What bettors need to know: Stanley Cup finals Game 2
By DUSTIN NIELSON
Pittsburgh Penguins at Detroit Red Wings
Faceoff domination
It was the type of domination that you might see once in a while in the NHL preseason, rarely during the regular season, but never in the Stanley Cup Final. The Detroit Red Wings won 71 percent of the faceoffs in Game 1.
Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma says they have done their home work and need a more complete effort from everyone in the faceoff circle.
“The wingers need to jump in and help out, rarely does the centre win it back clearly, that’s an area we can do a better job of,“ said Bylsma during the postgame press conference.
The bounces
All the talk following Game 1 was how the Red Wings got the bounces but was it really the bounces or poor goaltending by Marc-Andre Fleury?
He will need to make adjustments Sunday evening or the Pens will be heading home down 2-0. Chris Osgood said he knows how Fleury feels and says at times this season he was a victim of the Joe Louis bounce.
“It’s tough for goalies, especially if it goes back one side and then out the other, all you can do it just get back to your post as fast as you can,” Osgood told the media.
An optimist would point out that the Red Wings deserve their bounces, because they intentionally create them.
“When you are on the point and you can’t see the net, sometimes you try to bank it short side to get a bounce to bring it out in front of the net, the pucks bouncing a lot out there,” Nicklas Lidstrom told reporters.
Depth delivers
Depth was one of the clear-cut advantages that Detroit had coming into Game 1 and it paid off in the third period.
Rookie Justin Abdelkader scored his first NHL playoff goal in the final frame. Abdelkader played just over five minutes in the opener, the least of any player on either team, but managed to find the back of the net. Wings bench boss Mike Babcock started to show confidence in his fourth line by playing them more regular in the second half of the third period.
Quick turn around
The rest between games will be just 21 hours and Wings Captain Nicklas Lidstrom says his team’s depth could play a key role in Game 2.
“When the game starts, you have to keep the shifts short, get your legs going and try to get all four lines moving,” said Lidstrom.
If the Wings fourth line can earn their ice time early, a guy like Henrik Zetterberg may be able to save his legs for a little later in the game.
Dastyuk update
Pavel Datsyuk has skated two days in a row now but the Wings are keeping hush hush on when he will be ready to return.
“When he first gets on the ice, his foot is stiff and it takes a while for him to get going,” Babcock told reporters. “He’s tried a few things and it hasn’t responded. Our medical people are trying as hard as they can. He’ll be back as soon as he can. That’s all I can tell you.”
Stanley Cup Final - Game 2
By Judd Hall
The Red Wings drew first blood in the Stanley Cup Final as $1.50 home favorites 3-1. And if this first game was any indication of how the rest of the series will go, it should be a lot of fun.
Pittsburgh went into Game 1 of last year’s championship round with a little of that starry eyed wonderment young players are known to get from the moment that is bigger than they realize. The Pens held their own for about 30 minutes before the floodgates opened up for Detroit to win 4-0.
This time around, the Penguins came were much more prepared for their trip to Joe Louis Arena as $1.30 road pups. Their plan was to have action going end-to-end on the ice with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin getting some chances to attack the net.
Advertisement
While the open flow of the first period was there, Detroit’s veteran rear guards came through with some active sticks that snuffed out any good charges the Pens’ duo had going for them. Unfortunately for fans and bettors of the Penguins, that was a recurring theme during the game.
Malkin did have a golden chance to score on a one-on-one breakaway early in the second period, but Detroit’s Chris Osgood deflected it to the side. Outside of Ruslan Fedotenko’s goal off the backhand in the first period, that was arguably Pittsburgh’s only other legitimate shot at scoring. A strange thing to say considering that they outshot the Red Wings 32-30 for the night.
Osgood continues to show you just how fantastic he is when it matters most as he stopped 31 of the Pens’ 32 shots on goal. It also helps that the Wings’ penalty kill unit was up to the task by helping extinguish both Pittsburgh power plays. It’s the second straight game that Detroit was able to deny a goal while shorthanded.
As far as the Red Wings’ offense is concerned, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Detroit’s first goal of the game by defenseman Brad Stuart no doubt evoked memories of Game 6 of last year’s final by slipping past a squatting Marc-Andre Fleury. It was almost the same fashion as Henrik Zetterberg scored in the third period of that deciding contest.
