NHL Knowledge
Pittsburgh-Washington
Pens-Caps split last ten series games, with road team going 5-2 in last seven series games. Pittsburgh is 3-1 in last four visits here; over is 3-1-2 in last six series games. Penguins won eight of last tn games; winning last three while allowing total of four goals- they dispatched Rangers Sunday- over is 6-2-1 in their last nine games. Washington beat Philly in six games despite scoring total of only two goals in last three games- they've been off since Monday. Under is 5-1-1 in Washington's last seven games.
Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 0-1, Over: 1-0
Armadillosports.com
PITTSBURGH (52-27-0-8, 112 pts.) at WASHINGTON (60-20-0-8, 128 pts.) - 4/28/2016, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 72-94 ATS (-47.6 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
PITTSBURGH is 33-37 ATS (-22.0 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 45-52 ATS (-32.6 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 60-28 ATS (+26.8 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 47-25 ATS (+19.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 52-35 ATS (+4.8 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 18-11 ATS (+29.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
PITTSBURGH is 34-16 ATS (+11.6 Units) second half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 38-44 ATS (-32.7 Units) in home games when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 17-26 ATS (-20.9 Units) in home games after shutting out their opponent in their previous game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 8-5 (+2.2 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 8-5-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.7 Units)
PITTSBURGH vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Pittsburgh's last 12 games when playing on the road against Washington
Pittsburgh is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home
Washington is 5-12 SU in its last 17 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh at Washington
Pittsburgh: 8-1 ATS in road games after 2 consecutive division games
Washington: 3-13 ATS after 3 games where both teams scored 2 goals or less
Stanley Cup Playoffs NHL Betting Preview: Penguins at Capitals
By Covers.com
Only one game on the board for the Stanley Cup Playoffs Thursday night. It's being billed as Crosby vs Ovechkin, but these are two very good hockey teams and the matchup comes down to much more than simply superstar vs superstar.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals (A: -110, H: -110, O/U: 5)
Alex Ovechkin doesn't look back fondly on the last time his Washington Capitals met fellow captain Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the postseason, although the encounter proved to be an epic Eastern Conference semifinal series showdown. The talented twosome put on a show in 2009 before Crosby's Penguins won the series in seven games - and later the Stanley Cup - a result Ovechkin would like to remedy when the Metropolitan Division rivals meet in Washington for Game 1 on Thursday.
"It's history," the three-time Hart Trophy-winning Ovechkin told reporters. "I don't like to look back. I'm looking forward. What was the past, it's over. Right now, it's a new challenge and a new moment in our life." Ovechkin, who collected eight goals and six assists in the 2009 series, got the Presidents Trophy-winning Capitals off on the right foot by scoring a team high-tying three goals and setting up two others in their six-game series victory over Philadelphia. Crosby, who had eight goals and five assists versus the Capitals seven years ago, recorded a team-high eight points (three goals, five assists) as the Penguins dusted off the rival New York Rangers in five contests of their opening-round series. Special teams were the name of the game for both teams as Pittsburgh's 8-for-21 38.1 percent) power-play performance led the NHL clubs in the first round, while Washington scored on eight of its 27 opportunities (29.6 percent) with the man advantage.
PROBABLE GOALIES: Penguins - M. Murray (0.935%), Capitals - B. Holtby (0.925%).
INJURY REPORT:
Penguins - RW B. Bennett (Questionable Thursday, shoulder), G M. Fleury (Doubtful Thursday, concussion).
Capitals - D K. Alzner (Probable Thursday, upper body), D B. Orpik (Questionable Thursday, concussion).
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (52-27-8, 41-46 ATS, 39-33 O/U): Crosby scored in overtime on April 7, allowing Pittsburgh to defeat Washington for the third time in five outings this season with a 4-3 victory. Rookie Matt Murray made 27 saves in that win with franchise goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury dealing with post-concussion symptoms, and the 21-year-old returned from his own upper-body ailment to turn aside 85-of-89 shots as the Penguins won the final three games of their series with the Rangers. Evgeni Malkin picked up where left off after missing over a month with a lower-body injury, scoring two goals and setting up five others in four games of the first-round series.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (60-20-8, 40-48 ATS, 34-37 O/U): Braden Holtby tied an NHL single-season record with 48 wins in the regular season and didn't miss a beat in the first round, yielding just five tallies on 154 shots for an impressive 0.84 goals-against average and .968 save percentage. Some familiar faces aid in the last line of defense in the form of ex-Penguins defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen, but with the former expected to return from a three-game absence due to an upper-body injury. Fellow blue-liner Karl Alzner is also nursing an upper body injury, but he's likely to return and log considerable minutes in the series.
TRENDS:
* Penguins are 10-1 in their last 11 road games.
* Capitals are 1-5 in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Over is 10-1-3 in Penguins last 14 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
* Under is 9-1-4 in Capitals last 14 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 2-0-2 in the last 4 meetings.
* Penguins are 6-2 in the last 8 meetings in Washington.