PREVIEW OF THE 2ND ROUND OF THE NHL PLAYOFFS

As I type this the Canucks and Blackhawks are playing game 1 of their playoff series. So let take a quick glance at the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Vancouver-Chicago
We think the young Chicago forwards start feeling the playoff heat in this series. The difference maker will be Vancouver goalie, Roberto Luongo, he is probably the best netminder remaining in the playoffs. This will be a good series but P4P likes the Canucks in 7.

Detroit-Anaheim
Young Jonas Hiller will not be as sharp when facing the powerful Red Wings. Detroit has full focus and too much firepower for Anaheim and we don’t think this series will be close. P4P likes Detroit in 5 games.

Boston-Carolina
Boston’s blueline will be the key to this series. Zdeno Chara will be all over Eric Staal and limit his scoring while Boston’s second and third lines will be too much for Carolina. P4P likes Boston in 6.

Washington-Pittsburgh
This is clearly the most anticipated of the second round series which is why the NHL has put game one on NBC. We’ll be honest, we think this series is a tossup. Ovechkin and Semin versus Malkin and Crosby gives this matchup serious star power and we will be tuned to every minute of the action. If we have to pick then it’s Washington in 7 games.

Check back this weekend for another free NBA and NHL selection.

Good luck from your team at picks4players!

SATURDAY SPECIAL - FREE NHL SELECTION

We are ready to drop the puck on another FREE NHL selection for Saturday, April 25th!

Tonight is game 5 of the western conference series between the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. Anaheim has dominated the series taking 3 of the first 4 games in convincing fashion. The series returns to San Jose for game 5 where Anaheim won games 1 and 2. This is a Sharks team that hasn’t played consistant hockey in over 8 weeks and we see no reason why that will change tonight.

YOUR TEAM AT P4P SELECTS: ANAHEIM at +175

This is one of our strongest plays of the year and we suggest to play it early as the line is sure to fall.

Crit’s Quick Thoughts from the Throne-MLB Afternoon Delight

The Red Sox are playing early today as part of a day/night double header. CC Sabathia starts a day time affair for the Yankees against CC’s hometown club (sort of as CC, much like rapper E-40, was born and raised 20 minutes North of Oakland in Vallejo) the Oakland Athletics. It would be a no brainer to select the Sawx and the Yankees on the money line and even a simple pick to take them - 1 1/2 runs for better pricing, however the real value on the board that Crit sees today is none other than 0-2 Barry Zito and the Giants taking on the San Diego Padres this afternoon in San Francisco with Chris Young on the hill for the Padres. Zito has been pitching pretty well, spotting all of his pitches, and despite his significant history of being absolutely brutal in April, your team here at P4P loves Zito and the Giants at home today on the money line at +109. Book it!!! As always, play wise, play smart, and play on player. Our recommendation: GIANTS + 109
As a bonus, in the nightcap tonight at Fenway, take Francisco Liriano and the Twins to snap the Red Sox winning streak and with great value: Bonus Selection: Twins (Liriano) +127

Crit’s Quick Thoughts from the Throne-NBA Playoff opportunity 2night

While everyone has penned the Cavaliers and the Lakers into the finals, the NBA playoffs are filled with story lines within each series and your partners here at P4P are always looking for opportunities for you, the player. After Yao Ming, Aaron Brooks, Luis Scola and the rest of the Houston Rockets absolutely demolished the host Portland Trailblazers in Game 1 of the series, Crit couldn’t believe his eyes when he looked at this morning’s odds and saw Rip City was still favored by 5 1/2 points over the Rockets. Sure Houston is without T-Mac, but this veteran and worldly team is seasoned perfectly like a piece of the Colonel’s Fried Chicken (original recipe). They are built to execute in the half court around Yao which is what playoff basketball in the Association is all about and do not underestimate the return of Aaron Brooks to Oregon, his old College stomping grounds. Don’t get the Critster wrong though, he loves the Trailblazers and in particular Brandon Roy, but we just don’t see the Blazers winning by more than 3 or 4, if at all tonight. It will be a hard fought and scrappy game all the way down to the wire and the Blazers will need everything tonight to pull this one out in their final possession. This year’s version of the Rockets seem to be road tested, proven, and hungry to advance and Crit doesn’t envision them getting punked in Game 2 like Dallas did last night against San Antonio. Picks4Players feels strongly about this recommendation: Houston Rockets + 5 1/2

April 20th - “FREE” NHL Selection

We have another “FREE” Stanley Cup playoff selection for our loyal followers featuring tonight’s matchup between the Washington Capitols and the New York Rangers.

