The Stanley Cup Finals continue Monday night in Game 6 between the visiting New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings. The NHL Playoff odds for the game have the Kings favored at -165 (Risk $165 to win $100). The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm start time and it will be televised live on NBC. The odds show that bookmakers have a prediction of a Stanley Cup clinching home win for the Kings.
Picks: The New Jersey Devils could become just the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the Stanley Cup Finals. They've done a pretty good job of avoiding elimination so far, winning back to back must-win contests in Games 4 and 5, one of which was on the road in Los Angeles. From those two games we've noticed that the Kings look like a tired group, even though they've played less games in the post season. It certainly appears that the cross country traveling on short notice is at least starting to effect one of the squads, if not both of them. But then again, New Jersey played well in two of their three losses in the opening games of the Stanley Cup Finals, they just ended up on the wrong side of the decision. These games have been extremely close. Three of the five games so far have been decided by just a single goal and a fourth was a two-goal victory only because of an empty net goal. We're not saying destiny is going to be the word of choice for the Devils, but if they win tonight, that word is certainly going to be tossed around. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick hasn't made many mistakes in the series or the playoffs at all, but did so in the fifth game of this series, which set up the first goal for the Devils. He also messed up on the eventual game-winner as well. Expect him to play a lot better tonight. There's been a lot of talk about Zach Parise leaving via free agency, and if he's serious about it, he might want to continue playing hard for his current squad. And, all destiny talk aside, the Kings still have two chances to win their first Stanley Cup. Now, the Devils do as well, but they have to hope to avoid elimination yet again tonight. Pressure, indeed. Plus they are on the road. Yikes. Mike Richards and Anze Kopitar have both played well in this series, but both will have to figure into the scoring tonight presumably, if the Kings are going to win.
Prediction: I still like the Devils to win this game and take the series. Why? Because I believe in crazy events once the post season comes around and this season the NHL has been pretty much crazy all season. The Kings beat the top three seeds in the West to get to the Finals while the Devils were a middle of the road team and then have turned it on during the post season. Los Angeles finally lost a game on the road in Game 5 after winning every game they played on the road since what felt like February. These games have all been close and we're expecting tonight's to be close as well. The Devils are going to win a close one. Devils 2, Kings 1
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