The Pittsburg Penguins entered the Stanley Cup Finals as the NHL betting favorites to win hockey’s holy grail, and with last night’s victory they can almost reach it. One win from the cup and the series moves back to Pittsburg. It would seem like the series is almost done. But there is still one more game, and if we’ve learned something about the San Jose Sharks is that they are not ones to be going quietly into the night. The stage is set for a fantastic game.
After having all the previous games of the series be defined by just one goal difference, last night’s 3-1 win was somewhat surprising. Not only that, the Sharks’ forward line had a rough night, creating very few chances on the Penguins goal. This has been rather unheard of during the entire post-season. Pittsburg, on the other hand, managed to find way and score when needed to secure the lead and close out an important road win that leaves them just one step closer to the Stanley Cup. If they were the favorites for those who bet on hockey, they are now the smart pick.
Sharks +1½ (-250) 5 (-125) +130
Penguins -1½ (+210) 5 (+105) -150
The line as it is currently (it is expected to change from here until game time), expects a close game. The Sharks have proven that the Pittsburg home crowd does not intimidate them and they were very close on the first two games to getting one, as both games were incredibly close. The Sharks are a team that has battled and managed to get important road victories from very tough rivals and they have not folded under pressure. And now, under must win circumstances, they are looking on mounting an epic comeback. They have zero room for error.
The NHL betting favorites Penguins, are looking to rely on their great frontline to make sure the series doesn’t move on. So far, they might not have overly produced goals, but they have managed to score when needed and they have been the deciding factor this series. They succeeded where the Sharks have failed. Experts and pundits expected this to be a more of a offensive packed series, but so far on all four games both teams have gone for the under and failed to cover the spread every single time. This trend demonstrates that both teams are very evenly matched, despite the clear Pittsburg advantage.
If you bet on hockey, this Thursday night the action will be thrilling and the best betting advice that we can give you is to study the trend. The Sharks are good at home and on the road, they have managed to push the Penguins to the limit and forced them to go to OT twice already. The Pens, have been consistent and slowing down now would could open up the floodgates for the Sharks to engineer an epic comeback. NHL betting fans should put their money on the Sharks, to not cover the spread. Also, the Under is a big trend this series and likely this game will not see more than 4 goals. In the end, Pittsburg will lift the Stanley Cup.
