HOCKEY NHL ARTICLES

The Buffalo Sabres will try and break a two-game losing streak as they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night on NBCSN. Not much has gone right for the Sabres this season as they have been hit hard by injuries and they come into this contest in last place in the Atlantic Division. On the other side, the Flyers have played a little better of late but they face a tough scheduling spot playing with no rest.... 

Pacific Division rivals meet on Tuesday night as the Anaheim Ducks visit the San Jose Sharks on NBCSN. Neither team has played that well to start the season but at least the Sharks are at .500 while the Ducks come into this game with a losing record. It had been nothing but misery for the Ducks at the Shark Tank recently but they broke an 8-game losing streak in San Jose with a 1-0 win last November.... 

The New York Rangers are favored at home on Wednesday night as they host the Detroit Red Wings on NBCSN. This game is billed as one for “rivalry night” on NBCSN but the Red Wings and Rangers are really not rivals as Detroit plays in the Atlantic Division while New York is in the Metropolitan. The Red Wings come into this game at 1-2 while the Rangers are 2-1. The Rangers will be solid home favorites in this contest with the total at 5 or 5.5.... 

The Chicago Blackhawks will try and break a three-game losing streak to the Philadelphia Flyers when the teams meet on Tuesday night in a game that can be seen on NBCSN. The Flyers will be finishing up a three-game road trip that has gone pretty well as Philadelphia has a win and an overtime loss for a total of three points. The Blackhawks are 1-2 but they are coming off a 5-3 win at home against Nashville on Saturday night.... 

The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will raise their banner on Thursday night as they host the Washington Capitals in a game that can be seen on NBCSN. This is a rematch of last season’s playoff series that the Penguins won in six games in the second round. The Capitals and Penguins are expected to challenge for the Stanley Cup again this season as they are co-favorites to win the Cup at odds of +750. The Penguins may be without their top player for this game as captain Sidney Crosby has been diagnosed with a concussion. Let’s look at Thursday’s game and NHL picks.... 

One of the best series in last year’s playoffs was when St. Louis and Chicago met in the first round of the playoffs. The Blues grabbed a 3-1 lead, but the Blackhawks stormed back to force a Game 7 and many thought the defending champs would rise to the occasion in the deciding game. However, the Blues hung tough and were able to survive and ended up making the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to the San Jose Sharks.... 

The Chicago Blackhawks will open up the regular season against the team that ended their season a year ago as they host the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, October 12^th on NBCSN. The Blackhawks lost in 7 games last season to the Blues in a hard fought series with six of the seven games being decided by a single goal. The Blackhawks have virtually the same team they had a year ago but the Blues do not as St. Louis lost Brian Elliott, David Backes and Troy Brouwer.... 

Pacific Division rivals meet on Wednesday, October 12^th as the Los Angeles Kings visit the San Jose Sharks in a game that can be seen on NBCSN. These teams met last season in the playoffs and it was the Sharks taking out the Kings in five games. San Jose is coming off their best season in team history as they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to Pittsburgh and the Sharks proved they are now the team to beat in California; not the Kings.... 

San Jose just wasn’t ready to let its first trip to the Stanley Cup Final come to an end. And they won’t be the only team flying back to California. Though they were outplayed in nearly every aspect of Game 5, the Sharks were better where it mattered – on the scoreboard. They were also better in net with goalie Martin Jones standing on his head to force a Game 6.... 

Pittsburgh won for just the second time in its past 15 visits to SAP Center, grabbing control of the Stanley Cup Final with a 3-1 victory on Monday. The Penguins have a chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup on home ice for the first time and it’s an opportunity they don’t want to let slip away.... 

The Penguins have only lost twice this season when leading after two periods. The second time was Saturday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. And as a result, the Sharks have new life with a chance to even the series Monday night with their ninth home win in their past 10 playoff games.... 

