Sports Handicapper William Burns's Picks & Predictions

(#53) Boston Bruins | ML | . 

Boston blew the first game of this series with less than 10 minutes to go. The Bruins are not going to be happy about that end result and although some teams might fold in this circumstance, I believe that the loss is going to fuel them even more. Don't get me wrong, the Sabres definitely outplayed the Bruins for the majority of the game, they just couldn't score. That was largely because Swayman was playing so well. Having said that, I expect another strong game from the Boston net-minder. This game should be much more even and I look for the Bruins to get on the board in the series and even it up.

Burns' Prediction: 3-2 Bruins.

(#909) Los Angeles Dodgers | ML | . 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1, 2.10 ERA) vs. Landen Roupp (3-1, 2.38 ERA) . 

Having finally won again on Monday, I'm backing the Dodgers yet again on Tuesday despite the price. It's always going to be like this for the Dodgers (heavy favs,) who win much more than they lose. That being said, I'm willing to lay the juice at times, especially during this stretch of games. Yamamoto takes the mound and he's the LAD ace in my eyes. What he did to finish last season as well as his overall numbers prove just how dominant he is as a starter. Don't get me wrong, Landen Roupp has been impressive. But, can he keep up these numbers against the best lineup in the game? I don't think so. Give me the Dodgers again this evening. 

Burns' Prediction: 7-2 Dodgers.

(#58) Colorado Avalanche | ATS | . 

Even though Colorado was only able to score twice in the first game, I really liked what I saw defensively from the Avalanche. They were very sound and allowed a single goal which was very late in that contest. Now, with a game under their belts as the President's Trophy winner, the Avalanche should be ready to start cooking even more in this Game 2, still on home ice. 

Los Angeles did a good job at navigating through tough matchups down the stretch to get a shot at Colorado. However, at the moment, I just don't see the Kings causing much damage. They did a great job at hanging around in the first game. But, they saveraged the 29th most goals per game this season while the Avs led the lead. Give me Colorado on the puck line. 

Burns' Prediction: 5-2 Avalanche.

(#201849) Deportivo Alaves @ (#201850) Real Madrid | OVER | . 

Last time against Real Madrid, Alaves was able to put one in the back of the net & I would not be shocked if it was able to do it again on Tuesday afternoon. Now out of the UCL & with La Liga hopes slowly fading away, Real Madrid has much less pressure to play with. I believe that this team is still going to push until the final whistle of the final game of the season as that's what Madrid does. It's an elite soccer club and there's no way that it should be losing this match, whatever the table looks like. I expect Real Madrid to put up at least three goals itself in this game. Play on the "over." 

Burns' Prediction: 4-1 Madrid.

(#513) Portland Trail Blazers @ (#514) San Antonio Spurs | OVER | . 

Game 1 saw a much lower scoring game as the Spurs went on to win that game 111-98. While the playoffs always involve a more intense level of defensive play, I still believe that we're going to see a few high scoring games in this series and this one definitely could be one of those. The Blazers, who average 14.5 threes per game, were only able to hit 10 on Sunday. 

During the season, all three games finished below the number. The total has also continuously gone down since the first game of the year between the two teams (240.5, 234.5, 229.5, 223.5.) Now that the total is below 220, I believe that there's excellent value on the "over" as both teams went "over" the number in more games than not against conference opponents this season. All in all, this one could be much closer and more active down the stretch with fouling as well. Give me the "over" as my ROUND 1 TOY. 

Burns' Prediction: 120-109 Spurs.