Online Betting OverviewThe Pittsburgh Penguins were making a push for first place overall in the Eastern Conference long before captain Sidney Crosby made his return to the line-up. Now that the March Madness betting is underway and the NBA trade deadline has passed, NHL teams are starting to grab as much momentum as they can before the playoffs arrive. In the case of the Penguins, that momentum came in the form of an 11-game winning streak that was up to nine games before Crosby returned. Pittsburgh is rapidly becoming the default favorite to win the Stanley Cup this year and the team shows no signs of slowing down.
The Ottawa Senators have significantly improved over last season. While the Senators’ place as a very close second in the Northeast Division could be primarily attributed to a slump by the division-leading Boston Bruins, the truth is that the Senators are playing good hockey and getting good goaltending. Ottawa has always played with an edge to its game and has never backed away from physical play. That is exactly what is needed to perform well in the NHL playoffs picks. Ottawa continues to crash the net and do its best to crack into the top three in the Eastern Conference by taking over first place in the Northeast Division.
Pittsburgh Penguins
There is really not much more to say about Pittsburgh except that it had a run of 11-0-0 going before being defeated in overtime by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins win at home and the Penguins win on the road. Pittsburgh plays tough defense and Marc-Andre Fleury is playing strong in goal. With the addition of Sidney Crosby and the emergence of Evgeni Malkin as a leader, the price per head sports experts speculate that the Penguins have one of the stronger locker rooms in the league. This is just a solid team all around that will be a handful in the playoffs. The Penguins will be especially tough if it gets home ice advantage throughout the entire Eastern Conference post-season run.
Ottawa Senators
The Senators is 5-3-2 in the last 10 games. The team is still having some problems playing defense, but it has been getting reliable goaltending from prospect Ben Bishop as of late. There is no finesse in the Senators’ game. The team drives hard to the net and then does its best to cause a commotion in front of the goaltender. A bodog review of the Senators last season shows that this year’s team has a lot more confidence in itself. What the Senators need is consistency in goal to go deep in the playoffs. If Bishop can provide that, then the team has a chance to succeed.
The Bottom Line
The Senators want to show that it belongs in the upper-echelon of Eastern Conference teams. The way to do that is to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. While it is unlikely that the Penguins would drop two games in a row considering how strong the team has been playing, anything is possible in the NHL stretch run.
Sports Betting blog Free Pick: Ottawa Senators
