Sports Betting Overview
Whenever two New York Cityteams meet in a playoff series, the press is quick to dub that series a “Subway Series.” Aside from its potential commercial implications, calling a series a “Subway Series” indicates that these are two cross-town rivals battling it out for bragging rights. The state of New Jerseyhas become such a part of the sports landscape in New York Citythat the NHLEastern Conference Finals between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers has taken on the feeling of a “Subway Series” for the teams and the fans. The online sportsbook observers could not help but notice how split the crowd seemed in game one of this series that was played inMadisonSquareGarden. The whole aura probably removes any home ice advantage that the Rangers would have, which just leaves the teams to play hockey.
The Devils had a lot of problems getting offense to the net in game one. That was a recurring theme in the regular season that New Jerseythought it had rectified when the playoffs started. The price per head bookie websites also took note on how much trouble the Devils’ defense and goaltending seemed to have containing a rather energetic set of New York forwards. These kinds of things are not exactly what the Devils wanted to see at the outset of this series.
New York Rangers
The Rangers played a very disciplined game in game one and it resulted in a New Yorkwin. But more importantly, the Rangers were able to spread the scoring around. New Yorkonly scored three goals, but three players each had at least two points in that game. A review of theNew Jersey defensive approach shows that the Devils almost abandoned the trap and tried to play the Rangers one-on-one. As talented as the Devils may be, theNew Jersey defense is not able to skate with theNew York offense. The Rangers will continue to exploitNew Jersey’s problems on defense and, as long asNew York goalie Henrik Lundqvist can keep pucks out of the net, the Rangers will continue to apply pressure on Devils’ goalie Martin Brodeur.
New Jersey Devils
If the Devils want to get back into this playoff series, then it will have to start pushing back against the offensive push of the Rangers. The Devils’ forwards were not coming back on defense in game one and that was leaving theNew Jerseydefense alone with the Rangers’ offense.New Jerseyneeds to get back to its game of cycling defense down low and moving up and down the ice as a five-man unit. If the Devils continue to play this fragmented game, then it will be playing right into the hands of the Rangers.
The Bottom Line
NHL fans know that the Rangers have not shown enough consistency in these playoffs to be able to sweep a series. The Devils will win a game or two before this is over. But the Devils need to adapt immediately if it wants to change the tone of this series, and that shift needs to happen in this game two.
Pick: New Jersey Devils
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