Livetipsportal presents you its pronostics for tonight's games in the NHL playoffs, with Bruins@Canadiens, Capitals@Rangers, and Blackhawks@Flames.
Montreal Canadiens – Boston Bruins
Series: Bruins lead 3-0
For their centennial season, the Habs are about to be swept at home by one of their biggest historical rivals. Needless to say that the fans are not really pleased about that. Looking at their declarations, the Bruins are far from taking it easy for tonight's game, and are ready for a war on the ice, as they expect nothing less from their opponents. They are prepared for that. So war it will be. And the Bruins have more firepower than the Habs. Especially since Montreal has five injured players, including key defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Andrei Markov, as well as their best center Robert Lang. All of them might play, as it's the Habs last chance to get a win, but they obviously won't be able to play at their best.
Choice: Boston Bruins, with an odd of 1.90 at Mybet
New York Rangers – Washington Capitals
Series: Rangers lead 2-1
No team has won a home game in that series so far. And tonight's game is of crucial importance to the series. If the Rangers win, they take a commanding 3-1 lead and find themselves just one win away from round 2. If the Capitals win, they tie the series and can take the advantage at home in game 5. So there will be a lot of pressure on everyone's shoulders tonight at the Madison Square Garden. Although they lost two days ago, the Rangers won 8 of their last 9 home games against the Caps. And whereas Washington's rookie goaltender Semen Varlamov has been phenomenal in the past two games, he has just 6 NHL regular season games and 2 NHL playoffs games in his whole career. He's been great everytime, but never had that much pressure. On the other side, Henrik Lundqvist is a three times Vezina Trophy finalist and an Olympic Champion, so he knows what pressure is and how to handle it. The Rangers have been incredibly bad defensively in game 3, while it's usually one of their main asset. No doubt that coach John Tortorella, who won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, will put his guys back on track in this area. Barely everything can happen in this game, but i think the Rags will win it. And as they have a relatively high odd, it's worthy to take a small bet on them.
Choice: New York Rangers, with an odd of 2.80 at Bwin
Calgary Flames – Chicago Blackhawks
Series: Blackhawks lead 2-1
The Flames had two big games in Chicago, but ended up on the loosing side both times. This series is already the most physical one of the playoffs, and things will certainly be softer tonight. Game 3 nearly ended in a brawl after Adam Burish cross-checked Rene Bourque, which fired up Iginla who gone after Burish, firing up both benches in the end. There will be lots of "explanations" tonight, and it will not be pretty. Over the years, Iginla showed he is a better player when he is angry. Already one of the best players in the world when he is calm, he becomes unstoppable when he's on the edge. And he will be. In the same time, the Flames are no strangers to the physical play, which is a trademark of their style of play for many years, while the Blackhawks usually rely more on speed and puckhandling, eventhough they can be tough when needed. So considering the highly expected animosity of this game, Calgary should get an advantage out of it. Especially since they're playing at home, where they've been dominant all season long.
Choice: Calgary Flames, with an odd of 2.10 at Expekt
