) and LW Marian Hossa (0 G, 2 A in series), considering Toews has 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in the playoffs, while Hossa has 16 points (7 G, 9 A) in this postseason. Like Boston, Chicago also has four players that have logged more than 27 minutes per game of ice time during the Stanley Cup Finals. D Duncan Keith has been the biggest workhorse with a hefty 34:57 of ice time per game, in which he's been able to post a +4 rating. Three other defensemen -- Niklas Hjalmarsson (28:35 avg. ice time), Brent Seabrook (28:04) and Johnny Oduya (27:03) -- have also played a ton of minutes, but only Seabrook (+1 rating) has a positive rating in the series.

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Hockey Crusher

Chicago Blackhawks -145 over Boston Bruins
(System Record: 77-3, lost last 3 games)
Overall Record: 77-55-4

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NHL Betting

Rask leads Conn Smythe odds

Despite giving up six goals in a high-scoring affair in Game 4, Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has played exceptionally well for the duration of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs and leads the way in Conn Smythe odds.

The Bruins netminder, currently +125 to win playoff MVP honors, takes a 1.83 GAA and .941 save percentage into Game 5 Saturday.

* Goalies have won back-to-back Conn Smythe trophies with Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick winning last year and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins winning the year before.

* Bruins forward David Krejci leads the playoffs in scoring with 24 points.

* Patrick Sharp of the Blackhawks leads the way in playoff goals with 10.

* In 2003, Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Ducks was the last player to win the award while playing for the losing team in the Stanley Cup Final.

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Blackhawks Favorite to Hoist Stanley Cup After Game 4 Win

The Stanley Cup final is even at two games apiece following the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins Wednesday night.

The Blackhawks may have found their stride in the scoring department and series odds have swayed in their favor. Chicago is now -140 to win the Cup with Boston dropping to +120.

The Hawks opened the Stanley Cup series as -145 faves back on June 9 and, after being down 2-1 in the series, were +190 prior to Game 4.

Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday in Chicago. Oddsmakers have opened the Blackhawks as -150 home favorites with the total at 5 goals.

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LA Syndicate

MLB Game of the Month - New York Yankees -155

Top Plays
Rockies/Nationals Over 7.5
Marlins/Giants Over 7.5
Dodgers -110
Pirates +125

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Chicago Syndicate

NHL Playoff Game of the Year - Chicago Blackhawks -145
Overall NHL Playoffs 9-2

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Hondo

Cincinnati Reds

"Pick two and flush twice. That’s how it went for Hondo yesterday as he did the dreaded double swirl down the drain with the Astros and Tigers to boost the debt to 420 armbristers.
Tonight, Mr. Aitch expects Leake to douse the D’backs, thereby handing Corbin his first defeat — 10 units on the Reds."