At the time of this writing the following Match Odds/Moneyline were: Boston Bruins (3.65 +265) and Vancouver Canucks (1.93 -108), and Tie (4.3 +330).

With Game 1 in the books, there are a few interesting trends to analyze going forward for this series. The Boston power play while gaining more shots still doesn’t look very dangerous, and with another 0 for 5 game, it’s a nasty trend that doesn’t look like it’s going to change very soon. Even though the Canucks power play didn’t score, if the games are going to have this many power plays you have to like Vancouver’s chances to capitalize, they just have more weapons at their disposal than Boston does. This really seemed like a game that Boston needed to win, it was a gritty, tight checking game, and Tim Thomas was standing on his head. The one area that Boston was supposed to thrive on was 5 on 5, but in the third period, when there was finally some flow to the play with no penalties, it was the Canucks that took over the game, with numerous chances before Torres finally ended it. So it appears that Boston’s advantage 5 on 5 may be nullified by the speed of the Canucks forwards. Boston hasn’t had to play this type of game all playoffs, and in the third period, their defense was constantly being turned around.

This series for the Canucks looks a lot like the Nashville series. All the games are going to be low scoring with lots of hitting, and great goaltending. The Canucks are facing the other Vezina candidate in Tim Thomas, and he was worthy of that nomination in Game 1 with several huge saves. For Boston to win games in this series they’re going to have to continue to rely on that goaltending and somehow get more traffic in front of Luongo. Unlike the Nashville series however, the Canucks are more motivated than they looked in that Game 1 in which they also won 1-0, and probably will be for Game 2 as well. In that Game 2 Nashville attacked the Canucks more in what was probably the real let down game after the Chicago series, and Boston will have to do the same if they want the same result. Nashville won that game 2-1 in double overtime, and it’s not a big stretch to see a similar result happen again in Game 2 of these Stanley Cup playoffs.

Some key personnel issues for the Canucks will be if Dan Hamhuis can return to the lineup after he left with what looked like either a knee or a hip injury. Hamhuis has been a key shut down guy paired with Kevin Bieksa, so the Canucks will miss him dearly although they do have the luxury of a few days off before the next game on Saturday, as well as the option of going to a veteran in Keith Ballard if he’s not able to go. The other player that people have been talking about not being available for Game 2 is Alex Burrows who allegedly bit Patrice Bergeron. Now while the video evidence shows that he does bite down on his glove, it’s not as egregious as the Jarrko Ruutu bite on Andrew Peters a few years ago, and the league didn’t suspend Marc Savard last year when he allegedly bit Dan Carcillo. Now it’s the type of business that doesn’t belong in the game, and Burrows should face a fine of some sort, and because he already received an extra two minutes  on the play, that should be enough punishment, especially in the context of the scrum when Bergeron kept going at Burrows and shoving his glove in his face. It’s just a couple of scrappy francophones going at each other, so there’s no need to suspend Burrows. If they league somehow decides to suspend him it will be udder hypocrisy because they’ve already shown that it takes a lot to get suspended in the playoffs, and they already turned an eye on Nathan Horton when he threw a water bottle at a fan after Game 6 against Tampa Bay, a very suspendable offence.

(UPDATE: Burrows will not be suspended.)

We know these games are going to be low scoring, and overtime is a big possibility, so a Tie bet may be good one. Boston are huge underdogs in this game at this point and if the Canucks are without Hamhuis and Burrows that’ll be an edge for Boston, so playing the Bruins on this game might not be a bad bet. With Vancouver going 8-0 over the past three years in Game 1’s, the money should have been on Vancouver in Game 1, but with both teams going 2-1 in Game 2’s’ this year, it’s more of a toss up. The series won’t be won or lost in Game 2, as the big games won’t happen until the series shifts to Boston, but a bet on Boston, a Tie,  or an Under are all smart bets.

Originally posted at betfair.net