For the time being, Joonas Donskoi has made himself a hero. He scored the goal that brought the San Jose Sharks back within a game of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals, but live bettors will have a hard time trusting what the Western Conference champs are bringing to the table ahead of Game 4.... 

The San Jose Sharks thought they improved from Game 1 to Game 2 in the Stanley Cup final. They still weren’t good enough to avoid a 0-2 hole against the Penguins. San Jose lost its fourth overtime game of the playoffs falling 2-1 on Wednesday night, but returns to SAP Center for Game 3 where they’ve won seven of nine this postseason.... 

The Pittsburgh Penguins are two wins away from claiming the Stanley Cup, and we know we aren't ready to bet against them with the way things just seem to be going their way. There are reasons to believe the San Jose Sharks can still fight back in this series, but they're running out of time to do so. One would like to think that losing Game 3 at home on Saturday night would effectively be the end of the season.... 

The San Jose Sharks waited nearly a quarter of a century to play in their first Stanley Cup Final. They’ll have to wait another day to get their first win on the NHL’s biggest stage. A late Pittsburgh goal gave the Penguins a 3-2 win and a 1-0 series lead. San Jose lost Game 1 of the Western Conference finals by a goal and came back to beat St. Louis in seven.... 

Pace of play in the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals was about as up and down as you'll see this deep into the season. If we get six more games of that breakneck speed, we're going to be in for a heck of a couple weeks on the ice.Pace is only one of the many factors live bettors will have to consider while betting Game 2 of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks.... 

Home ice advantage hasn't always meant a lot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, but now that we're in the Stanley Cup Finals with two teams who have managed to win all of the biggest games in front of their fans, we could see that change. That's why the Pittsburgh Penguins are definitely worth watching when it comes to live betting in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the San Jose Sharks.... 

For the very first time, the San Jose Sharks will step on the ice as the winners of the Western Conference.Their first taste of the Stanley Cup Finals in franchise history comes on Monday night when they take on the grizzled Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of what should be an epic series.... 

Well over half the players on the roster of the Pittsburgh Penguins not only know what it's like to play for the Stanley Cup; they know what it's like to win it as well.... 

There's nothing quite like a Game 7 in the NHL playoffs. There's really nothing like a Game 7 between two teams which have had such insane momentum swings over the course of this whole series.The Pittsburgh Penguins have the momentum on their side after winning Game 6 of this series, and they're going to be helped by being back on their home ice. The Tampa Bay Lightning are reeling, but they were left for dead in this series a long time ago and are essentially playing with house money.... 

The San Jose Sharks were over 20 to 1 to win the Stanley Cup at the start of the postseason. Now, they're five wins away from their first ever championship. The St. Louis Blues are playing for their lives on Wednesday night, but they've got a lot of questions to answer in their locker room before they get back to San Jose.... 

How improbable must this be! The Tampa Bay Lightning have been underdogs in every single game in the Eastern Conference Finals. They haven't had their Vezina Trophy contending goalie for basically this entire series. They've been playing against a team which hadn't lost two straight games since January 12 and 15. And yet here they are just one win away over the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Stanley Cup Finals.... 

It's tough to believe the San Jose Sharks which dominated Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference Finals are the same ones which were beaten to a pulp in Game 4. For our money, San Jose has definitively been the better of these two teams, but the St. Louis Blues are now once again favored to go to the Stanley Cup Finals having stolen back home ice advantage in this series.... 

The Tampa Bay Lightning looked like they were ready to run away with Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Someone forgot to tell the Pittsburgh Penguins that game was over. No, the Pens didn't end up coming all the way back to beat the Bolts, but in a bitter irony after coughing up the lead in the series, it's might be Pittsburgh which carries some momentum into Sunday's Game 5 after cutting a 4-0 lead down to a 4-3 loss.... 

For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks have a lead in the Western Conference Finals. They've really looked the dominant of the two sides against the St. Louis Blues, and another win on Saturday night after the Preakness Stakes will move them one step closer to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance....