The Detroit Red Wings have shown that sometimes, experience can overpower youth as they thoroughly dismantled the Pittsburgh Penguins at home over the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals. The Red Wings will now aim to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the series when they meet the Penguins for Game 3 at Mellon Arena on Wednesday night. BetOnline.com has the Pittsburgh Penguins –120 odds against the Detroit Red Wings +100 with the total set at 5 goals.
Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh Penguins – 8:00 PM ET
The Red Wings proved that they were the most versatile in the league in Game 3's 3-0 shutout, as they outplayed the Penguins with the puck, and even though Pittsburgh outhit Detroit 39-29, the Red Wings never wasted their checks and even stood toe-to-toe with the Penguins during an end-of-game scrum. Brad Stuart and Valtteri Filppula notched a goal and an assist apiece for the Red Wings, who held a huge 34-22 edge in shots on goal. Chris Osgood picked up his second straight shutout with 22 saves for the Red Wings.
The Penguins tried to be more physical with the Red Wings, and ended up with 30 more minutes in penalties. Even though the Red Wings did not score on the power play, it was difficult for Pittsburgh to get any momentum going as they always seemed to be a man down. Sidney Crosby led the way with six shots on net while usually being double-teamed, but he could avoid having two men on him if his teammates would step up to relieve the pressure, especially Evgeni Malkin. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the Penguins in a losing cause.
The Penguins are -135 favorites at home to rebound at home, but this will be the toughest task they have faced all season. The Red Wings are a seasoned team with championship experience, and they were the best road team in the NHL during the regular season. They have shown the ability to push the distractions of the fans to the side and just focus on hockey, which the Penguins have struggled to do. In a mild upset, take the Red Wings to nip the Penguins and come away with a 3-0 stranglehold on the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday.
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