The Montreal Canadiens must win tonight, Friday April 23, in Washington against the high powered offense of the Capitals in the Easter n Conference Quarters. The Caps won Game 4, 6-3 as -179 road favs and lead the series 3-1. NHL oddsmakers at SBGGLOBAL.com have the Capitals as -340 moneyline home favorites over the Canadiens (+290) with the over/under set at 6 goals. Be sure to get your 2010 NHL Playoffs: 2010 NHL Playoffs: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Game 5 Odds & Prediction in now at SBGGLOBAL.com
The Canadiens can’t stave off the high powered offense of the Caps as they’ve lost three straight and been outscored 12-19. They’ve had goalie issues between Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak in the playoffs and Coach Jacques Martin will announce his starter at the morning skate Friday. Price got his first start of the series in Game 4 and he was OK with 32 saves on 36 shots. Halak has given up seven goals on the last 27 shots he's faced. In these playoffs Halak is 1-2 with a 4.09 GAA. More than anything the Canadiens have to find their discipline. They have gotten frustrated in each of the last two games and it has gotten the better of them. If they can get out the gate fast in the first period and get some solid goaltending they might pull off a win. "I don't think you avoid it, you accept it. You accept that frustration. You don't fight it. You acknowledge it and then do your best to move forward in a productive manner," forward Mike Cammalleri said Thursday. "OK, we're frustrated. We've got a little fire in our belly and let's go play a game where we're not frustrated.'' Cammalleri leads the Canadiens with six points and he must get more offense. "We've created chances. Even (Wednesday) night, we could have scored more goals," Cammalleri said. "I'd have liked to see us get more screens on the goaltender. I think that when goaltenders see pucks it makes it easier for them to read it coming off the stick, or where it might be going. If we can obstruct his view a little more, our shooting percentage and chance of scoring goals will go up."
The Capitals have never been where they are now, up 3-1. In each of the last two postseasons they've gone down 3-1 only to come back and force a Game 7 at home. They lost to Philadelphia in 2008, but beat the New York Rangers last season. They also led Pittsburgh 2-0 in the second round last season, but lost in seven. So the Caps can’t take this game lightly, a team that’s desperate is a team with fire in the belly. "There are certain things in the game that you want to establish, and I think coming out and putting a lot of pressure on them early is one of them, then possibly scoring the first goal," defenseman Joe Corvo said. "Those are big things that we want to try to do to put doubt in their minds of them having any sort of comeback in the series." The Caps are getting great offense from left winger Alex Ovechkin who has four goals in the last three games. Goalie Semyon Varlamov has allowed seven goals on 88 shots since replacing Jose Theodore 7:58 into Game 2. He’s 3-0 with a 2.44 GAA. Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Knuble — has combined for 11 goals and 11 assists. Alexander Semin has only one assist in the series.
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Over is 4-1-2 in the last 7 meetings.
- Favorite is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
- Canadiens are 2-5 in the last 7 meetings in Washington.
- Canadiens are 2-5 in the last 7 meetings.
- Capitals are 6-1 in their last 7 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Canadiens are 1-7 in their last 8 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Canadiens are 1-11 in their last 12 playoff games as an underdog.
Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals
When: Friday April 23, 2010 7:00 PM ET
Line: SBGGLOBAL.com
Pick: Capitals -340
Point-Spreads.com 2010 NHL Playoffs: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Game 5 Odds & Predictions
The Bottom Line: The Caps will win so they can rest. Be sure to get your 2010 NHL Playoffs: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Game 5 Odds & Predictions in now at SBGGLOBAL.com and receive up to 20% in Sign-up Bonuses and start winning today!
