Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers

Mar 06, 2008 | By Stan Leung | Picks Articles Archive

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Pittsburgh Penguins (-120) vs. Florida Panthers (Even)
Thursday, March 06 2008 7:30 PM EST
Penguins -120
Bet this NHL game at Bet Jamaica

This NHL hockey bet is a steal at -120 for the Penguins. Now that the NHL’s best player is back the Penguins will be firing on all cylinders. This will be Sidney Crosby’s second game back from a 6 week ankle injury. After missing nearly a quarter of the season with a high ankle sprain, Sidney Crosby looked as strong as ever in leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a victory. Oddsmakers currently have the Penguins listed as 120-moneyline favorites versus the Panthers, while the game's total is sitting at 5½.

Sidney Crosby had an assist in his return from injury on Tuesday as the Penguins knocked off the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 2-0 so you know he is in game shape. Even though new trade pick up Marian Hossa is out with a knee injury and sidelined indefinitely he has not played in the organization enough to be missed. With Evgeni Malkin picking up the slack with 26 points in his last 15 games played GP offense has never been a question with the Penguins. Malkin has picked up the slack with the absence of Crosby, scoring 14 goals and 22 assists in those 21 games. His 89 points are second most in the league behind Washington's Alexander Ovechkin. Malkin has a goal and four assists against Florida this season. The issue has been with goaltending. That position seems to be shored up as Marc-Andre Fleury is 2-0-0 with a 0.96 Goals against average and a .971 save percentage in last his 2 GPI.

On the panthers side Florida has three defensemen out and without a proper rotation nit will be a long night for the Panther goalie.

Bottom Line: If I were a sportsbook I would have set NHL betting odds at around -140 so to me this game is a steal. This is a great bet to make as you don’t have to shell out a lot of money to win.

The best player in the NHL is back. Take the Penguins

A few trends to consider:

Pittsburgh is third best in the league in power play goals with 1.0 per game
Pittsburgh is third on the power play in the league at 21.0%
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Florida
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Florida
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Florida's last 11 games at home
Florida is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Florida is second last in the league in power play chances at 3.8 per game
Florida has the worst shots against in the league at 33.7 per game

Bet this NHL game at Bet Jamaica

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers

Free NHL Betting Picks

The best player in the NHL is back. Take the Penguins

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