Crosby, Penguins look to tie up Detroit Red Wings
Down two games to none and outplayed through the first two periods of Game 3 on their home ice Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally got their act together in the final period for a 4-2 win over the Red Wings. Sidney Crosby & Co., after cashing as heavy -170 chalk, now face another must-win situation on Thursday night in Game 4 to avoid going back to Detroit this weekend down 3-1 in the series.
Say what you want about betting on the other professional sports leagues, but wagering on hockey – specifically the NHL playoffs – has got to be the most frustrating gig around.
Case and point: Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Down 2-0 in the best-of-seven set to the defending Cup champions, the Penguins needed their best effort of the playoffs in order to climb back in contention in the series. Pittsburgh bettors didn’t get it, but they cashed in anyway after their team overcame numerous stretches throughout the first two periods in which they were drastically outplayed.
Pittsburgh survived through two periods with the score knotted 2-2, and managed to put together an excellent third frame to win 4-2 as -170 chalk on the moneyline. Detroit ended up outshooting the Penguins 29-21, as Pittsburgh was held to fewer than 30 shots for the first time in the series.
The Pens played their worst game of the final, but paid for backers not only on the moneyline, but on the puckline as well. Pittsburgh likely deserved to take Game 1, which was won 3-1 by Detroit (-143), and quite possibly Game 2, which ended in another Red Wings 3-1 payday as -143 favorites.
Games 4 goes Thursday night back at Mellon Arena, and expect the Penguins to be seeing less chalk than in Game 3. While Thursday night doesn’t present the same type of must-win situation for Pittsburgh, there’s no way the Pens want to go back to Joe Louis Arena down 3-1 for the second consecutive year. Bettors won’t have as much of a price to pay for the same type of desperation from the Penguins.
Evgeni Malkin assisted on Sergei Gonchar’s winner midway through the third period on Tuesday night to finish with three helpers on the night. Malkin now has 33 points in 20 games in the playoffs, which begs the question of whether Detroit should turn its focus away from Sidney Crosby and towards the lanky Russian. If anything, Henrik Zetterberg has done an excellent job on Sid the Kid, who has only one assist so far in the series.
Game 3 played over the 5½-goal total listed on sportsbooks’ betting odds, but only because Maxime Talbot managed to slide in an empty-netter in the dying seconds for his second tally of the game. If not for that, the teams would have played under for the third straight time, opening up the possibility of oddsmakers posting a 5-goal total for Game 4. Adding to the argument is the teams’ 3-8-2 mark O/U over their last 13 meetings overall.
Pittsburgh should be the fresher team at home on Thursday night, although Detroit is expected to have Pavel Datsyuk (foot) back in the lineup. Datsyuk took the pre-game skate prior to Game 3, and it appears as though he’s healthy enough to do the real thing in Game 4. Kris Draper (groin) could also draw into the Wings lineup, especially with Detroit dropping Game 3. Draper, who hasn’t suited up since Game 3 of the Western Conference final with the Chicago Blackhawks, was cleared to play for the series opener but has yet to be used by Mike Babcock.
Bettors might want to fade the Red Wings on the puckline despite the propensity for NHL playoff games to be decided by one goal. Including both the regular season and the playoffs, Detroit is 16-31 against the puckline on one day of rest, and is a mere 16-33 on the puckline away from Hockeytown. Pittsburgh is slightly above water against the puckline after a day off at 28-27; while that’s a better number it’s certainly not a trend.
The Pens were +325 underdogs to cash the series outright heading into their crucial Game 3 payday, and that number is going to be lower when books adjust their series prices on the Cup final. The result is more value in the Wings, who may have cemented their fifth Stanley Cup since 1997 by cashing the first two games at home. Of the last 32 teams to have done so, all but one have gone on to lift Lord Stanley.
Crosby, Penguins look to tie up Detroit Red Wings
Linear Mode
