NHL playoff picks: Canes, Canucks to make statements

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We ended Sunday 1-1, and while the Stars were definitely deserving of the win, nothing about the Flyers-Canadiens game suggested the over was ever in play.

Let's move on to Monday's slate, and I don't love the card here. There are a couple of Tuesday games I feel very strongly about, so tread a bit lighter today.

Boston Bruins (-125) @ Carolina Hurricanes (+105)

Game 3 was the worst the Hurricanes have played in the bubble, and it wasn't particularly close. They couldn't get anything going offensively and were expected to score just 0.93 goals at five-on-five. Their 1.75 expected goals for mark at all strengths was by far the team's lowest of the series.

Carolina is much better than that. The club led the NHL this season in expected goals for and high-danger scoring chances (both per 60 minutes). Losing Andrei Svechnikov is undoubtedly a blow, but there's plenty of depth at forward and no shortage of scoring talent available to the Hurricanes. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour will light a fire under his team after such a poor Game 3 showing.

The Bruins rallied around Jaroslav Halak in Game 3 following the departure of Tuukka Rask from the bubble, and Carolina will do the same in Svechnikov's absence. These things can energize teams, and the Canes will use Zdeno Chara's supposed slew foot on Svechnikov (it wasn't a slew foot) as a rallying cry in Game 4 while looking to even up the series.

Pick: Hurricanes (+105)

St. Louis Blues (-140) @ Vancouver Canucks (+120)

The Blues already won their Stanley Cup, and now it seems they want to get the heck out of Dodge. St. Louis knows how difficult it is to win a championship, and the players just can't find the same motivation a year later. That's understandable given the circumstances after leaving their families to enter the bubble, and returning to play in empty arenas following a five-month hiatus.

For a young, hungry team starving for success like the Canucks, the circumstances matter little. But for a club like the Blues fresh off its greatest achievement, finding motivation is surely a bit tougher. These guys are professionals and competitors, so I'm not suggesting they don't want to win. But there's a big difference between want and need, and for the Blues, the same intensity just isn't there.

The Canucks have impressed in these playoffs, and I was a bit lower on them than I should have been. But in normal circumstances, the Blues undoubtedly would cruise through this series. However, Vancouver just wants it more now. With the embarrassment of a potential sweep gone for the Blues after an overtime victory in Game 3, the Canucks will put a stranglehold on the series Monday night.

Pick: Canucks (+120)

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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