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Blackhawks, Preds open playoffs in Chicago

Hockey Betting Lines

04/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks are back in the playoffs and will kick off the postseason tonight when they host the Nashville Predators at United Center for Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

The Blackhawks are returning to the postseason for a second straight year after going five seasons in a row without an appearance. This marks the first time the club has reached back-to-back playoffs since the end of a 28-year run from 1970-97, and with a young core that consists of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Kris Versteeg, one has to think that Chicago is capable of putting together another long run of playoff showings.

Chicago, which made it to the Western Conference finals last spring, is coming off a regular season in which it set franchise records with 52 wins and 112 points, enough to give the Central Division residents their first division title of any kind since winning the Norris back in 1993.

Offense should be plentiful for Chicago, which marched to the conference finals last year before being ousted by Detroit. The Blackhawks finished third in the NHL with 262 goals, led by Kane's 30. Five other skaters reached at least 20 goals in this potent offense, including Toews (25), Patrick Sharp (25), Marian Hossa (24), Versteeg (20) and Troy Brouwer (22).

Hossa, a 31-year-old Slovakian, who has 31 goals and 45 assists in 98 playoff games, will try for his first championship after falling short in each of the last two seasons. Hossa is aiming to become the first player in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in three straight years with three different teams, having lost with Pittsburgh (2008) and Detroit (2009) previously.

Antti Niemi will serve as the No. 1 goaltender after entering this season with just three NHL games on his resume. He went 26-7-4 with a 2.25 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in 39 games and started Chicago's final nine games, going 6-0-1 over the last seven. He has never started a postseason game, while Cristobal Huet is 6-10 with a 2.73 GAA in 16 career playoff contests.

"I've never been asked so many questions about our goaltender," Blackhawks captain Toews said about Niemi. "We're very confident that he'll do a great job, just like we are of everybody else in this locker room"

For all of their offense, the Blackhawks also finished in a tie for fifth in the league with 203 goals allowed. However, they'll be missing a big piece on their blueline due to Brian Campbell (7g, 31a) being out with a broken collarbone and a rib injury suffered on a hit in March versus Washington.

Kim Johnsson, acquired from Minnesota in mid-February for Cam Barker, is also out indefinitely due to concussion-like symptoms. He hasn't played since March 13 and is out indefinitely.

The loss of those two veterans puts the pressure squarely on Keith, who finished second on the club with 55 assists and 69 points while playing in all 82 games.

Like the Blackhawks, the Nashville Predators come into the postseason with a goaltender that has no playoff experience. The Preds, though, might be a little more confident in their man between the pipes.

Pekka Rinne has never before experienced postseason hockey, but that won't stop Nashville from sticking with the 27-year-old over Dan Ellis, who owns just six games of playoff experience.

Rinne and Ellis started the season in a platoon, but Rinne eventually emerged as the No. 1, going 32-16-5 with a 2.53 GAA and .911 save percentage in 58 games. He also finished tied for third in the league with seven shutouts and earned a two-year contract extension in late February.

Rinne will backstop a Nashville team that made it to the playoffs in four straight seasons before missing out last year. This series will also mark its first against a team other than Detroit or San Jose, who have combined to knock the Predators out of the quarterfinals in all four of their trips to the second season.

Nashville, which is coming off its first 100-point season since 2006-07, will have to slow down a tough Blackhawks offense, but might be one of the rare teams up to the task. The Predators win with defense, allowing 221 goals on the season (14th in the NHL) while netting just 217 (18th).

In fact, a bulk of Nashville's offense actually comes from the blueline. Shea Weber was sixth on the team with 43 points off 16 goals and 27 assists, while Ryan Suter finished with 33 assists and 37 points. Weber, though, has been limited to only nine points in 15 playoff games.

Nashville will hope to have Denis Grebeshkov back for this series from a groin injury that has sidelined him since March 7. He is questionable for the series opener.

Forward Patric Hornqvist should be ready to go despite an upper-body injury that caused him to miss Nashville's last regular-season game. Better known for being the final pick of the 2005 draft, Hornqvist led Nashville with 30 goals and was the only Predator to top 20 goals other than Martin Erat (21).

The rest of Nashville's offense was spread out among Steve Sullivan (17g, 34a), captain Jason Arnott (19g, 27a), J.P. Dumont (17g, 28a) and David Legwand (11g, 27a).

These two Central Division rivals haven't met since Dec. 27, when the Blackhawks posted a 5-4 home win to win the season series 4-2. Chicago won twice at home in the series and twice in Nashville.

Game 2 of this series is set for Sunday night in Chicago.

The Blackhawks were 29-8-4 as the host this year. Nashville, which has never won a road playoff game, was 23-15-3 as the visiting team during the regular season.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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