Vancouver Seeks Playoff Spot, Montreal Takes Ice With Heavy Hearts

Vancouver Battles For Playoff Life

The game on Saturday takes on more significance for the Vancouver Canucks than the Calgary Flames.

Calgary has clinched the Pacific Division and the No. 2 seed in the conference. The question for them now is: How do they stay fresh and yet keep everyone healthy?

Vancouver is the team on the outside looking in, with just a 1.2% chance of making the playoffs.

These percentages can flip around a lot.

Just a few days ago, Vancouver was around 20%. That was before a shootout home loss to Ottawa and a regulation loss to Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles and Vegas won games. Again, so many things have an impact.

The final four games are must-win contests for Vancouver. That gets them to 95 points.

First things first dictate that the Canucks must take care of business against the Flames.

Does Vancouver have one more streak in them? It seems they go up and down like a yo-yo. Right now, they are on the wrong side of that yo-yo.

Calgary has one of the best power plays in the league, with depth in scoring. Those two things scare Vancouver. The Canucks’ penalty kill has been one of the worst all season.

Calgary has won two of the three matchups, with the past two being higher-scoring contests.

That seems to favor Calgary, but one never knows. The only Calgary home game was that 1-0 overtime tilt.

With so many variables, if the moneyline comes anywhere near the preliminary soft openings seen from Unibet, take a shot on the Vancouver side of the ledger.

After all, they are only playing for their playoff lives.

Montreal Playing With Heavy Hearts

Last Friday, the loss of Mike Bossy shook the hockey world. This Friday, the passing of Guy Lafleur (at age 70) shakes it even further. It has been a rough year in Montreal, and this one just hits a certain way.

Four prominent legends of those super Montreal teams from the 1970s have now passed away.

It is safe to say the Canadiens will be playing with heavy hearts in their two games this weekend, much like Ottawa, which recently lost owner Eugene Melnyk.

Canadiens Take Ice As Underdog

After dropping another game, this time to the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal has now lost seven straight games and eight of their last 10.

The Canadiens are going to be underdogs in all four games they have left.

Against Ottawa, Montreal is around 2.3 or 2.4 in early opening odds. Expect that to fluctuate as the game gets closer. Line movement will be tricky to follow for this game.

The real question may be where does the Over-Under end up. Will it be 6 or 6.5? The lean seems to be around 6. With 12 of the last 17 meetings (one push) hitting the Under, that could become a trending play on Saturday.

Shot props from Ottawa and point props may be a focus even with them, as well.

Even unrested, Ottawa is a young enough team to handle this type of schedule. Playing Columbus, then Montreal, is not so bad under the circumstances.

The Toronto, Florida Dilemma

Yes, the Edmonton Oilers play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, Montreal plays Boston, and Toronto plays Washington.

However, the matchup getting the most eyes is the one on Saturday just outside of Miami. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers face off and yet, weirdly, the teams do not have that much to play for.

It appears that Florida is reshuffling lines to find what will work for them come playoff time.

Toronto is just trying to stay healthy after several injuries, most notably to Auston Matthews. Will Matthews even be in the lineup on Saturday or Sunday?

There is one focus to look at on Saturday. Where will that Over be?

Sports bettors in Ontario are eager for this one a bit more than usual. Also, they are hopeful Matthews plays at some point soon. Toronto has a restless fanbase. It has been so long since they have advanced past Round 1 of the NHL playoffs.

The Over has hit in five of the previous six meetings. One was a push when the line got moved up to 7.0. The last game featured that incredible comeback by Florida, where 13 goals were scored by the two teams. No one is quite expecting that, but the game has the potential, even without Matthews, to go Over again.

The fun part is again that number.

If the Over opens at 7.5, it may be intriguing to place a tiny wager on the Under. Goaltending happens every so often in these matchups. These teams might just surprise.