The Boston Bruins look to sweep the Montreal Canadiens, on their own ice tonight, April 22, in the Eastern Conference best of seven series. The Bruins have outscored the Canadiens 13-5 in three games and the Habs haven’t beaten the Bruins in eight tries. NHL oddsmakers at SBGglobal.com have the Bruins as -195 moneyline favs over the Canadiens (+165) with the over/under listed at 5.5 goals. Be sure to get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction in now at SBGglobal.com
The Bruins are poised to win their first playoff series in 10 years, against the team that knocked them out last year in the first round of the playoffs. They beat the Habs 4-2 thanks to goals from Phil Kessel, Shawn Thornton, Michael Ryder and Chuck Kobasew. Boston will get a boost from the return of Milan Lucic, who served a one-game league suspension and missed Game 3. Phil Kessel is a Hab killer with three goals while Marc Savard, Michael Ryder and Chuck Kobasew each have a pair on the Canadiens. Goalie Tim Thomas has been solid in net; he’s a perfect 3-0 with a 1.67 GAA. They failed to score on their one and only power play, but they didn’t give any up on three penalty kills. They have four power play goals overall in ten tries and their penalty kill is 0-6 in three games. But the Bruins aren’t going into tonight’s game lightly. "We want to come out here and give everything we have, like we have all series, and hopefully get the win," Bruins center Marc Savard said. "That's the goal right now, is to come out and play another 'one game at a time', and hopefully we win it. It's going to be tough. We know they're going to come out and throw everything at us, and we've got to be ready."
The Canadiens just don’t have what it takes, goaltending and offense on the power play. Goalie Carey Price has allowed 11 goals in three games for a 4.15 GAA. Their power play is 0 for 6 and their penalty kill has allowed four goals in ten kills or three games. Their 100 year anniversary has turned into a flop of a season. The Canadiens' task for Game 4 is plain and simple – win, or pack it in. "Just as with our fans, with our team we're going to have to prove that we can stay alive by winning a game," GM and coach Bob Gainey said. "If we win a game, then we play a game on Saturday where we can look to Tuesday. So, it's by small increments and without the first one it's hard to move to the second one or the third one, which has been our case since the beginning of the series. "We need to win a game to get into it, whether it was the first, second, third or fourth, and right now we're sitting at the fourth, still waiting to get out of the gates as far as putting a win up on our side." Montreal was without defenseman Mathieu Schneider and left wing Alex Tanguay on Monday night, both key players sidelined by upper-body injuries. Top defenseman Andrei Markov has been out with a lower-body injury that cost him the last four games of the regular season. "I can't really say that they will or won't be possibilities for tonight," Gainey said.
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Bruins are 5-0 in their last 5 games as a road favorite of -151 to -200.
- Bruins are 5-1 in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Bruins are 12-3 in their last 15 games as a favorite of -151 to -200.
- Canadiens are 1-4 in their last 5 home games.
- Canadiens are 3-13 in their last 16 vs. Northeast.
- Canadiens are 1-5 in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
- Bruins are 8-0 in the last 8 meetings.
2009 NHL Playoffs Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens
When: Wed, April 22, 2009 7:00 PM ET
Line: SBGglobal.com
Pick: Bruins -195
Point-Spreads.com 2009 NHL Playoffs Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens
The Bottom Line: Expect more of the same from the Bruins, hard fought gritty hockey. Go Bruins! Be sure to get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction in now at SBGglobal.com and receive a 60% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit
