NHL Playoff Betting – Flyers Will Quiet Bell Centre

It’s an incredible discovery for the Montreal Canadiens: scoring goals leads to games being won. After failing to score in the first two games, Montreal scored five times in game three, and SUPRISE (!), Montreal won. It’s a massive victory for the Habs, who probably couldn’t afford going down 3-0 in the series. Everything clicked at the right time for the Canadiens, and it’s incredibly important they continue the momentum going into the matinée on Saturday.

For Philadelphia, the loss may end up being a blessing in disguise. In their first two wins, Philadelphia wasn’t playing their best hockey (except for Michael Leighton); but they were winning, and the urgency to change their game may not have been present. With a loss, they’ll now be forced to look harder at what they did wrong and do more to change it. Philly definitely did not play their best hockey in game three; now all they have to do is find out why.

Philadelphia Flyers @ Montreal Canadiens
Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 (Flyers lead 2-1)
Saturday, May 22nd – 3:00 PM ET
Broadcast: NBC, CBC
NHL Playoff Betting Odds: Canadiens -145

What The Flyers Have To Do To Win:

Improvement from the team’s best defensive pairing is a must. Chris Pronger and Matt Carle weren’t amazing in Philly’s first two wins, but certainly weren’t bad enough to cost their team anything. However, they were that bad in game three. Pronger and Carle were on the ice for the first four Montreal goals, and their improvement for the remainder of the season is a necessity. The duo has an incredible physical advantage over the smaller Montreal forwards, and need to use that to their advantage. They made too many turnovers and too many stupid plays in their own zone. Fortunately for Flyer fans, this is most likely an aberration as opposed to a trend. Pronger and Carle are one of the top defensive pairings left in the playoffs, and can only get better after reaching rock bottom in game three. It’ll be a key pairing to watch for the remainder of the series.

What The Canadiens Have To Do To Win

Montreal’s strategy for the first two games was to come out flying in the first period and shoot the puck frequently. They followed that strategy in game three; the only difference was that they were finally able to score. They took advantage of mistakes made by the Philly defense and got people in front of the net. Their first period strategy should continue for the rest of the series. Another big improvement
was the emergence of Montreal’s depth scoring. Five different skaters scored for Montreal in their game three win. And it wasn’t only top scorer Mike Cammalleri who found the back of the net, but depth guys like Dominic Moore and Tom Pyatt scored as well. If Montreal can have four lines of effective offense, then tying the series should be no problem.

Outlook & Pick:

It can be said that Montreal got lucky in game three; Philadelphia made a lot of mistakes and Montreal was able to capitalize. It’s not guaranteed that could happen again. They need to consistently play better and continue getting scoring from their bottom lines. Philadelphia needs their top defensive pairing to get back to their dominant selves. It’s an easier task for the Flyers.

NHL Playoff Betting Pick: Flyers