The New York Rangers really look like they've had it. They were beaten in both games played on their home ice by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and now they have to go back to the Igloo and find a way to beat what looks like one of the most unbeatable teams in the league just to cut this series deficit to 3-2.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The position on Pittsburgh has improved with each passing game in this series. The Penguins were -139 favorites in Game 1 and -180 in Game 2. When they went out on the road, they were -110 chalks in Game 3 and -116 in Game 4. We wouldn't be shocked if they're -200 in Game 5 after the 5-0 demolition at MSG on Thursday night.
The total will once again be hanging around at a flat 5.
GOALIE REPORT
There's nothing quite like the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Guys who you've never heard of before step up and make themselves stars all the time, and we might be seeing just that out of Matt Murray.
Sure, Marc-Andre Fleury is going to be back in the pipes for Pittsburgh soon, perhaps even for this Game 5. Murray though, has stopped 47-of-48 shots he's faced in the second season, and he logged a shutout in Game 4. Even if Fleury is healthy, it'll be tough to take the rookie out of the net after the awesome game he just had.
Henrik Lundqvist… not so much. His GAA is a stunning 3.28, and he only has a .900 save percentage in this series to date. Of course, King Henrik can change the script on his own at any given time, but one has to wonder if he's got any confidence left after getting the hook in Game 4 after allowing four goals on just 18 shots.
LIVE BETTING
One only needs to look at the play on special teams to know who's winning this series. The Rangers have one power play goal in the four games. Pittsburgh has seven.
The Penguins have done a great job drawing penalties and avoiding turning those New York blunders into coincidental minors by retaliating. It's been a physical series, but there was a point on Thursday night that it looked like the Blueshirts were more interested in picking fights and being physical than they were in trying to claw back in the game.
QUICK PICK
Turn out the lights, the party's over. The Rangers have a great goalie and a great pedigree of winning of late to boot, but they're overmatched here. Now that Pittsburgh has Evgeni Malkin back and is getting a chance to roll lines consistently without having to do any mixing and matching, New York just can't keep up.
Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Patric Hornqvist all have six points in four games, while Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino each have four. All of this without getting any contribution whatsoever from Chris Kunitz and Carl Hagelin.
The Penguins came into the postseason as the hottest team in the league, and they'll punch their ticket into the second round with a win on Saturday afternoon against a team which really just looks like has had it.
NHL Odds: Penguins 3, Rangers 1
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Game 5 of this series between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins will commence on Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. ET at the CONSOL Energy Center. The contest will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