The Rangers return home after sweeping the 2 game set in Washington against the Capitols. The Rangers have used a tough, aggressive defense combined with great goaltending to effectively shut down Ovechkin and company. We see more of the same tonight as the New York crowd will be fired up sensing a return to the days of Messier and company.

OUR PICK: NEW YORK RANGERS +105 to beat the Capitols and take a 3-0 series lead.

Sat. April 18th - “FREE” NHL PLAYOFF SELECTION

After selecting another winner on Thursday night, tonight we jump back into the NHL with another “FREE” Stanley Cup selection.

The Calgary Flames play game 2 of their series with the Chicago Blackhawks. Game 1 saw Chicago win a tough battle taking the game in overtime. We see game 2 as another hard fought battle but the playoff experienced Flames will come with extra determination tonight in trying the even the series.

Your team at P4P feels very strong about tonights pick of CALGARY FLAMES TO WIN OUTRIGHT AT +130

As always play smart and check back daily for NBA and NHL playoff selections.

April 16th - “FREE” NHL PLAYOFF SELECTION

Tonight begins the 2nd batch of NHL Stanley Cup playoff matches and we have found a favorable line that we feel will bring us to the pay window.

The Calgary-Chicago matchup is one that we feel has an excellent opportunity to cash in. In analyzing this matchup, you need to look no further than the goalies, Nikolai Khabibulin and Miikka Kiprusoff. Both are playoff tested and both seem to play their best in playoff games. With the young Chicago forwards seeing their first playoff action, they are going to be a bit overwhelmed to start the game and it may take them some time to get into the “flow”.

Your consultants at P4P recommends: Calgary-Chicago UNDER 5 1/2 goals at -105

Looking for an upset tonight??? Take Columbus over Detroit at +205

Thanks for making P4P part of your handicapping team!!! Check back daily for more NHL/NBA playoff selections.

NHL PLAYOFFS ARE HERE!!!

The long, hard journey for hockey’s holy grail known as the Stanley Cup begins tonight. We at P4P have you covered with frequent “FREE” Stanley Cup playoff selections.

We drop the puck tonight with what we think will be the highest scoring series of the first round. The Philadelphia Flyers travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. This promises to be an up and down fast paced series featuring 2 of the top 5 goal scoring teams from the regular season. We think both offenses will be amped up tonight to establish dominancy and with both teams having less than stellar goaltending, tonight’s game should provide plenty of goals.

OUR PICK: Philly/Pitt over 6 goals at +100

If you are interested in taking greater risk try WASHINGTON at -1 1/2 +170

As a 3rd play for tonight consider St. Louis/Vancouver under 5 goals at -105.

As always play smart, it’s a long, long playoff season and there will be plenty of opportunity down the road to cash in on playoff gold.

GET CUP CRAZY!!! NHL PLAYOFF PREVIEW

It’s that time again, time to get crazy about the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Your team at P4P has you covered throughout the entire NHL playoffs and we start today with our Stanley Cup preview.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Boston (1) v. Montreal (8)
What would the NHL playoffs be without Les Habitants as a participant. Montreal is the center of the NHL universe, but how far will the Canadians go? How about 5 games? Boston with the back line of Chara, Wideman, Ward and Ference are just to strong, battle tested and too deep for Montreal. Not to mention Tim Taylor being rock solid all year in goal. Montreal has had numerous problems in net all year. Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak have not played up to expectations which are always high in Montreal. Look for Boston and it’s 6, 20 plus goal scorers to take this series in 5 games.

