Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have lost Game 1 in two consecutive playoff series, will be banking that the third time is the charm when they host the San Jose Sharks in the opener of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night.
The Penguins, who are seeking their first Stanley Cup in seven years, are listed as a -149 betting favourite against the +135 underdog Sharks at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com for Game 1 of the series at Consol Energy Centre on Monday.
Pittsburgh is is 33-16-5 straight-up since Mike Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston as coach, including 12-6 in the playoffs. The total has gone over in nine of their 18 games, with four pushes. The Penguins are also 7-3 in their last 10 home games.
The Eastern Conference representative has won only three of the last 10 Stanley Cup Finals, with the 2009 Penguins being the only one who defeated a U.S.-based foe.
In order to match that feat, the Penguins will need to continue to optimize production from their top three lines and power play, which are dominated by the likes of Crosby, C Evgeni Malkin and RW Phil Kessel.
On the blue line, D Kris Letang is one of the NHL’s most productive defenders. Pittsburgh’s defensive depth, however, has been compromised by veteran Trevor Daley’s injury.
In goal, the Penguins’ 22-year-old Matt Murray is vying to become the youngest starting goalie to win the Cup since 21-year-old Cam Ward with the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes. San Jose goalie Martin Jones is also a first-time starter in the final, although he was exposed to the June hockey atmosphere with the victorious 2014 Los Angeles Kings.
Pittsburgh is 6-4 in their last 10 home games against teams from the Pacific Division according to the OddsShark NHL Database. Five of those matchups went over the posted total at the sportsbooks.
San Jose is 6-12 on the road in the playoffs over the last four seasons, but they are 5-4 this spring under coach Peter DeBoer, who was hired in 2015. DeBoer previously coached the New Jersey Devils, who are one of Pittsburgh’s Metropolitan Division rivals.
The Sharks appear to be the deeper team in both the forward and defence corps, with the likes of C Joe Thornton, RW Joe Pavelski, D Marc-Edouard Vlasic and D Brent Burns. San Jose is 11-9 in its last 20 matchups against the Metropolitan Division, with the total having gone over 10 times for totals bettors.
The road team won in both Pittsburgh-San Jose regular-season matchups. The most recent was on December 1, which was still 11 days before Sullivan took over as the Penguins’ coach.
