2008 Stanley Cup Western Conference Semifinals

Apr 24, 2008 | By Stan Leung | Picks Articles Archive

NHL Playoff Betting

2008 Stanley Cup Western Conference Semifinals
Colorado Avalanche +165 vs. Detroit Red Wings -190
Thursday, April 24, 2008 7:00 PM EST
Over/Under: 5
NHL Playoff bet: Colorado Avalanche +165

Bet on the NHL at BetUS.com

What was once the most heated rivalries in hockey now renews as both teams are back in the playoffs and even after 10 years some of the same players are still there. The Avs/ Red Wings rivalry stared in 1996 when NHL super pest Claude Lemieux broke Kris Drapers orbital bone with a dirty check. What inspired was a playoff series and hatred between two teams. But today is 2008 and after a couple of games this playoff series will once again be hotly contested.

Online sportsbook oddsmakers currently have the Red Wings at huge NHL betting favorites as 190 home favorites with the games total sitting at 5. I actually think that Avs have a great chance to steal game one as they are playing some great hockey and beat a really good team while the Wings struggled through a team they should have swept. The Wings are a fancy team and I believe are not a hard team with people that will go in to the trenches anymore. Yes the have Kris Draper, Dallas Drake, Kirk Maltby, and Darren McCarty but they are getting older and not as effective while the aging crew of the Avs have Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Adam Foote rejuvenated again.

The Avs have a perfect blend of young and old star and they have a core group of emerging superstars like Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny and Marek Svatos combined with great playoff performers like Ryan Smith and John-Michael Liles.

Bottom Line: I don’t like the goalie situation in Detroit. Dominik Hasek did not look good in game 1 and Chris Osgood might not be able to pick up the slack. The Wings only turned up their game when they need to while the Avs have been playing high level consistent hockey throughout the playoffs. NHL betting wise I love the online betting lines for this NHL game. At +165 this betting game has great value and I predict an upset not only in the game but in the series. The Red Wings are just too old and not a playoff team.

Bet on the road underdog in tonight’s game

A few things to consider:

Avalanche are 4-1 in their last 5 games following a win.
Avalanche are 4-1 in their last 5 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Avalanche are 9-3 in their last 12 vs. Western Conference.
Avalanche are 9-3 in their last 12 overall.
Head to head the Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.

Bet on the NHL at BetUS.com

2008 Stanley Cup Western Conference Semifinals

NHL Playoff Betting

Bet on the road underdog in tonight’s game

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