Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators Game 4 Preview
Where: Canadian Tire Centre – Ottawa
When: Friday, May 19, 2017 – 8:00 PM ET
Line: Pittsburgh Penguins (-120) vs. Ottawa Senators (EVEN); total: 5.0 – view all NHL lines
TV Broadcast: NBCSN
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Betting on the Pittsburgh Penguins (-1.5)
Well, this is hard. Excluding a bunch of negative adjectives, what should one say about a defending champion getting pummeled in a conference finals game, 5-1? What we saw in Game 3 was a complete opposite of what was supposed to happen.
If not for that meaningless goal in the third period, where the game was all but over, it would’ve been one of the Penguins’ worst shutout losses in the postseason in who-knows-how-many years.
The offense was indeed flat, but the defense, particularly Marc Andre Fleury, was just straight awful. He got blasted big time, and gave up four goals in the nine shots he faced.
One positive thing, however, that we can takeaway from the forgettable performance is knowing that they can’t possibly be any worse. Let’s not overlook this squad being a perennial powerhouse, with arguably the best duo in all of hockey – Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The two have a combined 11 goals and 24 assists in the playoffs, and we should see them be 10 times more aggressive tomorrow night.
Betting on the Ottawa Senators (+1.5)
So much for the Senators being this bland, boring team, right?
In that emphatic victory, they raced through a five-zip lead like it was nothing. Mike Hoffman scored 48 seconds into the game, while Marc Methot, Derrick Brassard, and Zack Smith each found the back of the net in a span of 2:18 – all of which occurred in the first period.
Such explosion from the offense is always good for building momentum. With great rhythm, they will be even more confident moving forward and could cause bigger problems for the opposition, especially since the next game is still in front of their home crowd. They just have to be cautious to not overdo it.
The same goes on the defensive end. Craig Anderson, who made 25 saves (.962 save percentage), must be feeling pretty good holding the high-powered Pens scoreless for two-and-a-half periods.
Writer’s Prediction
The Pens (-120) get their act back together and win a 4-3 OT thriller.
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