Washington (2) v. NY Rangers (7)
It’s always nice to see the blue shirts in the playoffs but can this team make a legitimate run for the Cup? We all know about Washington’s high flying duo of Ovechkin and Semin but did you know that defenseman Mike Green scored 31 goals this year? He is an offensive dynamo. The Rangers probably have the edge in goaltending but they were the 3rd worst scoring team in the league only ahead of the Islanders and Colorado. Henrik Lundqvist might steal a game or 2 but the Washington offense is just too good. Expect Washington to take this series in 6 games.

NJ Devils (3) v. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
After Martin Brodeur broke the record for wins, the Devils went into a funk losing 4 straight but they have seemed to right the ship in recent games and looked poised to make a serious cup run. Yes, the Canes have been hot and playing great hockey but the Devils are another team with lots of playoffs experience and great goaltending. The streaky Canes are due for a letdown and the Devils should wear them down in this series. We like the NJ Devils in 5 games.

Pittsburgh (4) v. Philadelphia (5)
Clearly the best of the 1st round matchups. This will be a high scoring, fast paced, seven game series. Both teams feature great scorers, Crosby and Malkin for Pittsburgh. Carter, Richards and Gagne (to name a few) for Philly. This series will be a goaltenders nightmare but it will come down to who will make the clutch saves. I’ll give that edge to Marc-Andre Fleury. This series will go 7 games with Pittsburgh moving on to round 2.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Jose Sharks (1) v. Anaheim Ducks (8)
It’s no secret that San Jose has struggled down the stretch offensively but having 4 days to get ready for this series will be a huge help. Over the final 20 games the Sharks went 11-10 so we can see why many “experts” view them as vulnerable. The Ducks were practically written off in March but made a great run to capture the final playoff spot. The Sharks know that there is a lot of pressure on them to get to the finals this year and they have all the pieces in place to do it. We see a re-focused Sharks squad devouring the Ducks in 5 games.

Detroit (2) v. Columbus (7)
This is an extremely difficult matchup for the Red Wings. Columbus split the season series with Detroit and will have a ton of confidence coming into this series with a Red Wings squad minus Marion Hossa. This is another series where goaltending will play a huge role and right now that edge will go to Columbus and Steve Mason. This will be the first true upset of first round, Columbus in 6 games.

Vancouver (3) v. St. Louis (6)
St. Louis is the hottest team in the NHl right now and can’t be taken lightly, they have a great young core of players led by Brad Boyes, David Backes and Patrik Berglund. You might not know these guys but your will after this series. Vancouver will be led by the Sedin twins and Robert Luongo. Luongo has seemed to regain his form after missing part of the season with an injury. We see this as a very low scoring, grind in out, type of series. In another mild upset as we see the Blues taking this series in 6 games.

Chicago (4) v. Calgary (5)
Chicago is an unknown factor in the playoffs this year. How will their young core (Toews, Kane, Sharp) respond in their first trip to the playoffs? Calgary will counter with a seasoned group of veterans who know what playoff hockey is all aboot. Over the final few weeks Calgary was hit hard by injury and at this point it’s hard to say how good they will be, missing potentially 3 blueliners. Chicago should get a huge boost from Stanley Cup winning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and he has been red hot lately. This should be another long series with Chicago moving on in 6 games.

That gives you a quick look into the first round of the NHL playoffs. Check back with us on Wednesday for our first selection of the playoffs and let us fill your CUP with stacks of cash!

Quick Thoughts From The Throne, yes it’s Major League Parlay Friday brought to you by: The law firm of Harden, Hamels, Pettitte, and Lowe.

After scanning the pitching lines this morning while sitting on the throne, there appear to be 4 early season slam dunks on the MLB slate today. As indicated by our sponsor this week, Harden, Hamels, Pettitte, and Lowe, you can probably figure out that today’s MLB locks are Chicago(NL) and Rich Harden, Philadelphia and Cole Hamels, Andy (HGH) Pettitte and the Yankees, and Derek Lowe and the Braves. Lowe was dominant in his first start last Sunday night while the other three make their season debuts. Book it!!!

Just some ‘Quick Thoughts from the Throne’ from your consultants at P4P.

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