With Master odds being at the forefront of this week's action, it's easy to see why the NHL playoffs are not getting much attention, but there's an exciting race in the East that is worth checking out. Montreal, Philadelphia, Boston and the New York Rangers are all within five points of each other heading into Wednesday's games, and on Thursday, the Canadiens and Bruins will be in action.
Sabres vs Bruins odds – Thursday, April 8, 7:00 PM ET
The Sabres can afford to rest players as they have wrapped up the Northeast division, so the Bruins should be favored at home in their sixth meeting of the season against Buffalo, who have won two of those games. It'll be a close game as four of the five between these two rivals have been decided by a goal. Tyler Myers has five points against the Bruins, while his defensive counterpart from Boston, Zdeno Chara, has six points and is a +7 against the Sabres. Buffalo has three games left this season, so check the news before you make your bet, because we have a strange feeling that Ryan Miller, who is 2-0 against the Bruins with a 1.71 GAA, will sit this one out, which is why we're taking the Bruins in our hockey betting picks.
Canadiens vs Hurricanes odds – Thursday, April 8, 7:30 PM ET
The Canadiens have won two of their three meetings with the Hurricanes, and they're not afraid to go to Carolina, where they have won three of their five games. Tomas Plekanec has five points to lead the way for Montreal, while Brandon Sutter has three points for Carolina, who are out of the playoff race, but have been playing decent hockey lately. It looks like the Canadiens have decided to go with Jaroslav Halak in goal as he has handled most of the work in the Montreal goal since the Olympic break ended, and we're wondering what the Canadiens are going to do with Carey Price, who many thought was going to be the next great goalie for this storied franchise. Halak has been far more consistent, and he gives the Canadiens a better NHL betting chance to win when they go up against a goalie like Carolina's Cam Ward, who backstopped the Hurricanes to a 2-1 win in Montreal over Price back on March 31st. A win would be huge as the Rangers and Flyers play each other on Friday night, and any points would help, but we're not confident in the Canadiens in big-game situations. We're going with the Carolina Hurricanes in your sportsbookpicks on Thursday.
