NHL Ice Hockey Betting – Crosby, Malkin, Pens visit Ilya in Atlanta

NHL betting commences for sports betting fanatics on Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins (11-4-1-2) head south to do battle with the Atlanta Thrashers (7-8-2-0). Both teams just had long winning streaks snapped, as the Pens had their six game-winning streak snapped on Tuesday against Minnesota, while Atlanta lost in Philadelphia on Sunday, ending its five-game winning streak.

The Pens have been scoring at will since the start of November. Before losing 2-1 to the Wild, Pittsburgh had rolled off 32 goals in its L/6 games. C Evgeni Malkin has been fantastic this season, leading the team with 30 points. The loss to Minnesota was just the second game this season in which the young gun didn’t record a point, and also snapped a 13-game point streak and three-game goal streak.

The biggest question on the minds of Penguins bettors is the health of their goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury. He is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He is 8-3-2 this season, with a 2.86 goals against average. Taking his place in the lineup is 28-year old Dany Sabourin, who has only played in 43 games in his career.

This season, he’s been fantastic, going 3-1 in relief of Fleury, and allowing an average of just 1.51 goals per game with a .945 save percentage. Pittsburgh is still trying to run down the Rangers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, as they trail by five points, but have three games in hand against New York and have the third best record in the Eastern Conference.

Goals haven’t been at a shortage for the Thrashers either. ‘Over’ bettors picked up their sixth victory in Atlanta’s L/7 games in its 4-3 loss to the Flyers earlier this week. The Thrashers have scored at least three goals in each of their L/6 games, and every game they’ve played since October 16th has had at least four goals.

Goaltending has been a major issue for Atlanta this year, and is why it’s only in 3rd place in the Southeast Division. Kari Lehtonen is just 2-5-2 in nine starts this year with a 3.44 goals against average. Johan Hedberg hasn’t fared much better, as he is 3-3 in seven games with a 4.04 GAA and a putrid .879 save percentage.

If the Thrashers are going to make noise in the Eastern Conference this year, they are going to need more production from former #1 overall pick LW Ilya Kovalchuk. After recording 94 goals in the L/2 seasons, Kovalchuk only has six goals through 17 games this season.

Oddsmakers have installed the Pens as slender -125 favorites, while the ‘total’ has been set at 5.5, over -130.

The NHL betting trends all point towards a Pittsburgh victory. It is 6-2 in its L/8 games against the Southeast Division, while Atlanta is just 9-26 in its L/37 against the Atlantic Division. In their L/22 match-ups with the Thrashers, the Penguins are an astounding 22-10 for its hockey bettors.

The NHL season is in full swing, so login to your BetUS Sportsbook account and get in on all of the great hockey betting action for this season!