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 It’s do or die time for the Washington Capitals and the NY Rangers as Game 7 of the Eastern Conference playoffs goes tonight, April 28, in Washington. The Rangers won their first two games in Washington but they were shutout their last trip there. NHL oddsmakers at SBGglobal.com have the Capitals as -250 moneyline home favs over the Rangers (+210) with the over/under listed at 5 goals. Get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Washington Capitals vs NY Rangers Pick in now at SBGglobal.com
The Rangers couldn’t figure out how to get past the Caps AGAIN as they’ve let their 3-1 best of seven lead dwindle away. Despite goals from Scott Gomez, Ryan Callahan and Marc Staal they could stop the high powered offense of the Caps. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been a sieve in his last two games where he’s allowed 9 goals. He’s currently 3-3 in these playoffs with a 3.19 GAA allowing a total 17 goals. "Hank's got to play better," Tortorella said, "and he knows that." They could blame it on Coach John Tortorella’s suspension, who wasn’t behind the bench last game, but it really falls on the players. It was Tortorella who acknowledged Monday that his team has been "a little uptight at certain times." They’ll have to rely on their veterans to take the reins and get a win. Scott Gomez led the Rangers during the regular season with 59pts, Marcus Naslund had 24 goals, Nikolai Zherdev ended with 23 goals and Chris Drury had 21 goals. In this series Scott Gomez and Ryan Callahan are the only multi scoring Ranngers with two goals each.
The Capitals are getting great offense from Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom, who have combined for seven goals and 13 assists. In Game 6 they got goals from Milan Jurcina, Mike Green, Tom Poti, Victor Kozlov and Alex Ovechkin. Goalie Simeon Varlamov has improved allowing six goals in their last five games, two games he got the shutout. He’s currently 3-2 with a 1.21 GAA allowing a total six goals since replacing Jose Theodore. Capitals enforcer Donald Brashear was barred from a total of six games by the NHL for two transgressions, one before and one during Sunday's 5-3 Capitals victory. The bulk of his punishment, five games, came for leveling Blair Betts, New York's top penalty-killing forward, in the first period. Both players will miss Game 7; Betts has a broken orbital bone. Washington's players kept talking about the sense of "desperation" that helped the team come back to even the series. They might very well take heart from two key statistical swings. After being shut out in Game 1-3, Ovechkin has scored a goal in each of the past three games. Capitals captain Chris Clark could play Tuesday after being sidelined since January because of wrist surgery. "Hopefully I have a little more legs than the Rangers have and hopefully I can add some speed," Clark said
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Washington.
- Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
- Home team is 16-6 in the last 22 meetings.
- Rangers are 3-8 in the last 11 meetings in Washington.
- Rangers are 9-0 in their last 9 games after allowing 8 or more power play opportunities in their previous game.
- Capitals are 6-0 in their last 6 games as a favorite of -201 or greater.
- Capitals are 4-0 in their last 4 games as a home favorite of -201 or greater.
2009 NHL Playoffs Washington Capitals vs NY Rangers
When: Tue, April 28, 2009 7:00 PM ET
Line: SBGglobal.com
Pick: Capitals -250
Point-Spreads.com 2009 NHL Playoffs Washington Capitals vs NY Rangers
The Bottom Line: I’d rather see the Rangers win, but the NHL wants the Caps to win. You have to go with the Caps at home. Go Caps! Get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Washington Capitals vs NY Rangers Pick in now at SBGglobal.com and receive a 60% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit
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