Game 1 Thursday 7:30pm NBCSN

I hope you like defense because one goal might win every game in this series. Both teams struggle to score at times and especially during the playoffs when things get tight. The biggest question in this series is how will the Bruins use the energy from that Game 7 win?

This is going to be a battle. But I think the Rangers have the edge here despite not having home ice. They have played better/more consistent hockey for the last three months. They draw a team that like themselves can’t seem to put the puck in the net so they don’t have to worry about getting into a shootout, this round anyway.

The Bruins could absolutely win this series and after showing an incredible amount of heart to win that Game 7 against Toronto you know they are not going to go down easily. But they likely used up all their magic in that one and now have some serious injury problems to their defense. Let’s not forget that they fell down 4-1 against a team much worse than the Rangers.

Best Bet:

Rangers -105 to win series

Pretty fair odds on both sides since these two teams are evenly matched. Take the team playing the more complete game and with the better odds. Even if they did come back down 4-1 in Game 7 the Bruins did fall down 4-1 in Game 7, don’t forget the first 50 minutes of that game. Not to mention the Rangers won the season series 2-1. All three of those games came early in the season when the Bruins were playing their best and the Rangers were playing there worst. 

Bonus Bets:

Rangers win in 6 games +400

The Bruins will win two out of three of their home games resulting in a Game 6 close out for the Rangers. I think the Rangers grab Game 1 after the B’s come out flat again.

Rangers +110 to win Game 1

mlz

Thursday, May 16, 2013