It is that time of the year again when the NHL betting season heats up for both bookies and bettors alike. But this year they are both left scratching their heads over some wild game 7 outcomes. The stage is now set for both the Eastern & Western conference finals to begin.
In the Eastern Conference the Montreal Canadiens will take on the New York Rangers. The last time that these two teams met in the NHL Playoffs was back in 1996. Neither team was picked as a favorite to advance to the conference finals. The winner of this series will move on to represent the Eastern Conference for the Stanley Cup!
The Canadien’s won a hard fought series versus this year’s Presidents Cup winner the #1 seeded Boston Bruins. The series was intense for both teams and the Canadiens’ after advanced after being down 3-2 as they righted the ship and rallied back to win game 7.
Goalie Carey Price was the clear difference maker in the series as he shut the door on Boston time after time with a .936 save percentage. The Canadiens will now have the luxury of having home ice advantage for the Eastern Conference Finals. These two teams squared off three times in the 2014 regular NHL season with the Canadien’s taking two of the three games!
Bookies will tell you that the New York Rangers were certainly not a favorite to get to the conference finals either. The Rangers had to beat a talented Pittsburgh Penguins team to get there. The Rangers quickly found themselves trailing in the series and had to rally back trailing 3 games to 1. After evening up the series bookies had the Penguins a -150 favorite to win game7 but fate would have it that they would come up on the short end as the Rangers held on to a 2-1 lead to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers may be the dark horse to win the series but they are peeking at the right time and are playing inspiring hockey only time will tell if there will be a few more championship banners hanging from the rafters in New York.
