NHL Odds Against Penguins While Crosby Remains Out

Frank Doyle previews the weekend action including Pittsburgh’s crisis, the fast-rising Devils and the struggling Canucks.

In the continuing absence of Sidney Crosby – it’s fifty-seven days and counting since the kid picked up a stick – Pittsburgh’s difficulty is morphing in a fully-blown crisis.

Hopes that a shootout win at Toronto on Saturday meant that Pittsburgh had stopped the rot were dashed by an overtime loss to the Leafs in the Air Canada Center on Wednesday, and this weekend the Penguins face two nasty road games, at New Jersey tonight and at Boston tomorrow night.

New Jersey is a team on the rise. Given up for dead long ago the Devils are 9-1-0 in their last ten games, and 16-2-2 in their last twenty. That’s some pretty good hockey. And while New Jersey might still fall short of the playoffs the Penguins are not a match for the Devils tonight in Newark.

As for Boston on Saturday, the Bruins have won seven straight and are primed and ready for the playoffs. Pittsburgh held out for the win the last time the Penguins were at Boston, but the NHL betting is that Bruins will get their revenge on Saturday night.

Carolina visits Chicago tonight as Chicago makes a late charge for the playoffs. The Stanley Cup holders’ defense was always going to be tough after they traded away half the team before this season started, but the Blackhawks are on a roll currently, winning six straight. That’ll go to seven tonight.

There are two big games on Saturday, Vancouver at the LA Kings and Montreal at Tampa Bay. Vancouver is still the best team in hockey but injuries and loss of form have seen the Canucks go 5-5-0 in their last ten. The Kings are 7-2-1 in that spell, and signed Dustin Penner from Edmonton at the start of the week. Penner is a big man in a big man’s game and the Canucks’ problems are in defense. That looks like a win for the Kings.

Montreal’s trip to the Lightning is an interesting matchup on Saturday. Montreal has two three straight while Tampa Bay has lost two. Thing is, it’s easier to beat Atlanta and Florida, as Montreal has done, than New Jersey and Boston, as Tampa Bay has failed to do.

Casey Price has been outstanding between the pipes for the Habs, but Dwayne Roloson was a big improvement for Tampa when he arrived from Long Island. Tampa Bay can hold out against the Habs on Saturday and tighten the Lightning’s grip on the Southeast Division.