Allen Eastman
2.5 Unit Play Take #24 Washington Capitals -140 over Philadelphia Flyers. (Saturday, April 19, 1:00 pm EST).
Game 4 was the first in which the Capitals didn't have a two-goal deficit, and the first in which they matched Philadelphia's aggression. Even though they lost in double overtime and now trail three games to one, dont forget the Capitals, after all, were the worst team in the NHL when Bruce Boudreau was hired in November and played Game 7 hockey for the final two weeks of the regular season, winning seven straight merely to get into the postseason. And now, a chance to become the 21st team to come back from 3-1? Bring it on. The Capitals have a decent shot, if only because Game 4 was their best game so far in the series. Before that, the Flyers had arguably been the better team in eight of nine periods over the three games, with the come-from-behind third period in Game 1 the sole exception.
3.5 Unit Play Take #25 Montreal Canadiens -130 over Boston Bruins. (Saturday, April 19, 7:00 pm EST).
Since being outplayed in a 4-1 opening loss, the Bruins have been a tough opponent. The next three games were decided by one goal, two of them in overtime, before Boston broke a 1-1 tie on Glen Metropolit's goal at 3:31 of the third period when rookie goalie Carey Price made a rare mistake Thursday. But Montreal is 26-0 in series in which it led 3-1. And the Bruins expect Price to bounce back from his mistake and his poor play in the third period. Still, the Bruins trail 3-2. To extend it to a seventh game in Montreal on Monday night, they must play disciplined hockey and set aside the joy of their impressive win.
