Posted on
4/9/2008 3:39:19 PM
Bet On NHL Playoffs – (7) Ottawa vs. (2) Pittsburgh
By Robby Maddux
The puck drops Wednesday to begin this year's NHL betting playoff action and we have your sportsbook betting information, trends and winning selection to start off the postseason in money-making fashion.
Starting at 7:00pm EST, the No. 7 seeded Ottawa Senators crosses the border to visit the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Atlantic winning Pens (47-27-8) acquired five-time All-Star forward Marian Hossa from Atlanta on Feb. 26 and his play will be a key factor against the club that originally drafted the euro-sniper. Hossa has averaged nearly 36 goals per season with Ottawa, Atlanta and Pittsburgh, but has only 13 goals in 55 postseason appearances.
But now, playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, he's likely to improve on his postseason production as pressure is not solely on his shoulders.
The Pens added Hossa to play on Crosby’s line, though the duo has seen limited playing time on the ice together. Crosby had been out with a bad ankle and Hossa had a knee injury. In 12 games with Pittsburgh, Hossa has three goals and seven assists.
Crosby appeared in just 53 games this season, but he still scored 24 goals and was the club’s second-leading scorer with 72 points. Malkin had a team-high 47 goals and his 106 points ranked second in the league.
Marc-Andre Fleury will be between the pipes for the Pens this evening. Fleury has gone 10-2-1 with a 1.38 GAA since returning Feb. 28 from a high right ankle sprain that sidelined him for 35 games. He hasn’t allowed more than two goals in 20 of his last 21 starts.
- Penguins are 9-4 in their last 13 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Penguins are 9-4 in their last 13 vs. Northeast.
- Penguins are 20-49-6 in their last 75 Wednesday games.
- Penguins are 42-20 in their last 62 home games.
- Penguins are 9-4 in their last 13 overall.
Ottawa opened this season by winning 13 of their first 14, an NHL record. They finished second in the Northeast at 43-31-8 and are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Last season, the Senators were heavy favorites going into their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with Pittsburgh. The Senators went on to make oddsmakers look like geniuses, winning in 5 games en route to representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup finals.
Ottawa has one the NHL’s best scoring lines in Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley. The trio combined for 115 goals and 148 assists while the rest of the team managed 143 goals and 293 assists.
Center Antoine Vermette is playing the best hockey for an Ottawa team that lost seven of its final nine games. Vermette has nine goals and six assists in his last 13 contests.
Martin Gerber is expected to start in net for the Senators. He won only once in his last five starts, but finished 30-18-4 with a 2.72 GAA and two shutouts. Backup Ray Emery didn’t start after Feb. 28, and was 12-13-4 with a 3.13 GAA in 31 games (26 starts).
- Senators are 1-4 in their last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Senators are 19-7 in their last 26 conference quarterfinals games.
- Senators are 0-4 in their last 4 vs. a team with a winning record.
- Senators are 5-11 in their last 16 road games.
- Senators are 1-4 in their last 5 overall.
BetUS NHL odds has tagged Pittsburgh favorites at -200 with a Game 1 total of 5½ under -120. The Pens are also favored to win this best-of-seven series at -260.
Analysis: The favorite is 6-1 in the last seven meetings which favors the Pens. Pittsburgh has held nine of its last 11 opponents to two or fewer goals. The Senators took three of four from Pittsburgh in the regular season, but the Pens will get revenge after the Senators knocked them out of last year’s playoffs.
NHL Free Picks: Pittsburgh Penguins -200 Game 1 (-260 for the series)
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