May 12, 2008 | By Billy Brewer | Picks Articles Archive
The Detroit Red Wings continue to dominate the playoffs, on and off the road, and they’ll be looking for another win when the Dallas Stars host the Red Wings tonight. The Red Wings lead the Western Conference Finals series 2-0. Oddsmakers at BetUS.com have the Red Wings as 120-moneyline favs over the Stars with the over/under listed at 5 goals. Get your NHL Playoff Bet in now at BetUS.com
GAME: Detroit Red Wings (64-23-2-5) at Dallas Stars (53-35-5-3)
DATE/TIME: Monday, May 12 - 8:00 PM EST
LINE: BetUS.com TOTAL: 5
PICK: Detroit -120
The Wings are rolling through teams like a hot knife through butter. They are 10-2 SU throughout the playoffs and 3-2 SU on the road; two of those losses were when Dominik Hasek was in net. Chris Osgood is perfect in the playoffs with a 7-0 record and 1.57 GAA. They’ve outscored their opponents 44-23. Their top scorer Johan Franzen is out of the lineup tonight, he has 12 goals in the playoffs. Still, they have ample skill and talent to put the puck past Turco. Brian Rafalski, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen, Daren Helm and Henrik Zetterberg have all scored against Turco throughout their two meetings. They’ve connected on 4 of 13 power plays and their penalty kill has allowed one goal. They are 6-0 as moneyline favorites.
The Stars goalie Marty Turco is glad to be out of Detroit where he’s never won a playoff game to date. He’s allowed six goals in two games and his is now 2-4 SU in the playoffs on the road. At home he’s better, going 4-2 SU with a 1.66 GAA. The Stars power play was 0 for 4 in Game 1 while their penalty kill allowed three goals on seven kills. In Game 2 they had one power play goal in five tries, but their penalty kill allowed one in on six tries. They must stay out of the penalty box if they want to avoid the Red Wings killer power play. Mike Ribeiro and Stephane Robidas are the lone scorers for Dallas, Brendan Morrow leads the Stars with eight goals but he’s been shut down by the Wings defense. The Stars are averaging 1.40 GAG in their last five games and at home they average 2.89 GAG. They are 1-1 SU when hosting the Wings and 1-5 SU overall.
BetUS.com is also offering odds that the Red Wings are 1600-moneline favorites over the Stars +900 to win the Western Conference Finals.
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The Bottom Line: The Wings are just too strong, talented, defensive and offensive to lose to the Stars. Their defense is the best and they know how to block shots, saving Osgood a lot of work. Get your NHL Playoff Bet in now at BetUS.com
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