PITTSBURGH (58-28-0-8, 124 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (50-35-0-12, 112 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 16-11 (+7.1 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 16-11-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
17 of 26 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.8 Units)
NHL SHORT SHEET
Thursday, May 15th
Eastern Conference Playoffs
Conference Finals
Game Four
Penguins Lead, 3-0
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7:35 ET
Pittsburgh:
11-1 SU as a # 2 seed in the playoffs
42-19 SU as a favorite
Philadelphia:
1-19 SU after BB losses by 2+ goals
0-11 SU revenging a loss where team scored 1 or less
Thursday's best NHL bet
COVERS.com
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia -180, 5½
Hockey bettors have a new favorite team – the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens have won 11 of their 12 postseason games and have been giving some nice paydays considering they have seen some relatively low odds for such a hot team.
The Pens were even underdogs when they beat Philly Tuesday night 4-1, to take a strangling 3-0 in the series. Now the Flyers are left with the tall task of becoming just the third team in NHL history to come back from a three-game deficit to win a series.
The chances are microscopic at best. The Flyers are without top defenseman Kimmo Timonen and another of their best blueliners, Braydon Coburn, may miss his second straight game with a facial injury. The absence of the two players showed in Game 3 when the Flyers had difficulty breaking out of their zone and they allowed the Pens to outshoot them 25-18.
Pittsburgh played a strong defensive game also, which helped Game 3 fall under the number for the first time this series. Expect more disciplined, defensive play from Pittsburgh in Game 4 as the Pens aim to finish off the series.
Pick: Penguins
Hockey Today
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (7:30 p.m. EDT). The Penguins can clinch their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1992 with a win over the Flyers.
Friday, May 16
No games scheduled. The conference finals continue on Saturday, May 17.
STARS
-Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow, Stars, scored in the third period to lead Dallas past Detroit 3-1.
STREAKS STOPPED
Detroit's nine-game playoff winning streak was halted with a 3-1 loss to Dallas in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night. The Red Wings lost for the first time since April 16, ending the streak that was the franchise's longest in a single postseason. Goalie Chris Osgood allowed one goal less than he had in the previous three games combined.
LONG TIME COMING
Loui Eriksson's goal during the second period of Wednesday night's 3-1 win over Detroit gave Dallas its first lead in 219 minutes, 37.3 seconds.
DISCLOSED
Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli announced Wednesday that the contract extension given to forward Chuck Kobasew on Tuesday was for three years. Kobasew had career highs of 22 goals, 17 assists and 39 points in 73 regular-season games this season, but missed the playoffs with a broken left leg.
ANTOHER DISAPPOINTMENT
Sami Lepisto's goal at 3:59 of overtime led Finland to a 3-2 victory over the United States on Wednesday night in the world hockey quarterfinals. The loss marked the seventh time in the last nine years the U.S. team failed to advance past the quarterfinals. Buffalo's Derek Roy scored three goals and added an assist to help defending-champion Canada rout Norway 8-2.
SPEAKING
``That's a reputation call, totally. Kelly (Sutherland) is a good referee. He just blew the call. That's life.'' - Detroit coach Mike Babcock after an apparent goal by Pavel Datsyuk was disallowed goal during the first period of Wednesday night's 3-1 loss to Dallas in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. It was ruled that Tomas Holmstrom's backside interfered with Stars goalie Marty Turco in the crease.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers will meet on the ice at Wachovia Center on Thursday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final.
Marian Hossa netted two goals as the Penguins got past the Flyers 4-1 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in this series on Tuesday night.
Pittsburgh won as -105 road underdogs as the game played under the 5.5-goal total set by oddsmakers.
Ryan Malone and Ryan Whitney also scored for the Penguins, who got two assists from Sidney Crosby in the win.
R.J. Umberger had the lone marker for Philadelphia, which was outshot 25-18 by Pittsburgh on the night.
Team records:
Pittsburgh: 47-27-8
Philadelphia: 42-29-11
Pittsburgh most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Ottawa are 4-6
After playing Philadelphia are 4-6
After a win are 9-1
Philadelphia most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Tampa Bay are 6-4
After playing Pittsburgh are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Pittsburgh is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games
Pittsburgh is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Pittsburgh's last 16 games when playing Philadelphia
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Philadelphia is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Philadelphia's last 16 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
2008 NHL playoffs
Pittsburgh is just fourth-ever team to go 11-1 in first 12 playoff games; they held Philadelphia to just five goals so far in series, scoring four goals in all three games. Four of five Penguin road games stayed under in playoffs- Pittsburgh got blanked 3-0 in only game they lost. Flyers are 4-2 at home in playoffs; they've won four in row vs Canadiens, three in row vs Caps, so they're not totally without hope, but rallying from down 3-0 is rare.