Columbus @ PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH -½ +121 over Columbus (1st period)

Pinnacle -½ +121 (1st Period)

Posted at 11:05 AM EST

1st period wager. The Jackets have once again been bit hard by the injury bug. They lost both Matt Calvert and Brandon Dubinsky this past week and that pair joins several others on the shelf. The Jackets lost last night at home to New Jersey and were shutout. They have now lost five straight to fall out of the playoff picture and will play its third game in four days here and tail end of back-to-backs. Columbus has allowed four goals in more in three of its last four and it is also on a current 0-20 run on the PP. There’s a good chance that Sergei Bobrovsky gets this start in net and should that come to pass, it’ll be Bobrovsky’s first game since January 21.

The Penguins figure to come out strong here. Pitt GM Jim Rutherford declared that he’s “very likely done” when it comes to any more trades so there is a sense of security among the players. The Penguins picked up Daniel Winnick from the Maple Leafs a couple of days ago. “This,” Rutherford said, “was the one we wanted.“We’ll see what’s available,” he said, “but there’s a good chance that we’re done.” Done, as in all it took to finish the job was a third-line, penalty-killing ace but it’s a great piece of the puzzle. The Penguins are heating up and ready for a big push down the stretch. Consider the pattern of play over their modest little three-game winning streak. The Penguins came out skating hard against the Blues, got a couple of early goals, then kept up the pressure. They came out skating hard against the Panthers, got a couple of early goals, then kept up the pressure. None of which was any different than strikingly similar victories against the Oilers, Flames, Red Wings and Senators, all within this 7-3-1 stretch since Evgeni Malkin rejoined the lineup Feb. 4 in Edmonton. Malkin is in one of his “brilliant” stretches. Pittsburgh has scored 13 goals over its last three games and their first period has been the best in all of them. The Penguins are well rested and they’re not going to allow the Jackets to get off to a good start and gain some confidence. Columbus is wounded both mentally and physically and they’re ripe for an early onslaught. Pittsburgh is jacked up to get back on the ice. The reports are that the Pens are coming off of a couple of very spirted practices, which is almost always a strong sign of a team that is ready and raring to go. Lots of energy on the Pens, which should equate to a dominating first period and so that’s how we’re playing it.  



Our Pick

PITTSBURGH -½ +121 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.42)

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Chicago +167 over Ottawa