Nashville Predators at Pittsburgh Penguins (-135, 5.5)
Pens lead series 1-0
If it were a boxing match, the referee may have stopped the fight. Fortunately for the Pittsburgh Penguins, their heavyweight showdown versus Nashville was scored by the quality of the blows that they landed, allowing them to take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the visiting Predators on Wednesday night.
Pittsburgh's 5-3 victory Monday night came in inexplicable fashion -- the Penguins built and blew a three-goal lead before Jake Guentzel delivered the late tiebreaking tally after his team went more than 37 minutes without registering a shot on net. "It's not textbook," said Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby after the Penguins finished with the fewest shots on goal (12) by a winning team in Stanley Cup history. "We've got some things we need to improve on." The Predators, who are trailing in a series for the first time this postseason, are trying to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time before the best-of-seven set shifts to Nashville. "I thought our guys played great," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said after Monday's game. "We hate the score, we hate the result, but we'll move forward."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS
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LINE HISTORY: The Penguins opened as -170 home favorites for Game 2 and the public must have liked what they saw from the Preds in the opener because by Tuesday night the moneyline was down to -150. On Wednesday this line dropped even further with the Penguins down to -135. The total opened at 5 and was quickly bumped up to 5.5. Check out the complete line history here.
GOALIE MATCHUP: Pekka Rinne (NAS) vs. Matt Murray (PIT)
Rinne - GP: 17, W/L: 12-5, 1.83 GAA, .934 SAVE %, 2 SO
Murray - GP: 6, W/L: 4-1, 1.62 GAA, .936 SAVE %, 1 SO
SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):
INJURY REPORT:
Predators - LW C. Wilson (Questionable, undisclosed), C R. Johansen (Out For Season, thigh), LW K. Fiala (Out For Season, leg).
Penguins - RW T. Kuhnhackl (Questionable, lower body), D C. Ruhwedel (Questionable, concussion), D K. Letang (Out for season, neck).
MATCHUP CHART:
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (53-33-9-4, 45-42 O/U): Pekka Rinne's save percentage has steady decreased since opening the postseason with consecutive shutouts in Chicago, but he's eager to atone after allowing four goals on 11 shots Monday. "That's the best part in the playoffs," Rinne said. "You always get another opportunity, and that's going to happen on Wednesday, so I'm looking forward to that." Colton Sissons continues to shine in place of injured No. 1 center Ryan Johansen with four goals in two games while center Mike Fisher returned from injury to collect two assists -- his first points of the playoffs.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (63-26-8-5, 56-39 O/U): Pittsburgh received the secondary scoring it had been missing as Conor Sheary, a 23-goal scorer during the regular season, notched his first of the playoffs and Guentzel registered his 10th of the postseason to lead all goal scorers. Guentzel ended an eight-game drought and tied Claude Lemieux (1986) and Chris Drury (1999) for the most game-winning goals by a rookie in the playoffs with four. Crosby matched Chris Kunitz with a pair of assists for his 55th career multiple-point game in the postseason, eclipsing Joe Sakic for sixth place on the all-time list.
ICE CREW BATTLE:
TRENDS:
* Predators are 0-4 in their last 4 vs. Eastern Conference.
* Penguins are 1-9 in their last 10 when their opponent allows 5 goals or more in their previous game.
* Over is 5-1 in Predators last 6 after allowing 5 goals or more in their previous game.
* Under is 8-2 in Penguins last 10 Stanley Cup Finals games.
* Predators are 2-9 in the last 11 meetings.
Click here for a complete list of hot and cold trends.
COVERS CONSENSUS: 60 percent of Covers users are siding with the home favorite Penguins and 52 percent of the totals wagers are on the Under. View full consensus data here.
Wednesday's NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Betting Preview: Predators at Penguins
Jake Guentzel ended an eight-game drought and tied Claude Lemieux (1986) and Chris Drury (1999) for the most game-winning goals by a rookie in the playoffs with four.
