| NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins vs N.Y. Islanders |
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| Written by Scott Burgess | |||||||
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Monday, 24 March 2008
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 The Pittsburgh Penguins were hoping to have Sidney Crosby back in the lineup tonight for their road game against the N.Y. Islanders, but after skating around with his teammates he’s opted to sit another game out. Betway.com has the Penguins as 1.80 favorites over the Islanders with the over/under set at 5.5. Get your NHL Pick in now at Betway.comThe Pens have seven wins in their last ten games after they recently beat New Jersey 7-1 at home, the first team to score seven goals against the defensive-minded Devils since Carolina on March 17, 2007. Evgeni Malkin recorded two goals on the night and he is second in the league with 102 points and fourth with 44 goals. In their last five games they’ve averaged 5.40 GAG and their power play had two goals last game. On defense the Pens have given up two goals in four games or 17 kills. Goalie Ty Conklin struggles with just four wins in ten starts and Marc-Andre Fleury has won four straight for a 1.50 GAA. Pittsburgh is two points ahead of the Devils in the Atlantic and one behind Montreal in the race for the top seed in the East. The Islanders offense struggled again Sunday in a 4-1 loss at Philadelphia, managing only a late third-period goal by Miroslav Satan. It was the seventh defeat in eight games for the Isles, who got 22 saves from Joey MacDonald in his season debut. Wade Dubielewicz figures to be back in net Monday, he is 2-0-0 with a 1.98 goals-against average in two career games against Pittsburgh. All the Islanders can do is play role of spoiler. They’ve only been able to muster up 1.40 GAG in their last five but they do have two power play goals in two games. Their defense is where they stink. They’ve allowed six penalty kill goals in six straight games or 19 kills. The Islanders are 0-2 SU against the Pens and are 17-17-3 at home. Recent Trends
GAME: Pittsburgh Penguins (43-25-3-4) at New York Islanders (33-36-5-2) DATE/TIME: Monday, March 24 - 7:00 PM EST LINE: Betway.com TOTAL: 5.5 PICK: Pittsburgh 1.80 The Bottom Line: The Pens are scoring goals while the Islanders aren’t. The Islanders don’t have solid goaltending while the Pens have an average goalie. Pick the Pens to win a high scoring game. Get your NHL Pick in now!                        |
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