| 2009 NHL Playoffs: Vancouver Canucks vs St.Louis Blues Game 4 |
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| Written by Scott Burgess | |||||||
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Tuesday, 21 April 2009
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 The Vancouver Canucks can close out the St.Louis Blues tonight, April 21, in the Western Conference playoffs as the Canucks lead the best of seven series 3-0. The Blues host the Canucks for some rock’em sock’em playoff hockey. NHL oddsmakers at Bodog.com have the Canucks as -140 moneyline favs over the Blues with the over/under set at 5 goals. Be sure to get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Vancouver Canucks vs St.Louis Blues Prediction in now at Bodog.comThe Canucks will rely on their no-frills road-game mentality they used in the regular season to beat the Blues tonight. All sweep talk was steered away Monday, as easily as Roberto Luongo has handled shots in this series. "Nobody's going to talk about that stuff," said Steve Bernier, who scored the go-ahead goal in a 3-2 victory Sunday night. Mats Sundin is still feeling the effects of a lower body injury and is listed as questionable. Even without Sundin, the Canucks rode special teams in taking a commanding series lead. Vancouver scored all three goals on the power play, going 3-for-5, while shutting out the Blues on six chances with the man advantage. The Sedin twins have been the offensive stars of the series, despite intense scrutiny from the Blues' defense. Daniel Sedin scored his second goal of the series in Game 3 and Henrik Sedin set up the go-ahead goal in the third period. "They think that being extra physical and sometimes even dirty on them, that's going to take away from their game," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "The twins don't back down. "To the contrary, that probably motivates them more to play harder and better, and that's what they've shown so far in this series." The twins are finally producing in the playoffs! The Blues will lean on the second-half success that launched them from last in the Western Conference to sixth place despite injuries to stars Paul Kariya, Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson. They finished the regular season 9-1-1 to qualify with one game to go before running into Luongo & Co. Paul Kariya will be a game time decision tonight and they’re praying he can return to help out their offense. But with two hip surgeries and having not playing since November it’s a wonder if he can do anything at all. The Blues have to start scoring on the power play. They are 1-for-17 on the power play in the series. They've totaled three goals overall while getting stymied by Luongo and a pesky penalty-kill unit that seldom allowed St. Louis to even set up shop in the offensive zone in Game 3. St. Louis was third overall on the penalty kill and eighth on the power play in the regular season, so they are capable. Recent Trends to Consider:
2009 NHL Playoffs Vancouver Canucks vs St.Louis Blues When: Tues, April 21, 2009 8:00 PM ET Line: Bodog.com Pick: Canucks -140 Point-Spreads.com 2009 NHL Playoffs Vancouver Canucks vs St.Louis Blues The Bottom Line: The Canucks will play even harder tonight to close out the series and rest their players, for their next encounter. Go Canucks! Be sure to get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Vancouver Canucks vs St.Louis Blues Prediction in now at Bodog.com and receive a 10% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit!                        |
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