Stanley Cup Betting – Can Blackhawks Hoist The Trophy In Game 6?
by Tim Furious
Stanley Cup hockey is one of the toughest sports bets to nail down because it counts on so many intangibles. Do the Flyers have the personal resolve to overcome a 7-4 thrashing from the last game? Can Michael Leighton turn the switch in his brain and forget getting rampaged by the Chicago Blackhawks? Similarly, can Chicago stay steady on the cusp of hoisting the Stanley Cup in for the first time since 1961?
It’s about momentum. It’s certainly about pride. It’s playoff hockey at its very best.
Of all the NHL hockey betting trends.
Let’s be honest about the Philadelphia Flyers for just a moment. They’re a seventh seeded team that most presume peaked to get in to the post season. Does a 9-13 SU record in the final six weeks of the season seem like “peaking” to you?
Don’t be fooled by the seven-goal gaffe by Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher either. Neither of these guys are future Hall of Famers. Leighton especially can’t be faulted since he’s a fourth option in net for Philadelphia and wouldn’t even be in this position had Ray Emery not been sidelined due to surgery.
So are you pissed at Leighton? You can’t be. He’s the only reason the Flyers are even in the Stanley Cup to begin with. Forget his horrific effort in Game 5 because he certainly will. He’s had bad games before in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs and he’s shown the type of grit necessary to retain his top spot in net.
A note to head coach Peter Laviolette – don’t kill the horse you rode in to town on. Chances are that he won’t.
Chicago Blackhawks (52-22-8) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (41-35-6)
Wednesday, June 9th --- Wachovia Center --- 8:00pm EST
NHL Betting Lines:
CHICAGO +1.5 -265 +105 O 5.5 -135
PHILADLEPHIA -1.5 +255 -125 U 5.5 +115
The choice is really a toss up, but if you look at the odds, the lines makers are just begging you to take the Blackhawks and are certainly hoping you stay away from the Flyers. Chicago is still a very young team, and one that has not proven itself as a true champion yet.
By all angles, Philadelphia is a team that has shown an iron clad will. This is the same team that overcame an 0-3 SU deficit to the brutish Boston Bruins and won. A 7-4 victory looks bad on paper, but if you account for Dustin Byfuglien’s empty netter, then this had a true score of 6-4.
So do I think that this is going the distance? Absolutely. Philadelphia has been untouchable at home, and with everything on the line, this is the last team that will just give up and walk off in to the sunset with their heads hanging low. This franchise is too proud, the players are too pissed off and they have a goalie that has already put the last loss behind him.
Playoff hockey isn’t a time where you bet on trends, numbers and stats. You go with your gut feeling. Mine is telling me what I have always known – that Philadelphia is tough as nails, a fact that will be cemented with a win in Game 6 as this series goes back to Chicago to decide who gets to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Furious NHL Stanley Cup Prediction – Philadelphia PL and ML (OVER)
