Betting Online Overview
The Boston Bruins were very lucky in the Eastern Conference Finals. As the online Belmont betting heats up, the Bruins are trying to account for their lack of discipline in the Eastern Conference Finals that almost cost them the series. It was not the kind of discipline that prevents penalties, it is the discipline necessary to play their style of hockey. The Bruins started chasing after Martin St. Louis and the rest of the Tampa Bay Lightning instead of pounding Tampa into the ground. The result was a seven-game series. If Boston makes that mistake with Vancouver, the Stanley Cup Finals will only go four games.
The NHL hockey news has dismissed the Vancouver Canucks for years. In defense of the media, the Canucks made it easy to dismiss them. Vancouver was perennial playoff failures, and goaltender Roberto Luongo deservedly took much of the blame. Now the price per head media has to give Vancouver, and Luongo, their due. The Canucks have battled their way to the Stanley Cup Finals through a gauntlet of some very good Western Conference teams. The Canucks needed to become physical against the Nashville Predators, and they needed to skate against the San Jose Sharks. The Canucks have done it all, and now they are finally in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Boston Bruins
When the Bruins start running around in their own end, goaltender Tim Thomas starts scrambling around in his net and gets out of position. When the Bruins own the boards and clog up the middle of the ice, Thomas stands his ground and plays top-notch hockey. The synergy between the Bruins and their goaltender is obvious. The problem is that Boston does not seem consistent enough to take full advantage of that synergy. More than once in the Tampa Bay series, the Bruins decided to skate with the Lightning. It did not work against the Lightning, and it certainly will not work against the Canucks. The Bruins need to fall back to their defensive style of play and remain physical with the Canucks to win game one and the series.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks celebrated winning the Western Conference Finals like they had just won the Stanley Cup. That is never a good sign. Entering the Finals with overconfidence will get a team beaten every time. The Canucks will need to focus against the Bruins, or else the Bruins will start putting Canucks in the hospital. The Sedin twins were masterful against the San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver will need much more of that to take game one of the Stanley Cup Finals. Roberto Luongo has been solid in goal, but he is an emotional goaltender. The Bruins will stand in his crease and make life miserable for him. If Luongo cannot keep his cool, then things could go very bad for the Canucks.
The Bottom Line
The Bruins have the ability to beat the Canucks, but we will know a lot about the future of this series by how game one starts out. The Canucks will come out flying and the Bruins will come out hammering the Canucks along the boards and at center ice. If the Bruins can slow down the Canucks, then this will be a long series.
Pick: Boston Bruins
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