Will Lindy Ruff's public critique of the officiating impact how tonight's game is refereed, further impacting the results?
Talk about bulletin board material – Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff accused the Montreal Canadiens players of “going down easy” and drawing penalties.
It’s part of the playoffs, making a play look worse than it is, he acknowledged. The Habs power play has been cruising at a 19.6% clip, with the Sabres at 15%.
The other night, in Game 4 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, the Canadiens had seven power plays, capitalizing on one of them. That angered Ruff something fierce, criticizing the officiating post-game.
“We lost a lot of momentum on some questionable calls,” he told reporters later. “I thought we could have got some calls ourselves. We didn’t.”
The Sabres still won Game 4, 3-2, backed by goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who made 29 saves, for a .935 SV%.
BEST BETS
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. EST, KeyBank, Buffalo
Series tied 2-2
In NHL betting at Betway, the Sabres are Moneyline favorites, at -120, with the Canadiens at +100. The spread sits at Buffalo -1.5 (+185) and the Canadiens +1.5 (-250). The Over/Under is 5.5 (O -130, U +110).
Over 5.5 -130
If there’s any narrative that has dominated what is fast turning into an epic NHL playoff series, it’s been the level of energy in both team’s rinks.
And tonight, in Buffalo, it’s going to be raucous. Ruff’s comments about the officiating are going to add fuel to all that. I wouldn’t want to be a referee tonight.
Credit to both teams, who each have secured road wins in the series so far.
That Over/Under number is lower, since I think there will be more power plays tonight.
The Sabres win at home, if you want to take their ML. I was so impressed by Luukkonen, on enemy ice, in Game 4, while Canadiens’ goalie Jakub Dobes has been carrying heavy minutes, and will be under a heavy attack tonight. Luukkonen is fresher than Dobes.
The Sabres are going to be more desperate, not wanting to go back to the unfriendly confines of the Bell Centre in an elimination game scenario.
Prop: Cole Caufield Over 0.5 Total Goals +155. Consider Caufield awakened.
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Vegas Golden Knights at Anaheim Ducks, 9:30 p.m. EST, Honda Center, Anaheim
Golden Knights lead series 3-2
At Betway, the Golden Knights are slight Moneyline favorites, at -115, with the Ducks at -105. The spread sits at Vegas -1.5 (+200) and the Ducks + 1.5 (-275). The Over/Under is 6.5 (O +110, U -130).
Golden Knights -1.5 +200
That’s good value on the Vegas spread, if you are confident the Golden Knights can put the pedal down and finish the Ducks off tonight.
Their powerplay the past three games is 3-for-7.
On the injury front, for the Golden Knights, Mark Stone is still listed as day to day with a lower body injury, while Radko Gudas (day to day, lower body) and Ryan Poehling (day to day, upper body) are out for the Ducks.
I am a little hesitant with Stone out, but I really like the Golden Knights tonight. Maybe I’m being impatient to get that next round Colorado Avalanche series started.
Still, Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart has outperformed Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal in the series, with a better high-danger save percentage. And Vegas is 3-2 on the road in the playoffs.
I am also sniffing the Over 6.5 – Anaheim is going to be aggressive at home with their season on the line. Vegas’ attack (Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Brett Howden, William Karlsson, Pavel Dorofeyev) can capitalize on transitions.
Prop: Howden, who has scored seven goals and two assists over the past 10 games, Over 0.5 Total Goals, +320.
