The Penguins won another lopsided matchup with the Flyers for a 3 - 1 series lead, while the Predators and Lightning find themselves one win away from the second round, where they'll join the Sharks, who finished their sweep of the Ducks on Wednesday.
The Columbus Blue Jackets bowed out of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs on Thursday, putting up a meager fight as the Pittsburgh
Penguins won Game 5 by three goals.
The Penguins won in overtime, 5 - 4, in Columbus on Thursday night, and return home for their final game of the season.
The Penguins won three of four games, and center Mario Lemieux had two assists in a 5 - 1 win over Hartford as he extended his scoring streak to 22 games.
And even though
the Penguins won the game 2 - 0, the atmosphere was somber in the Pittsburgh dressing room.
I don't disagree with the point but Letang was injured for the playoffs last year and
the Penguins won anyway.
That last part is why
the Penguins win.
If
Penguins win 1 goal game this Ref getting his name on #StanleyCup #predsvspens pic.twitter.com/2gzHiVN 7kW
Ottawa and Pittsburgh met in the Eastern Conference finals 10 months ago, with
the Penguins winning on an overtime goal in Game 7 before going on to beat Nashville for the franchise's fifth Cup.
The latest installment was a 6 - 0
Penguins win on Thursday night, which saw Predators goalie Pekka Rinne pulled for the second time in three road games this series.
Not exact matches
Why it is probably bunk: The
Penguins were one of four clubs tied with the best chance of
winning the lottery.
The Capitals and
Penguins both have good shots at
winning Game 7, but only one team will advance to face the Eastern Conference Final.
Kunitz brings championship experience to Tampa Bay, having
won three Stanley Cups with the
Penguins, but he's also coming off the worst season of his career and turns 38 years old in September.
Two days ago, the Nashville Predators star player made a pretty bold claim: the Predators would come home, down 2 - 0 in the series, and
win Game 3 over the Pittsburgh
Penguins.
Sportsbook was the first book to release early 2016 - 17 NHL Stanley Cup odds and neither the Sharks or
Penguins were favored to
win it.
The
Penguins have been one of the top contenders from the preseason and are the clear favorites to
win the Stanley Cup.
The
Penguins made the biggest jump with their Game 3
win, moving from -130 to -380 to
win the series.
-
Penguins: USA Today projects the
Penguins to have the highest number of points (110) and
wins (52) for any NHL team this season.
Last round the
Penguins were actually series underdogs after falling behind 2 - 1, but went ahead 3 - 2 before
winning Game 7 at home.
The
win marked the sixth time since the start of the 2017 - 18 season the
Penguins posted at least five goals against the Flyers, including twice in three games in the playoffs.
In a gallant show, they scored two goals in the last 5 1/2 minutes of the deciding game to tie the
Penguins, and Tonelli
won it in overtime.
It's on the power play, where Crosby and Kessel have combined for nine of the team's 14 goals, that the
Penguins are
winning games.
He's expected to be ready for next season, but his absence meant the
Penguins would leaning more than ever on their superlative forwards and goaltending to
win.
This exact phenomenon may have cost the 2016 - 17 Senators the series against the would - be Cup -
winning Penguins.
This is the final game in the season series; a Carolina
win will give the Hurricanes three
wins versus the
Penguins in a single season for the first time since going 3 -0-1 versus Pittsburgh in 2009 - 10.
Still, at week's end the
Penguins were 11 -3-2, a far cry from a year ago, when they had to overcome a sluggish start to
win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
After an offensive onslaught, the Pittsburgh
Penguins are one
win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions.
The
Penguins deservedly
won the Stanley Cup, but it's hard not to see the shadow of Colton Sissons» goal that wasn't.
Penguins 4 % Chance
win Division 59 % Chance 2nd in Division 22 % Chance 3rd in Division 9 % Chance WC1 5 % Chance WC2 1 % Chance Last team out of playoffs
The
Penguins have
won five of their last six games at Colorado going back to 2011.
When Coffey, who has scored more points than any defenseman in NHL history, was traded to Pittsburgh in 1987, the
Penguins used that same attacking style to
win the Cup in 1991 and» 92.
Pittsburgh would have obviously loved to close out the series and avoid this elimination game with a
win in Game 6, but the
Penguins aren't likely to be discouraged after playing such a strong game.
The
Penguins can take a 2 - 0 series lead with a
win as a -150 favorite.
The Predators will try to bounce back from a loss in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final with a road
win over the Pittsburgh
Penguins in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Likewise the fourth seeded
Penguins — who entered the post-season as the odds on favorites (4:1) to
win it all — currently trail the Flyers 3 - 0 and have similarly dropped down to 35:1 underdogs.
As you can see the Flyers, who are just one game away from sweeping the highly touted
Penguins, have moved from 14:1 to 4:1 and are now the odds on favorites to
win Lord Stanley's cup.
It's not surprising to see that the teams with the best odds of
winning the Stanley Cup — i.e. the Blackhawks, Bruins,
Penguins and Ducks — also have the best odds to make the playoffs.
With one more
win over the Senators this Tuesday night in Game 6 the
Penguins can punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
Metropolitan Division: The Capitals and
Penguins were favorites to
win the Metro before the season, but the Blue Jackets have wedged themselves into the mix.
The odds for Crosby are fairly ridiculous when you consider that the
Penguins are also listed as +850 to
win the Stanley Cup, but that's one of the many flaws with these types of prop bets.
Jamie Oleksiak made it 5 - 1 with a power - play goal in the third to seal just the
Penguins» fourth
win over the last 11 games.
Scotty Bowman — the NHL's
winningest coach — and his Pittsburgh
Penguins are on track to
win a third straight Stanley Cup
The
Penguins had three man - advantage goals in a 3 - 2
win Wednesday night at Washington.
Hischier and Kyle Palmieri scored for New Jersey, which has elevated its playoff chances with
wins in five of seven games - including outstanding efforts in beating the two - time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh
Penguins and the Eastern Conference - leading Lightning on consecutive nights.
But even after getting past the Presidents» Trophy -
winning Washington Capitals in Game 7, the
Penguins don't look as imposing as a year ago.
This one may be least important for actually gauging the
Penguins» ability to
win another eight games, but it shows how difficult it is to
win through the wear and tear of two straight NHL postseasons.
Even if you buy that the
Penguins don't need to dominate possession to
win, a 10 percent drop from last postseason shows this team isn't
winning the same way.
-- In tonight's
win - or - go - home showdown, the Pittsburgh
Penguins are currently receiving 44 % of moneyline bets as -160 favorites against the New York Rangers.
The
Penguins are one
win away from back - to - back Stanley Cup Final appearances.
However, it always gets me seeing so many Steelers and
Penguins fans become Yankees / Redsox / (insert
winning big market team here) fans come spring.