NHL Betting – Halak is Human, Crosby is Not
Game 1 of the Montreal Pittsburgh series is in the books and the cream is rising to the top. The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated Game 1 and looked like the overwhelming favourites that they are. Game 2 is important for the Montreal Canadiens in order to into the series and to gain a little confidence going forward.
Montreal Canadiens @ Pittsburgh Penguins
2:00 PM ET, Sunday, May 2, 2010
Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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- The Pittsburgh Penguins ranked 5 on offense, and averaged 3.1 goals per game. The Penguins were 18.7% on the power play and had 67 power play goals.
- The Montreal Canadiens ranked 23 on offense, and averaged 2.6 goals per game. The Canadiens were 21.7% on the power play and had 64 power play goals.
- The Penguins averaged 3.4 goals per game at home, and gave up 2.8 goals against on defense.
- The Canadiens averaged 2.5 goals per game on the road, and gave up 2.8 goals against on defense.
The Montreal Canadiens had their expected let down in Game 1 of their Conference semi-final on Friday night and will be looking to rediscover the team concept that saw them eliminate the best team in the NHL. Jaroslav Halak was awful and the offense appeared to be overmatched by the Pittsburgh defense. The Special teams that led the Habs in Round 1 broke down and allowed four power play goals.
The Montreal coaching staff is going to have to come up with a plan to defend the deep and relentless Pittsburgh attack. They were able to develop a game plan that largely neutralized the powerful Caps, but appeared to have no answer for Sidney Crosby and the boys. The Canadiens only gave up 23 shots on goal but the quality of chances given up was unlike any of the chances that they gave up in Round 1. It is likely that the Habs are going to be without number one defenseman Andrei Markov in Game 2 putting even more pressure on Jarolslav Halak who might be falling back to earth.
The Montreal offense was led once again by Cammalleri, Gomez and Gionta with rookie PK Subban also chipping in a goal. 31 shots on Marc-Andre Fleury was OK but without strong defense, game planning and goaltending, the Canadiens stand little chance.
The Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage of a tired Canadiens team and beat them at their own game. The Pens were by far the better prepared team in Game 1 and were able to do something that Washington was unable to do in the previous round. They got traffic in front of Jaroslav Halak and buried every chance that they had to score. The Penguins proved that they are a better team and may have taken all of the wind out of the Canadiens’ sails.
Bill Guerin, Kris Letang and Alex Golikoski each registered a goal and an assist in Game 1 with Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Staal and Craig Adams scoring for Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby pitching in two assists. Nearly everybody on the Pens roster was prevalent on the score sheet and with the defense scoring three of the six goals; the Penguins appear to have everything moving in the right direction.
Top defensive forward Jordan Staal is expected to miss the rest of the series after undergoing surgery on Friday night to repair a severed tendon. This will put even more emphasis on the defense and the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury. If any team can absorb the loss of a top flight player, it is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Expect another solid outing from the Penguins on Sunday afternoon. The fact is that the Pens are a better team. The Canadiens may have blown their load in Round 1 and their Cinderella play may be catching up with them. The Pens should win easily again on Sunday stretching their series lead to 2-0 before heading to Montreal for Games 3 and 4.
Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins -300 and the Over (5 ½ )
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