NHL Playoffs - Game 3
PITTSBURGH -1½ +222 over Washington

BEST LINES:  Pinnacle -1½ +222 BET365 -1½ +215 SportsInteraction -1½ +215 5DIMES -1½ +220

Game 3 - posted at 12:15 PM EST.

7:40 PM EST. OT included. A big reason the Capitals were able to come back and beat the Blue Jackets after falling behind 0-2 was that Columbus could not stay out of the penalty box and although the Caps were undisciplined as well, they have killed every penalty they've taken since Game 2 of Round 1 including all five in this series. That perfect 22-for-22 in PK’s has certainly skewed Washington's win total, but it is not likely to sustain that perfect pace the rest of the way. Washington is riding an eight-game road winning streak that has also increased their appeal here. So here’s what we know:

1). Since coming off the bench in the first round, Braden Holtby has won five of six starts. He owns a save % of .932 and a GAA of 1.95 over that span and after stopping 54 of 58 shots vs #Pens.

2). Washington has won eight straight on the road and had they not blown a 2-0 lead in Game 1 of this series, they would be on a six-game playoff winning streak.

3). The Caps have killed off 22 straight penalties.

4). The Penguins are banged up.

In summarizing, it would be easy as pie to sell the Capitals here because of those facts. Results influence the market but we’re not joining that movement. For 82 games and several playoff games, Washington far more often than not has been the second best team on the ice. What they have accomplished over the past six games is all smoke and mirrors because Columbus could not stay out of the box and Pittsburgh has not come close to putting its best foot forward in this series. The real Capitals, the one that plays without the puck most of the time are about to get exposed and this is where it likely begins.

The Penguins have been on cruise control since the end of their series-clinching victory over the Flyers, but the fact they played so poorly and still left Washington D.C. with the split is enough for us to go back to the well again here. The status of Evgeni Malkin looms large in the market, as he will once again be a game-time decision. So, too, will Carl Hagelin and Brian Dumoulin. Pittsburgh’s infirmary is filling up and that, too, has the market thinking that the Caps have a great chance to win this series.

So, Pittsburgh is now a small -130 to 135 favorite because the market has been poisoned by results and by what they have seen so far in this series. What we have seen is a Pittsburgh team that was very complacent in Game 2 after stealing Game 1, yet Pittsburgh could have also won Game 2. You see, Pittsburgh was denied what appeared to be a clear goal that would have brought them within one with plenty of time on the clock. The Pens outshot Washington 33-32 and they had five more high danger scoring opportunities than the Caps in Game 2 (14-9) also. Now the series shifts to PPG Paints Arena and the Penguins are in a foul mood after the Tom Wilson incident (he put a shoulder to the head of Brian Dumoulin) and after the criticism they have taken recently. If the Penguins were sleeping, Tom Wilson and the Caps woke them up and now we will all witness the true results when an intense Penguins’ squad faces a vastly inferior opponent. It’s for that reason we’ll choose to lay the 1½-pucks with the big take-back.

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Our Pick

PITTSBURGH -1½ +222 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 4.44)

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Chicago +167 over Ottawa