Phoenix Coyotes vs Detroit Red Wings -NHL Playoff Free Pick – Wednesday April 13, 2011
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Phoenix Coyotes at Detroit Red Wings
Money Line: Phoenix +165 / Detroit -185
Over/Under: 5.5
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The No.6 seed Phoenix Coyotes kick off the 2011 NHL playoffs against the No.3 seed Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of this Western Conference best-of-seven first round matchup. Game time from Joe Louis Arena is set for 7 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast on VERSUS.
Phoenix comes into this series with just five wins in its last 10 games to finish the regular season at 43-26-13. It does have one of the better road records in the West at 22-13-6 but was just 6-6 away from home in its last 12 games. Earlier in the season, it did beat Detroit 4-2 as a 156 road underdog.
The Coyotes do not feature a dominant goal scorer but have seven players on the roster with 15 or more goals this past season. Right winger Shane Doan led the way with 20 goals and also led the team in total points with 60. Phoenix is averaging 2.76 goals a game, which is ranked 14th in the league. It has not been that efficient on the power play; converting on just 15.9 percent of its opportunities this year.
Much of the Coyotes’ chances in, not just this game, but in this series rest squarely on the shoulders of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. He comes into this series with a goals-against-average of 2.48 and a .921 save percentage and has 36 wins in 67 starts this season. Phoenix is giving up an average of 2.68 goals a game which is tied for 12th in the NHL.
Detroit is also stumbling a bit heading into the postseason with just four wins in its last 10 games. It finished the year with a total of 104 points and an overall record of 47-25-10. The Red Wings have the second-best home record in the West at 26-13-2 but went just 2-5 at Joe Louis Arena down the stretch.
The team’s leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg will be out of the lineup for this game as he is still recovering from a knee injury. Johan Franzen, who led the team with 28 goals and Nicklas Lidstrom, who was second in points with 62, will be counted on to help fill the void on offense in his absence. Detroit averaged 3.13 goals a game this season, which is second-best in the NHL.
The good news on the defensive side of the puck is that Niklas Kronwall is expected back after missing the final regular season game with a shoulder injury. The Red Wings will go with Jimmy Howard in net for this game. He started 63 games this season and has a 2.79 GGA and a save percentage of .908. Detroit is giving up an average of 2.89 goals a game, which is ranked 23rd in the league.
Phoenix is 21-22 as an underdog this season and the total has gone ‘over’ in 42 of its 80 games. Detroit is 36-26 as a favorite and the total has gone ‘over’ in five of its last six games and in 52.4 percent of all its games.
Head-to-head, these two teams split their four regular season games but the Red Wings eliminated the Coyotes in the first round of last year’s playoffs with a 6-1 rout in Game 7 as a 108 road favorite.
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Prediction: This year, Detroit will quickly capitalize on having the home-ice by grinding out a win in Game 1 that stays ‘under’ the 5.5 goal total line with Zetterberg out of the lineup.
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