Johan Franzen continues to find the back of the net in the playoffs, recording his 11th score of the second season. Meanwhile, rookie forward Justin Abdelkader pushed through the first goal of his NHL career to give gamblers who took the Red Wings on the puck line a nice plus-175 return (risk $100 to win $175).
There is no rest for the likes of Fleury, who performed admirably in a losing effort with 27 stops on 30 SOG. These two foes square off once again tonight at 8:05 p.m. EDT on NBC. Early lines coming in from Allstar.com show the Wings as $1.50 home faves. It also seems that the betting shops have learned their lesson on the last total as Allstar.com posts Game 2’s total at 5 ½, down from six in the previous contest.
Bettors would certainly be within their right of taking Detroit here to go up 2-0 in this best-of-seven series. After all, the Wings have won both of their first two home games of a playoff series 14 times since 1996. And they’ve won nine of their last 10 tests at Joe Louis Arena.
We should also remember that this game is being played on back-to-back nights. The Red Wings are just 9-7 during the season in this spot, with the ‘under’ going 10-6-1. When coming off of a victory, Detroit is 7-4. Not a bad number, but not great.
Pittsburgh doesn’t have too much to write home about in this situation either as they’re 7-7 when playing on no rest. However, the Penguins are 6-2 this year when they’re coming off of a loss the previous night.
If you break down the zero rest information over the past 13 postseasons, you’ll see that the Pens are 2-1…one of those victories coming at Washington on May 9. The Wings are 1-2 in the three times they’ve played on no rest in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the ‘under’ cashing tickets on all three occasions.
vegasinsider.com
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings came away with a 3-1 win over the Penguins in Game 1 of the series on Saturday night.
The Red Wings won that game as -150 favorites, and the four goals fell UNDER the night's posted over/under (5.5).
Brad Stuart, Johan Franzen, and Justin Abdelkader scored for Detroit, while Chris Osgood stopped 31 shots in the win.
Ruslan Fedotenko scored the lone goal for the Pens, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves in the loss.
Team records:
Pittsburgh: 45-28-9
Detroit: 51-21-10
Pittsburgh most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 2-8
Before playing Ottawa are 6-4
After playing Detroit are 5-5-1
After a loss are 7-3
Detroit most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 6-3-1
Before playing Edmonton are 6-4
After playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After a win are 7-3
A few trends to consider:
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Pittsburgh's last 13 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games on the road
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Detroit is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Detroit is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Pittsburgh
Detroit is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Next up:
Detroit at Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 2
Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Monday, June 1
No games scheduled. Detroit and Pittsburgh will play Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.
STARS
Saturday
— Johan Franzen(notes) and Chris Osgood(notes), Red Wings. Franzen scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and Osgood made 31 saves in defending champion Detroit’s 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.
SCOUTING
Alexandre Giroux(notes) completed his hat trick at 13:33 of overtime to give the visiting Hershey Bears (Capitals) a 5-4 victory over the Manitoba Moose (Canucks) on Saturday night in Game 1 of the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup finals.
SPEAKING
“The goalie is the most important player every night. It’s hockey.”— Detroit coach Mike Babcock after Chris Osgood made 31 saves in the Red Wings’ 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.
PITTSBURGH (57-33-0-10, 124 pts.) at DETROIT (64-23-0-12, 140 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 89-36 ATS (-0.4 Units) in home games in non-conference games since 1996.
DETROIT is 17-3 ATS (+11.1 Units) in the Stanley Cup finals since 1996.
DETROIT is 31-6 ATS (+17.3 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 55-18 ATS (+13.1 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 118-84 ATS (+13.9 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 79-48 ATS (+17.6 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 49-34 ATS (+11.2 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 31-13 ATS (+14.6 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 25-9 ATS (+15.7 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 65-51 ATS (+12.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 27-14 ATS (+10.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 7-3 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 7-3-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.0 Units)
PITTSBURGH vs. DETROIT
Pittsburgh is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Pittsburgh's last 13 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Detroit's last 10 games at home
Stanley Cup Finals
Pittsburgh at Detroit
Pittsburgh:
13-4 SU in Game 2's
22-10 SU playing with double revenge
Detroit:
14-2 Over off BB Unders
25-15 Over off BB wins