The 76 total best-of-7 playoff series wins and 369 total best-of-7 playoff game wins by the Montreal Canadiens are the largest MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff totals in their respective categories. The 48 total best-of-7 playoff series losses, 262 total best-of-7 playoff game losses, and eight total Game 7 losses at home by the Boston Bruins are the largest MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff totals in their respective categories, too. The Montreal Canadiens now have a total of 253 total best-of-7 playoff game losses, and can end the 2014 playoff season with as many as 260 with a 4-games-3 NHL Semifinals series victory and an NHL Finals series loss.

NY Rangers at Montreal
The Canadiens open up the series at home today where they are 9-1 in their last 10 games versus the Rangers. Montreal is the pick (-130) according to Dunkel, which has the Canadiens favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Montreal (-130). Here are all of today's playoff picks.

SATURDAY, MAY 17

Game 1-2: NY Rangers at Montreal (1:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Rangers 10.818; Montreal 12.391
Dunkel Line & Total: Montreal by 1 1/2; 4
Vegas Line & Total: Montreal (-130); 5
Dunkel Pick: Montreal (-130); Under

NY RANGERS (53-37-0-6, 112 pts.) at MONTREAL (54-30-0-9, 117 pts.) - 5/17/2014, 1:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 67-83 ATS (-40.0 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
MONTREAL is 54-39 ATS (+9.7 Units) in all games this season.
MONTREAL is 31-21 ATS (+0.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
MONTREAL is 27-18 ATS (+5.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
MONTREAL is 17-12 ATS (+30.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 22-14 ATS (+7.7 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
NY RANGERS are 17-10 ATS (+6.4 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 12-7 ATS (+19.7 Units) in road games after a division game this season.
NY RANGERS are 11-4 ATS (+6.9 Units) in road games revenging a loss versus opponent this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 7-3 (+4.3 Units) against the spread versus NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 7-3-0 straight up against NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+6.2 Units)

Only four teams remain in the quest for the Stanley Cup championship - and bettors will want to pay attention to certain trends that have highlighted conference finals in recent years.

Here are three trends betters should be on the lookout for as the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks face off for a spot in the Stanley Cup final:

Under a (Slightly) Stronger Play

Despite oddsmakers making adjustments to account for the greater emphasis on defense, teams have still trended Under of late. While clubs are 18-19-4 O/U in conference finals over the past four years, three of the previous four series have favored the Under; only last year's Chicago-Los Angeles series (2-2-1 O/U) did not. Expect low totals this year, with three of the four finalists ranked in the bottom half in regular-season offense and all four in the top 12 in goals against.

Comebacks (Slightly) More Common

Teams that scored first in the regular season prevailed roughly 69.5 percent of the time. That number dips slightly when looking at the previous four conference finals, with teams that hit the scoresheet first winning 68.2 percent of those games. Recent comebacks have been more prevalent in the Western Conference; the teams scoring first are just 6-4 over the past two conference finals, compared to a 10-0 mark for Eastern Conference teams that score first.

Power Outages Expected

Don't expect to see many power-play goals in either conference championship series. Last year saw just three power-play goals scored in the nine conference final games; there were 11 the season before, but those came in 95 combined opportunities. Aside from the Vancouver-San Jose outlier series in 2010-11 - in which the teams combined for a mind-boggling 16 man-advantage goals in their five-game showdown - no other series since 2010 has had more than eight.

The Totals Play is on the under in the NY .Rangers at Montreal Canadiens game at 1:05 eastern. These two have has dome low scoring games over the past few years as the last 8 games their have been no more than 5 total goal scored. This year in 3 games between these two both teams combined for just 4 goals. Here in Montreal the last 6 have stayed under the total. The Rangers allow the least amount of power plays in the league and have the #3 defense on the road this year. Montreal, has the #4 home defense and the 28th worst home scoring rank. The Rangers have played under in 6 of 7 with 3 or more days rest and 10 of the last 13 vs winning teams. Montreal has played under in 16 of 23 off a win by 2 or more goals and 5 of the last 7 vs Metro Division teams. Both Goalies Lundquist for the Rangers and Price for Montreal are top echelon caliber net minders and will be tough to score on. The the under in what appears to be another low scoring game.