The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers split their first two games of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Now, the series will shift back to the Garden for Game 3, a place where New York went 27-10-4-0 in the regular season.
NHL Playoff Odds at BookMaker.eu
Pittsburgh Penguins -115
New York Rangers -105
Over/Under 5.5 (under -140)
ODDS ANALYSIS
This game may as well be a dead pick 'em. As of Sunday night, the Pens are the very slight -115 favorites on the road against a very good New York team, especially when playing on its home ice.
This is really the only series featuring totals of 5.5 instead of 5. The under is the huge favorite from there, though at -140 juice.
GOALIE REPORT
Henrik Lundqvist had a tough go of it in the first game of this series when he was yanked after getting hit in the face. He came back in the second game and stopped 29-of-31 shots to log his first win of the second season.
Lundqvist didn't look like he had any ill-effects of that shot he took in the face, and it's a good thing. Antti Raanta was lost in net against the Pens once he got his opportunity in Game 1.
We're still not sure if Marc-Andre Fleury is going to cleared from his concussion. He hasn't played since March 31, but his return would be welcome. Jeff Zatkoff has been alright, but allowing six goals in two games won't get the job done even though a .908 save percentage isn't all that bad, especially on a team which has a great offense like this one.
LIVE BETTING
Fleury might still be on the shelf, but at least Evgeni Malkin is back for the first time since the middle of March. He had an impact immediately, picking up an assist on Pittsburgh's second goal on the power play.
However, we're not all that sure the Pens are better off with him than without him. The way Pittsburgh was rolling lines without Malkin was impressive over the course of the last few weeks. Things just weren't quite as fluid at the end of the day for the Penguins in Game 2, and that parlayed with some shaky play at the back is why this series is all tied up.
QUICK PICK
The Rangers haven't figured out their defensive problems without Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi in the fold. Sure, they won Game 2 of this series, but they also allowed 31 shots on goal and at least 10 in each of the periods.
With a couple days off in a row leading up to Game 3, we expect to see Malkin in much better form for the Penguins, and that could make all the difference in the world.
There's always a chance that King Henrik stands on his head as he did at times in Game 2, and if that happens, we'll accept our defeat. The better team on the ice is Pittsburgh though, and we think that's going to show more often than not against the Rangers in Game 3.
NHL Odds: Penguins 4, Rangers 3
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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 3 of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers will start at 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at Madison Square Garden. The contest will be broadcast nationally on USA.
