The Montreal Canadiens play a crucial Game 4 tonight, Thursday May 6, against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The Pens won Game 3, 2-0 as -168 moneyline road favs and lead the series 2-1. NHL oddsmakers at BODOG.com have the Penguins as -175 moneyline road favorites over the Canadiens (+155) with the over/under set at 5.5 goals . Be sure to get your 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens Game 4 Odds & Prediction in now at BODOG.com
The Penguins are a perfect 4-0 on the road in these playoffs and they look to keep that trend rolling. They’ve outscored their opponents 17-13 and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his first shutout of these series, fourth overall in playoffs, and is now 6-3 with a 2.63 GAA. The Pens would love nothing more but to go home for Game 5 with a chance to close out the series as injuries are beginning to test the team's depth. The Penguins were outshot 7-3 in a first period and were dominated territorially by Montreal, but they made to the locker room scoreless because of the brilliance of Marc-Andre Fleury. Then the Penguins stepped it up and outshot the Canadiens 13-3 in the second period and nailed a couple goals, by Evgeni Malkin and Pascal Dupuis, in the third for the win. Captain Sidney Crosby said. "If you look at Montreal, they like to slow things down through the neutral zone; we are not that kind of team, so we have to make sure we get to our game a little better." Malkin stepped up his game, but he feels he can do a lot more to contribute. “I'm happy I'm scoring; I scored, but I'm not playing 100 percent," Malkin said. "I want to play more and help my team." Pascal Dupuis has been very good and he has been rewarded with a point in each of his three games , registering a goal and two assists. Pittsburgh has just two even-strength goals in this series.
The Canadiens came back from a 1-3 deficit to beat Washington, but don’t want to have to repeat the same against a tough Penguins squad. Montreal must revitalize an attack that has been dormant for long stretches in the first nine periods of this series. But, they can't be too unhappy with the game they played Tuesday. They held Pittsburgh to 25 shots and kept the team to the outside. "I thought we played a good hockey game," Coach Jacques Martin said. "When you look at, they're the Stanley Cup champions and they're a good hockey team and when you're in it right to the end, it is 1-0 hockey game. To beat Pittsburgh, Montreal is going to have to score some timely goals. Montreal has just four even-strength goals in this series and has managed just 70 shots."You don't control what goes in and what doesn't go in," Martin said. "What you do control is the effort, the execution and the attention to detail. That's what you evaluate your team on. I thought the way we came out — I thought that might be our best period of all the playoffs and we didn't score." Mike Cammalleri has been most of the team's offense in this series. He had two of the three goals in Game 2 and added another goal in Game 1. Rookie defenseman P.K. Subban has also been quite good. He is playing more than 21 minutes a game in this series and has a goal and an assist to go with a plus-1 rating.
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Penguins are 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
- Under is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings in Montreal.
- Penguins are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Montreal.
- Canadiens are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a home underdog.
- Canadiens are 1-4 in their last 5 home games.
- Penguins are 5-0 in their last 5 road games.
- Penguins are 5-0 in their last 5 playoff games as a favorite of -151 to -200.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens
When: Thursday May 06, 2010 7:00 PM ET
Line: BODOG.com
Pick: Pens -175
Point-Spreads.com 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens Game 4 Odds & Predictions
The Bottom Line: The Pens will get the win so they can close it out at home then get some much needed rest. Be sure to get your 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens Game 4 Odds & Predictions in now at BODOG.com and receive a 10% Deposit Bonus and start winning today!
