Game 4 Canadiens vs. Penguins Prediction: Stanley Cup Qualifier Odds
-
Jeremy Perry
The biggest favorite from the first wave of qualifying series is on the brink of elimination. The Pittsburgh Penguins, who were the biggest favorite on the board, are now one loss away from being ousted from the playoffs. The two teams had the widest gap in points of anyone playing in this round but it hasn’t mattered as the Canadiens have had their number.
Can the Pens get it together in time or will the Habs complete the stunning upset?
Penguins vs. Canadiens NHL Playoff Odds
The Penguins have been a decent bounce-back team this season, going 14-8 after allowing four goals or more. They also relish playing on Fridays as they are 9-3 on Friday this season. However, they are just 1-7 in their last eight playoff games when favored.
As for the Canadiens, they also perform well on Fridays, winning nine of their last 12 on the day. The Habs are just 3-7 in their last 10 as a dog, though, and 3-7 in their last 10 versus a team with a winning record.
Pittsburgh Penguins
If the Pens want to survive, they’re going to have to find a way to deal with Montreal’s physicality. The Pens are firing plenty of shots on net, they’re getting scoring chances and power plays, but they are getting bullied on the ice and they don’t like it. Pittsburgh was out-hit 39-23 in Game 3, 31-20 in Game 2 and 53-30 in Game 1. They either need to either get more physical themselves or find a way to better handle this.
The Pens offensive stars absolutely have to show up for Game 4 as they’ve been tepid contributors at best so far. Sidney Crosby has three points in the series, Jake Guentzel has three points (none in Game 3) and Evgeni Malkin has just one point so far. That simply won’t cut it for a team that was expected to be a serious Stanley Cup contender.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are really clicking right now – especially at the offensive end of the us. They’ve given up eight goals in this series so far – not bad, not great – but their offense has led the way. They scored three goals in Game 1 and scored four in Game 3. What’s interesting is that when you factor the five-on-five action, the Habs have outscored Pittsburgh 7-2 in this series. Pittsburgh had two power play goals in Game 3 and one in Game 1. If the Habs can be a little more disciplined, that’s going to put the Canadiens in much better shape.
Goaltender Carey Price is coming off his weakest effort of the series, posting a .909 save percentage on Wednesday, but he still has a healthy .937 save percentage on the series. Matt Murray was decent in the first two games but stopped just 27 of 31 shots in Game 3. The Habs really have the edge all over the place right now save for when the Pens get power play.
PIT
MON