Thank God it’s Friday and thank God for the playoffs. Sports fans are in for a treat tonight as the NBA and the NHL have lined up a full plate of postseason games that will definitely tickle your fancy. Two of those games particularly deserve your attention, namely the San Jose-Nashville NHL clash and the much-anticipated Game 6 showdown between the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers.
Read on below for a quick breakdown of these two important games and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Charlotte vs. Miami and Portland vs. LA Clippers.
Line: Toronto Raptors (+2) at Indiana Pacers (-2); total: 194.5 – view all NBA lines
The Toronto Raptors snatched victory from the jaws of defeat Tuesday as they edged past the Indiana Pacers, 102-99, in a thriller in Game 5. The Raptors battled back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Pacers and grab a commanding 3-2 series lead.
For the Raptors to clinch their first-ever seven-game playoff series victory tonight, they will need DeMar DeRozan to continue his excellent play. He scored 34 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field in Game 5. He came into that ballgame shooting just 21-of-71 in the series. DeRozan’s averaging 17.4 points over the last five games.
The Pacers, on the other hand, will need to execute much better down the stretch if they are to force a winner-take-all Game 7. Indiana scored just nine points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday on a woeful 4-of-15 shooting from the field. Paul George scored just two of his game-high 39 points in that final quarter.
The Pacers are 4-6 SU and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 home games against the Raptors.
Writer’s Prediction
The Pacers stay alive with a heart-stopping 93-89 win.
Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks (10:30 PM ET)
The Nashville Predators will head to the Western Conference Semifinals with momentum on their side after completing a stunning series comeback against the highly-favored Anaheim Ducks in the first round. The Preds beat the Ducks, 2-1, on Wednesday to win their first Game 7 in franchise history.
Starring for the Preds in this series-clinching win was goalie Pekka Rinne. Playing in front of a hostile crowd, Rinne stepped up big time for the Preds, stopping a whopping 36 shots in Game 7. Things are bound to get tougher, though, for the Finnish netminder as standing in his way in the next round are the red-hot San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks are third in the league in scoring, averaging 3.2 goals per game this postseason. Leading the way for San Jose is captain Joe Pavelski. He has already scored five goals in this year’s playoffs, third-best in the NHL.
The Sharks are 4-3 SU and 0-7 OU in their last seven home games against the Predators.
